So what’s really going on at hospitals? We hear Omicron is mild yet hospitalizations are so high systems are breaking. Mostly, the pain is from staff shortages, a combination of self-imposed shortages due to vaccine mandates and staff home sick with Omicron. ERs are getting crushed with people trying to just get tested for COVID. And two-thirds of patients in some places, test positive while in the hospital for something else. Hospitals are saying COVID patients aren’t as sick as in previous surges, ICUs aren’t as full, and ventilators aren’t needed as much.

In Chicago it’s a win for teachers and additional losses for students and their parents. Classes were cancelled for a second day after failure to satisfy the teacher’s union around safety protocols. The union wants remote learning, but Chicago’s public school leaders say that didn’t work and schools can safely stay open with protocols in place.

It certainly won’t help boost booster getting, but U.S. health officials said they are not changing the definition of “fully vaccinated” to include boosters. They’re just urging Americans to stay “up to date” on their protection by getting booster shots. That means federal vaccination mandates for travel or employment won't require a booster.

The number of Omicron breakthrough infections no longer supports the notion this is a pandemic of the unvaccinated, but France’s President went on the attack anyway. Using French vulgarity, Emmanuel Macron said his strategy is to keep pressuring the unvaccinated. Lawmakers are currently debating whether or not to ban the unvaccinated from leisure activities like eating out.

And the Grammy goes to…we’ll have to wait til later to find out. The 64th annual industry self-celebration event is postponed due to Omicron. It was going to be January 31, now there’s no telling when it will happen. Also, the famed Sundance Film Festival is moving all its in-person events in Utah online.

In the United States, cases were up 254%, deaths are down 3%, and hospitalizations are up 51% over 14 days. The 7-day average of new cases has been trending up since December 14.  

The five states that had the most daily deaths per 100,000 are Wyoming, Ohio, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and New Hampshire.

There are 15,951,678 active cases in the United States.

The five areas with the greatest increase in hospitalizations per capita: Puerto Rico 613%, Louisiana 336%, the U.S. Virgin Islands 314%. Florida 264%. And Washington, DC 258%.  

The top 10 areas with the highest number of recent cases per capita according to The New York Times: Pitkin, CO. Miami-Dade, FL. Essex, NJ. Summit, CO. New York City, NY. Nassau, NY. Vega Baja, PR. Putnam, NY. Teton, WY. And Passaic, NJ.

There have been at least 832,115 deaths in the U.S. recorded as Covid-related.

The top 3 vaccinating states by percentage of population that’s been fully vaccinated: Vermont at 77.5%, Rhode Island at 76.8%, and Maine at 76.5%. The bottom 3 vaccinating states are Wyoming at 47.5%, Mississippi at 47.9%, and Alabama at 48%. The percentage of the U.S. that’s been fully vaccinated is 62.2%.

Globally, cases were up 156% and deaths down 11% over 14 days, with the 7-day average trending up since October 15. 

There are now over 35 million active cases around the world, at 35,993,713.

The five countries with the most new cases: The United States 704,661. France 332,252. The U.K. 194,747. Italy 189,109. And Spain 137,180. 

There have been at least 5,464,589 deaths reported as Covid-related worldwide. 

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