Health Highlights: Jan. 12, 2022

As Omicron surges, how important are COVID case counts anymore? Vaccines have reduced the risks of severe COVID, making it harder to interpret the threat of a COVID surge through case counts alone -- particularly in the face of the Omicron variant, experts say. Read more

Breastfeeding brings long-term benefits to health. In a study of close to 1.2 million women, mothers who breastfed for any period of time were less likely to develop heart disease, have a stroke or die from heart disease during 10 years of follow-up. Read more

Biden promises more COVID tests for schools. The White House is promising to provide 10 million free coronavirus tests each month for schools in an effort to keep in-person classes safely open. Read more

How safe are bone drug 'holidays'? People on bone-protecting drugs often take breaks from them for a few years. Now a new study finds that a 'holiday' from the medication risedronate (Actonel) may come with a slightly increased risk of hip fracture. Read more

Is the Omicron surge already peaking? The latest wave of infections may have crested in Britain and could be about to do the same in the United States, some experts say. Read more