Technologies

Omicron update today: Variant in 36 states, symptoms, CDC recommendation for J&J booster

The omicron variant of COVID may be able to partly evade vaccine protection as it spreads across the country. Stay on top of the latest guidance here.

For the most up-to-date news and information about the coronavirus pandemic, visit the WHO and CDC websites.

It accounts for 3% of the COVID-19 cases in the US, but the omicron variant has now been detected in at least 36 states, and the new strain is increasingly the focus of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A CDC panel on Thursday recommended that those looking for a safe and effective vaccine should choose an mRNA option (Pfizer or Moderna) — and not Johnson and Johnson’s.

Scientists are piecing together a picture of how easily the virus can pass from one person to another and evade protection provided by the primary vaccine doses of Pfizer, Moderna and J&J. Looking at the latest data, Dr. Anthony Fauci, chief medical adviser to President Joe Biden, said on Wednesday that omicron can bypass much of the protection given by two shots of the mRNA Moderna and Pfizer vaccines: «The omicron variant undoubtably compromised the effects of a two-dosemRNA vaccine-induced antibodies and reduces the overall protection.» More promising, Fauci said, is that boosters appear to restore the level of protection needed to guard against the omicron variant.

In the US, Biden is doubling down on urging vaccines and booster shots until more information on the new variant becomes available. As a result, the US administered 12.5 million shots in the first week of December, according to Jeff Zients, the White House coronavirus response coordinator. That’s the highest number of weekly shots since May. Seven million of those were booster shots, Zients said.

So far, the COVID-19 vaccines have proven to be highly effective in preventing hospitalization and death, with people who are unvaccinated being over 10 times more likely to be hospitalized if infected. Vaccine makers are optimistic the current vaccines authorized for use in the US will provide a degree of protection against omicron, too.

Here are eight important things to know about omicron today. For more on COVID-19 boosters, here’s a trick to easily get an appointment and a free ride. Here’s how you’ll soon get a COVID-19 test kit for free and details on mixing and matching vaccines.

Why did the CDC panel recommend the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines over the one from Johnson & Johnson?

On Thursday, a CDC advisory panel voted to recommend that those looking for a safe vaccine pick either Moderna’s or Pfizer’s because of the risk of a potentially fatal blood clot issueassociated with the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the CDC, is expected to decide as soon as today whether to accept that panel’s vote.

A COVID vaccine booster is needed to guard against omicron

Early studies indicate a booster can guard against omicron. «Boosters … enhance the vaccine protection against omicron,» Fauci said on Wednesday. «Our booster vaccine regimens work against omicron.»

«Individuals who have received two vaccines will most likely not havesignificant prevention from infection or any type of disease [from the new variant],» BioNTech CEO Uğur Şahin said last week. (Comirnaty, the brand name of the Pfizer vaccine, is manufactured by Pfizer and BioNTech.) Şahinsaid more information is needed to confirm the company’s initial laboratory findings that indicate a third Pfizer vaccine dose is important to guard against the variant.

Is an omicron-specific vaccine needed?

Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and Johnson &Johnson have all said they are gearing up to create a vaccine specifically designed tocombat omicron if it’s needed.

Fauci on Wednesday said that there is no need for a variant-specific booster at this point. The current boosters appear to be effective against omicron.

So far, the omicron virus is producing mild symptoms

According to Fauci, preliminary information seems to indicate omicron may produce less serious symptoms than initially feared: «We’re getting anecdotal information … that the level of severity appears to be maybe a bit less than in thedelta,» he said Sunday.

The new COVID variant may spread more easily than delta

It could still be two or three weeks till we know more about how easily omicron can be passed between people and how resistant the mutated virus is against the current crop of vaccines, but Fauci on Tuesday at a White House briefing said that early data also suggests omicron could be more infectious than the delta variant and is replacing delta as the dominant COVID-19 strain in South Africa.

Omicron confirmed in 36 US states

It makes up 3% of the cases in the US. In New York and New Jersey, however, it could make up 13% of new infections.

The variant has been detected in 36 states across the country, from Washington to Mississippi and Texas to Utah. The US and other countries were already bracing for an increased caseload as colder weather and holiday gatherings brought more people indoors together. Now, projections of a winter surge of the dominant delta variant join concerns about omicron’s spread.

Add an increasing number of flflu infections, and experts worry about a «twindemic» of the two illnesses.

Omicron could become the dominant COVID variant in Europe within months

In Europe, omicroncould become the most common COVID-19 variant in months, according to theEuropean Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.

«Mathematicalmodeling indicates that the Omicron VOC is expected to cause over halfof all SARS-CoV-2 infections in the EU/EEA within the next few months»due to early understandings of the omicron variant’s hightransmissibility between people, the body said in a Dec. 2 briefing (PDF).

Scientistsstudying the omicron variant in South Africa, where it was firstreported to the World Health Organization, have said it’s spreading more than twice as fast as the delta variant, according to reporting from the New York Times.But what isn’t yet known is whether the spread is hastened because themutations make it easier to spread among people, if vaccines are lesseffective against this strain or for some other reason. The study cited by NYT has not yet been published or peer-reviewed.

Omicron has similarities to the delta variant’s mutation

COVID latches onto cells using a spike protein in its structure. Omicron has more mutations than the delta variant, which is considered at least twice as contagious as previous strains. While it isn’t clear yet whether omicron is more or less contagious than delta, the presence of those mutations is one cause of concern.

That may be one reason numerous have banned travel from some countries in southern Africa and increased travel restrictions to include a negative COVID-19 test 24 hours before travel, regardless of vaccination status.

COVID PCR tests can identify the omicron variant

Most PCR tests to identify the presence of COVID-19 in the body are free (COVID-19 tests for international travel are the main exception). So it’s good news that the existing nasal swab test has been found to detect the omicron variant; a blood test or other procedure is so far unnecessary.

«Fortunately for us, the PCRs that we mostly use would pick up this very unusual variant that has a real large constellation of mutations,» Fauci said in a Nov. 29 press briefing.

Booster shots and vaccines are urged to help prevent omicron’s spread

On Dec. 2, Biden announced a plan to help protect the US against the omicron variant this winter. It includes:

Outreach programs to contact people eligible to receive booster shots.
Making at-home COVID-19 tests «free» for everyone.
Tighter travel restrictions that require a negative COVID-19 test 24 hours before departure.
Paid time off for federal workers to get booster shots.
Securing antiviral pills as a treatment for people who become infected with COVID-19 (these are recommended but not yet FDA-approved).
Sending 200 million more doses of COVID-19 vaccine to international countries in the next 100 days (280 million have already been sent).

For additional COVID-19 guidance, here’s what to know about new travel restrictions, how to store your vaccine card on your phone and what to do if you lose your vaccine card.

The information contained in this article is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as health or medical advice. Always consult a physician or other qualified health provider regarding any questions you may have about a medical condition or health objectives.

Technologies

Today’s Wordle Hints, Answer and Help for July 13, #1485

Here are hints and the answer for today’s Wordle for July 13, No. 1,485.

Looking for the most recent Wordle answer? Click here for today’s Wordle hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Connections, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Today’s Wordle puzzle is a fun word, but not easy to guess. That first letter doesn’t come up in any of the starter or secondary words I tend to choose. If you need a new starter word, check out our list of which letters show up the most in English words. If you need hints and the answer, read on.

Today’s Wordle hints

Before we show you today’s Wordle answer, we’ll give you some hints. If you don’t want a spoiler, look away now.

Wordle hint No. 1: Repeats

Today’s Wordle answer has no repeated letters.

Wordle hint No. 2: Vowels

There are two vowels in today’s Wordle answer.

Wordle hint No. 3: First letter

Today’s Wordle answer begins with G.

Wordle hint No. 4: Last letter

Today’s Wordle answer ends in a vowel

Wordle hint No. 5: Meaning

Today’s Wordle answer can refer to a legendary creature that’s often depicted in garden statues.

TODAY’S WORDLE ANSWER

Today’s Wordle answer is GNOME.

Yesterday’s Wordle answer

Yesterday’s Wordle answer, July 12, No. 1484 was EXILE.

Recent Wordle answers

July 8, No. 1480: DREAD

July 9, No. 1481: NOVEL

July 10, No. 1482: JUMPY

July 11, No. 1483: BRAND

Technologies

Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Answers and Help for July 13 #497

Here are hints and answers for the NYT Strands puzzle for July 13 No. 497.

Looking for the most recent Strands answer? Click here for our daily Strands hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections and Connections: Sports Edition puzzles.

Today’s NYT Strands puzzle isn’t so tough if you’re used to reading the labels in your outfits. If you need hints and answers, read on.

I go into depth about the rules for Strands in this story.

If you’re looking for today’s Wordle, Connections and Mini Crossword answers, you can visit CNET’s NYT puzzle hints page.

Read more: NYT Connections Turns 1: These Are the 5 Toughest Puzzles So Far

Hint for today’s Strands puzzle

Today’s Strands theme is: Completely fabricated.

If that doesn’t help you, here’s a clue: Check your clothes.

Clue words to unlock in-game hints

Your goal is to find hidden words that fit the puzzle’s theme. If you’re stuck, find any words you can. Every time you find three words of four letters or more, Strands will reveal one of the theme words. These are the words I used to get those hints but any words of four or more letters that you find will work:

LONE, PLAN, PLANE, PLANS, LION, STORE, PEEL POLE, POLED, PLAY, PAYS, PEND, SEAL, SALE, PORE, TORE, LEST, PERT.

Answers for today’s Strands puzzle

These are the answers that tie into the theme. The goal of the puzzle is to find them all, including the spangram, a theme word that reaches from one side of the puzzle to the other. When you have all of them (I originally thought there were always eight but learned that the number can vary), every letter on the board will be used. Here are the nonspangram answers:

SILK, WOOL, LINEN, RAYON, COTTON, SPANDEX, POLYESTER

Today’s Strands spangram

Today’s Strands spangram is TEXTILES. To find it, look for the T that’s three letters to the right on the bottom row, and wind up.

Technologies

I Accidentally Learned Just How Durable the Galaxy Z Flip 7 Is

Commentary: Samsung’s Galaxy Z Flip 7 comes with a welcome overhaul to its design. And I can definitely vouch for the new phone’s sturdiness.

If you’re concerned about how durable Samsung’s foldable phones can be, I’m here to tell you not to worry. And that’s especially true when it comes to the new Galaxy Z Flip 7.

After less than six hours with the Galaxy Z Flip 7, I accidentally performed my own informal drop test. At a catered affair in Brooklyn, I walked outside to get a view of the waterfront, and when I pulled the Z Flip 7 out of my pocket, I fumbled it. I watched helplessly as Samsung’s newest foldable phone fell to the ground. The noise it made when it clacked against the concrete caused everyone around to look at me with a knowing, sympathetic expression that said, «Aw, that’s a shame. Your phone is toast.»

Have you ever dropped your phone? There’s that Schrödinger’s cat-like moment before you pick it up when you’re anxious to see if the phone survived.

Fortunately, the Galaxy Z Flip 7 was fine. The 4.1-inch cover screen didn’t have any cracks or scuffs. The 6.9-inch inner display was unharmed because the phone was shut. The only tell that it kissed the ground was a tiny scuff on the bottom of the phone near the microphones. Samsung’s claim that its new «Armour Flex Hinge» is built to withstand impact is indeed true.

In the early days of foldable phones, one of the biggest unknowns was their durability. It’s amazing that about six years later, the Galaxy Z Flip 7 can handle being dropped on concrete like it had landed on a velvet pillow. Now, I still wouldn’t take the Flip 7 (or any foldable phone) to the beach, as it can only withstand particles that are 1mm or larger. So going to a confetti factory would be fine, but a salt factory is a definite no-no.

The Galaxy Z Flip 7’s thin design

The star of Samsung’s Galaxy Unpacked event was the Galaxy Z Fold 7. At 8.9mm thick when closed, the Fold 7 is ridiculously thin. The Galaxy Z Flip 7 looks like it also went on Ozempic, but it’s 13.7mm thick when closed. That’s slim, but not Fold 7 slim. Why couldn’t the Flip 7 be super slim like the Fold 7? I just keep imagining a Galaxy Z Flip 8 with the same thinness as the Fold 7.

For some perspective, here’s how the Flip 7 compares to its clamshell kinfolk:

Galaxy Z Flip 7 thickness vs. other flip phones

Phone	Closed	Open
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7	13.7mm	6.5mm
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6	14.9mm	6.9mm
Motorola Razr Plus	15.32mm	7.09mm
Motorola Razr Ultra	15.69mm	7.19mm
Motorola Razr (2025)	15.85mm	7.25mm

The Galaxy Z Flip 7’s big cover screen

The original Galaxy Z Flip had a tiny, 1.1-inch pill-shaped cover display. It was perfect for showing the time but pretty much useless for anything else. The defining feature on the Galaxy Z Flip 7 is its 4.1-inch cover display. The screen looks incredible. I was checking my notifications on the screen under direct sunlight and was able to read everything. One of the hang-ups I had reviewing the Galaxy Z Flip 6 was switching from the inner screen to the cover display outdoors. There would be times on sunny days where I could barely make out what was on the cover display, despite having no issues with the main screen.

Samsung has increased the maximum brightness of the Flip 7’s cover screen to 2,600 nits, which is the same as the inner display. Both screens now top out at 120Hz, too, which should make for a much more consistent experience by having system animations, gameplay and scrolling through a social feed look super smooth.

The 6.9-inch inner screen is big, but it doesn’t feel unwieldy when I use it. The Flip 6 had a 6.7-inch display, but that extra 0.2 inches on the Flip 7’s screen makes it feel much bigger, which my middle-aged eyes are grateful for.

In terms of functionality, the cover screen’s natural state is widgets. And some, like Spotify’s widget, are all I need in lieu of using full apps. But I want apps on the home screen, so I need to enable this functionality in the Labs section of Settings and download the MultiStar app. It takes a couple of minutes to set up, but I do wish the interface supported apps by default.

The Galaxy Z Flip 7’s cameras

The Flip 7 has three cameras: a 50-megapixel wide-angle, a 12-megapixel ultrawide and a 10-megapixel selfie camera (in the main 6.9-inch screen). The cameras are the same as those on the Flip 6 and Flip 7 FE. But the phones run on different processors, so differences or improvements in photos and videos (if any) will come from Samsung’s processing and machine learning.

Here are some of my favorite photos from the Galaxy Z Flip 7 so far:

Galaxy Z Flip 7 final thoughts for now

Samsung gave its foldable line a major overhaul. And while the Galaxy Z Fold 7 feels like an entirely different phone from previous Folds, the Galaxy Z Flip 7 seems like a nice refinement. I will say that I’ve had only two days with the phone. And as enamored as I am with the larger cover screen, I’m excited to see how the battery life measures up.

Samsung gave the Flip 7 a 4,300-mAh battery (compared with the Galaxy Z Flip 6’s 4,000-mAh battery), but I wonder if the increased capacity will be offset by the power needed for its Snapdragon 8 Elite chip and those larger, brighter displays.

I have a lot more testing to do. But as I work my way toward a full review, I’ll try not to drop the Flip 7 anymore.

Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7 specs vs. Motorola Razr Ultra, Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6

	Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 7	Motorola Razr Ultra (2025)	Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 6
Cover display size, tech, resolution, refresh rate	4.1-inch AMOLED, 948×1,048p, 120Hz refresh rate	4-inch pOLED, 2,992×1,224p, up to 165Hz variable refresh rate	3.4-inch AMOLED; 720×748 pixels; 60Hz refresh rate
Internal display size, tech, resolution, refresh rate	6.9-inch AMOLED, 2,520×1,080p, 1-120Hz refresh rate	7-inch AMOLED; 1,272×1,080p, up to 165Hz variable refresh rate	6.7-inch AMOLED; 2,640×1,080 pixels; 1-120Hz refresh rate
Pixel density	Cover: 342ppi. Internal: 397ppi	Cover: 417 ppi. Internal: 464 ppi	Cover: 306 ppi. Internal: 425 ppi
Dimensions (inches)	Open: 2.96×6.56×0.26 Closed: 2.96×3.37×0.26	Open: 2.91×6.75×0.28 Closed: 2.91×3.47×0.62	Open: 6.5 x 2.83 x 0.27 Closed: 3.35 x 2.83 x 0.59
Dimensions (millimeters)	Open: 75.2×166.7×6.5 Closed: 75.2×85.5×13.7	Open: 73.99×171.48×7.19 Closed: 73.99×88.12×15.69	Open: 165.1×71.9×6.9 Closed: 85.1×71.9×14.9
Weight (grams, ounces)	188 g (6.63 oz)	199 g (7 oz)	187 g (6.6 oz)
Mobile software	Android 16	Android 15	Android 14
Cameras	50 megapixel (main), 12 megapixel (ultrawide)	50 megapixel (wide), 50 megapixel (ultrawide)	50 megapixel (wide), 12 megapixel (ultrawide)
Internal screen camera	10 megapixel	50 megapixel	10 megapixel
Video capture	4K at 60fps	4K	TBD
Processor	Samsung Exynos 2500	Snapdragon 8 Elite	Snapdragon 8 Gen 3
RAM/storage	12GB + 256GB, 12GB + 512GB	16GB + 512GB, 1TB	12GB + 256GB, 512GB
Expandable storage	No	None	None
Battery	4,300 mAh	4,700 mAh	4,000 mAh
Fingerprint sensor	Yes	Side	Side
Connector	USB-C	USB-C	USB-C
Headphone jack	None	None	None
Special features	One UI 8, IP48 water resistance, 25-watt wired charging, Qi wireless charging, Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4, Galaxy AI	IP48 rating, 68-watt wired charging, 30-watt wireless charging, 5-watt reverse charging, dual stereo speakers, Corning Gorilla Glass Ceramic cover display, 3,000 nits peak brightness on cover display, 4,500 nits peak brightness on main display, 5G.	IP48 rating, 25-watt wired charging, wireless charging + powershare, 3x optical zoom (up to 10x digital and 30x Space Zoom with AI Super Resolution tech)
US price starts at	$1,100	$1,300	$1,100