Omicron symptoms: What we know about illness caused by the new subvariants Symptoms of omicron and the BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants are similar, doctors say. They're all still Covid, and they can still cause severe disease. NBC News

The current wave of the omicron variant of the coronavirus making its way across the U.S. — dominated by the subvariants BA.4 and BA.5 — is sparking new concerns about a seemingly endless cycle of Covid infections.

After backlash, Beijing drops COVID vaccination mandate for crowded venues

BEIJING, July 8 (Reuters) - Beijing's city government has dropped plans to allow only vaccinated people to enter crowded venues such as libraries, cinemas and gyms from Monday, following a strong online backlash to the measure announced earlier this week.

The mandatory requirement would have marked a rare move in China, where the central government insists on voluntary vaccination and has quickly overruled other attempts by front-line officials to issue compulsory vaccination directives.