DR. ROCHELLE WALENSKY

The Director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Dr. Rochelle Walensky, tested positive for COVID-19 on Friday night.

The White House COVID-19 Response Team held a briefing to update Americans on the effectiveness of the booster shot against the omicron variant and the free COVID test that is being administered by mail.

Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky faced tough questions on several issues, including confusing new guidelines and the rapid rise of hospitalizations in children.

Health officials are still stressing that more needs to be done to end the pandemic.

Michigan’s hospitals are overwhelmed, leaving health officials concerned about what could still be coming. Despite that, the state has refused to issue any new restrictions.

The White House COVID Response Team said it is working with states to minimize any impact of the Johnson & Johnson pause.

Medical experts are keeping a close eye on the Midwest and Northeast as new cases of COVID-19 surge.

That’s on top of the nearly $200 million for virus genome sequencing, which is critical for tracking new variants of the virus. Dr. Anthony Fauci said there are two studies that are pointing in a favorable direcion. If found higher amounts of the virus in the nose was linked to a greater ability to spread the virus. “In other words, higher viral load, good transmissibility; low viral load, very poor transmissibility.”So people who are fully vaccinated have less virus in their nose. Ad“When your turn to get vaccinated comes up, get vaccinated,” Fauci said.

The CDC tested two different mask modifications -- putting a three-layered cloth mask over a surgical mask and “knotting and tucking,” where someone knots the ear loops of a surgical mask and tuck in the excess material to reduce the gaps on the side of the face. AdCDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky discussed the new research designed to evaluate different strategies to improve masks’ ability to block particles. Putting a cloth mask over the surgical mask and knotting and tucking the mask both boosted protection. “Based on this new information, the CDC is updating the mask information for the public on the CDC website to provide new options on how to improve mask fit,” Walensky said. The new options include wearing a mask with a moldable nose wire or wearing a cloth mask over a surgical mask.