US records 869,187 COVID cases and 2,384 deaths in a single day

New cases of COVID-19 remain near record highs in the US, though many predictive models forecast that the Omicron wave will crest before the end of January.

On Tuesday the US recorded 869,187 new cases, down from the record set on Monday but higher than any other day since the pandemic began. The country’s seven-day rolling average of new cases stood at 565,042, a 114 percent increase from a week ago, according to a DailyMail.com analysis of data from Johns Hopkins University.

However, deaths remain relatively low, with 2,384 new deaths on Tuesday, a decline of 13 percent from week-ago levels on a rolling average basis. Hospitalizations are rising, but remain well below their peak last January.

The wildly transmissible Omicron variant, which appears milder particularly among vaccinated individuals, is fueling the surge in cases, but experts say the wave could burn out within the month and fall off quickly.

On Wednesday, Center for Disease Control director Rochelle Walensky confirmed that the agency estimates that the Omicron variant now represents 95% of all cases across the US, and Delta makes up the remaining 5%.

 ‘The sharp rise in cases and the emergence of the more transmissable Omicron variant emphasizes the importance of vaccinations and boosters,’ she said. 

‘This week, the FDA made several vaccine authorizations and the CDC followed these authorizations to make additional vaccine recommendations.’

This includes shortening the window between the second dose of a Pfizer vaccine and a booster shot to five months, down from six months. 

The latest news from South Africa, where Omicron was first identified, is a positive sign, as the wave there has collapsed completely, running out of people to infect after spreading through an estimated half of the population.

In the UK, which is a few weeks ahead of the US in the surge, more than 3 million people in England had COVID on New Years Eve, or roughly one person in every 15, the Office for National Statistics estimated. However, there were ‘early signs’ that infections are already peaking in London, the epicenter of the current wave.

Models from Columbia University and the University of Washington’s Institute of Health Metrics and evaluation project US peaks in late January before cases decline. 

‘It’s spreading much faster than we ever expected,’ Ali Mokdad, a professor of health metrics sciences at IHME, told the Washington Post. 

Researchers from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington expect the virus to peak at 2.8 million new cases a day nationwide by January 28

Researchers from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington expect the virus to peak at 2.8 million new cases a day nationwide by January 28

Meanwhile, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention sowed further confusion late Tuesday by declining to require a negative test result to complete its new five-day isolation protocol for asymptomatic cases, but recommending the tests in certain cases.

The agency had been pressured by health experts to institute a test requirement after it cut in half its guidance last week for people to isolate after a COVID-19 infection to five days from 10, but refused to do so. It said the move was based on science around transmission of the virus. 

‘It is confusing. It does feel like a bit of a ‘choose your own adventure,’ said Dr. Celine Gounder, an epidemiologist at NYU’s Grossman School of Medicine, in an interview with CBS Mornings

‘That kind of complicated algorithm might work in the ICU at a hospital, but it doesn’t really work well as public heath guidance.’

President Joe Biden, in an address to the nation on Tuesday, again blamed those who refused to get vaccinated.

The president emphasized that vaccines, booster shots and therapeutic drugs have lessened the danger for the overwhelming majority of Americans who are fully vaccinated.

‘You can still get COVID, but it’s highly unlikely, very unlikely, that you´ll become seriously ill,’ Biden said of vaccinated people.

‘There’s no excuse, there’s no excuse for anyone being unvaccinated,’ he added. ‘This continues to be a pandemic of the unvaccinated.’ He also encouraged Americans, including newly eligible teenagers 12 to 15, to get a booster dose of the vaccines for maximum protection.

The CDC on Tuesday said it now estimates that the highly contagious Omicron variant accounts for 95.4% of COVID cases

The CDC on Tuesday said it now estimates that the highly contagious Omicron variant accounts for 95.4% of COVID cases

Compared with last year, more Americans are employed, most kids are in classrooms, and instances of death and serious illness are down – precipitously so among the vaccinated.

‘We’re in a very different place than we were a year ago,’ said White House press secretary Jen Psaki when asked if the country had lost control of the virus.

Nevertheless, leaders of Chicago Public Schools canceled classes Wednesday after the teachers union voted to switch to remote learning due to the surge in COVID-19 cases.

Chicago has rejected a districtwide return to remote instruction, saying it was disastrous for children´s learning and mental health. But the union argued the district’s safety protocols are lacking and both teachers and students are vulnerable.

The Chicago Teachers Union´s action, approved by 73 percent of members, called for remote instruction until ‘cases substantially subside’ or union leaders approve an agreement for safety protocols with the district. 

Union members were instructed to try and log into teaching systems Wednesday, even though the district said there would be no instruction and didn’t distribute devices to students ahead of the union votes, which were announced just before 11pm Tuesday.

‘This decision was made with a heavy heart and a singular focus on student and community safety,’ the union said in a statement.

However, district officials blamed the union for the late cancellation, saying despite safety measures, including a high teacher vaccination rate, ‘our teachers are not willing to report to work.’

A sign on the fence outside of Lowell elementary school asks students, staff and visitors to wear a mask to prevent the spread of COVID-19 on Wednesday in Chicago, Illinois. Classes at all of Chicago public schools have been canceled today by the school district after the teacher's union voted to return to virtual learning, citing unsafe conditions in the schools

A sign on the fence outside of Lowell elementary school asks students, staff and visitors to wear a mask to prevent the spread of COVID-19 on Wednesday in Chicago, Illinois. Classes at all of Chicago public schools have been canceled today by the school district after the teacher’s union voted to return to virtual learning, citing unsafe conditions in the schools

Meanwhile, Walmart and Kroger raised the price of rapid home-testing kits by $5 to $10 after an agreement with the White House to sell the tests at a reduced price expired.

The test kits, still hard to find in some parts of the country, are now listed on Walmart’s website at $19.88, up from $14 in December. Kroger lists the kits for $23.99.

In Philadelphia, emergency room doctor Kit Delgado wrote on Twitter that almost all of the serious hospital cases he saw were among those who were either unvaccinated, or chronically ill and unboosted. 

‘Hardly saw anyone who had gotten a booster because if they caught Covid they’re likely at home doing fine or having regular cold/flu like symptoms,’ he wrote.

‘Unvaxxed: These are the folks that get sick and had to be hospitalized because they need oxygen, some even younger than me,’ he wrote.

‘Covid is all around. Chances are you’ll get it at some point. I share these observations in case you’re on the fence about whether you want a booster or your first shot, or if you are fully boosted, that you have some peace of mind and feel less anxious,’ wrote Delgado. 

Airlines continue to suffer massive disruptions due to staffing shortages, with crews out sick. On Wednesday morning more than 1,400 flights had been cancelled in the US, according to FlightAware.

As the disruption spreads, lawmakers in Congress are reportedly considering another possible round of COVID-19 stimulus spending for businesses, seeking to blunt the impact of the fast-spreading Omicron variant, the Washington Post reported on Wednesday.

Early efforts by Democratic and Republican lawmakers have focused primarily on authorizing billions of dollars to help businesses including restaurants, performance venues, gyms and minor league sports teams, the report said, citing four people familiar with the matter.

The White House declined to comment to the Washington Post, as did two lawmakers cited as behind the talks.

Such a measure, if passed by Congress and signed into law by Biden, would be the latest federal relief package as the ongoing novel coronavirus pandemic enters its third year, this time as the Omicron variant sweeps the country.

Biden, a Democrat, approved the $1.9 trillion ‘American Rescue Plan’ in March 2021.

Former Republican President Donald Trump approved nearly $900 billion in coronvirus-related funding into law in December 2020 as part of a larger $2.3 trillion pandemic aid and spending package.

Before that, Congress had passed bills allocating $3 trillion to combat the pandemic that shut down much of the United States in March 2020.  

source: dailymail.co.uk