COVID-19 Coverage

With colder temperatures, sicknesses are expected, but the number of flu hospitalizations in the U.S. this year is higher than usual, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The Utah State Board of Education released its yearly report card for schools statewide, demonstrating academic progress and regression for the years 2021-2022.

The CDC announced Feb. 25 they no longer recommend wearing masks in all public settings, confirming recent actions taken by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and BYU to relax mask mandates.

BYU admission decisions rolled in on Feb. 18, and new Cougars expressed their excitement all over social media with the hashtag, #byubound. 

BYU announced the university will no longer require proof of vaccination to attend large events on campus. Governor Spencer Cox also announced lessened COVID-19 restrictions, moving Utah out of emergency mode.

Truck drivers and other Utahns rallied Feb. 5 in the LendNation parking lot in Taylorsville, Utah to protest against COVID-19 restrictions.

Utah ranked third in the nation in a Politico article rating how well states fared during the pandemic. The article, written by Sean McMinn and Liz Crampton scored each state in four categories: health, economy, social well-being and education.

Continual prevalence of COVID-19 is causing uncertainty for students in the nursing program at BYU who have a study abroad required for graduation and no answer yet as to whether the trip will happen.

Starting Jan. 20 BYU is requiring attendees of indoor public events on campus to present proof of full vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test to gain access to the event venue, despite the Supreme Court's recent block of President Biden's nationwide vaccine mandate..

The Daily Universe conducted a four-question survey through an Instagram story post and 225 BYU students voluntarily responded. The survey asked true-or-false questions regarding COVID-19 facts sourced from the CDC, UC Davis Health, WebMD and Hopkins Medicine websites.

U.S. Surgeon General Vivek H. Murthy released an advisory announcing a surge in mental health challenges among youth because of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

BYU College of Life Sciences faculty members and students emphasize the importance of masks, COVID-19 testing and vaccinations, especially with the new omicron variant.

Over 4,550 flights were delayed or cancelled the weekend before the start of the semester because of bad weather and omicron-related staffing issues, according to the flight-tracker FlightAware. Many BYU students trying to travel back to campus were affected.

COVID-19 has created a unique college experience for this year's April 2022 graduates. They have spent most of their education in a global pandemic which took away many typical college life experiences for them.

Less than a week ago, omicron, the latest strain of COVID-19, was officially classified as a "variant of concern" by the World Health Organization.

A COVID-19 vaccine exemption bill is heading to Gov. Cox to be signed into law.

Nearly 12,000 children in Utah between the ages of 5 and 11 received the COVID-19 vaccine on Monday. Approximately 3% of children in Utah are now fully vaccinated.

The Utah State Legislature met in a special session sanctioned by Governor Spencer Cox to vote on a bill that contests the recent vaccine mandates put forth by the Biden Administration.