Brace yourself, here’s a story about how more vaccine shots may not always be the answer. An Israeli hospital’s preliminary research suggests a fourth dose of vaccine adds only limited defense against Omicron. That makes things a little tricky politically because Israel just started giving people over age 60 fourth shots.

The US Surgeon General says don’t get too enamored of the good news you’ve been hearing. He says the Omicron wave started later in some parts of the country, so we shouldn't be looking for a peak in those places, and the next few weeks will be tough. He says the problem is we’re running out of healthcare workforce and the crush of COVID patients is still expected to get substantially higher.

Even where there are still doctors on the job, the stress on the system means those doctors are starting to get worn out and make mistakes. That’s what’s happening in England. A survey shows 25% of doctors in the NHS are so tired that their ability to treat patients has become impaired. In at least seven cases, patients were actually harmed.

Brace yourself again, an honest admission from a government bureaucrat. The Director of the CDC told the Wall Street Journal the messaging and communication around the pandemic should have been clearer. She said, "I think what I have not conveyed is the uncertainty in a lot of these situations."

Going to the Winter Olympics in Beijing? No you’re not. Tickets won’t be sold to the general public in response to the pandemic. However, if you’re a friend of Communist Chinese authorities, you might still have tickets distributed to you. But even then, you have to be a resident of China's mainland and in compliance with COVID countermeasures.

In the United States, cases were up 98%, deaths are up 57%, and hospitalizations are up 61% over 14 days. The 7-day average of new cases has been trending down since January 14. 

The five states that had the most daily deaths per 100,000 are Indiana, New Mexico, Michigan, Maryland, and Pennsylvania.

There are 23,591,203 active cases in the United States.

The five areas with the greatest increase in hospitalizations per capita: Puerto Rico 159%. The U.S. Virgin Islands 151%. Alabama 144%. Louisiana 141%. And Florida 129%.  

The top 10 areas with the highest number of recent cases per capita according to The New York Times: West Feliciana, LA. Pitkin, CO. Teton, WY. Greensville, VA. Covington, MS. Tom Green, TX. Uvalde, TX. Kodiak Island Borough, AK. Rolette, ND. And Yazoo, MS.

There have been at least 851,449 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 78.5%, Rhode Island at 77.8%, and Maine at 76.8%. The bottom 3 vaccinating states are Wyoming at 48.2%, Alabama at 48.4%, and Mississippi at 49.1%. The percentage of the U.S. that’s been fully vaccinated is 62.8%.

Globally, cases were up 102% and deaths up 17% over 14 days, with the 7-day average trending up since October 15.

There are now over 56 million active cases around the world, at 56,773,810.

The five countries with the most new cases: The United States 389,553. India 222,579. Spain 110,489. Argentina 102,458. And France 102,144.

There have been 5,544,691 deaths reported as Covid-related worldwide. 

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