This is Vaccine 411, the latest coronavirus vaccine information for December 14th, 2021.

US health officials say Omicron does appear able to evade some of the immune protection of antibodies induced by vaccines but…preliminary data shows a booster raises protection high enough that it does well against the variant. Almost 80% of confirmed Omicron cases in the US are fully vaccinated. But about a third also had a booster. Omicron is now in 30 states.

The masks are back on in California. A rule has returned requiring people to wear masks indoors starting Wednesday through at least January 15. The per capita rate of new cases in California has jumped 47% in two weeks. As in the past, the state was unclear how the mandate would be enforced.

Turns out they weren’t kidding. The Air Force discharged 27 people for refusing to get the vaccine, making them the first service members to be removed for disobeying the mandate. November 2 was the deadline, and more than 1,000 airmen have refused the shot, and more than 4,700 are seeking a religious exemption.

The Supreme Court, and once you go there, there’s nowhere else to go, declined to block New York's vaccine mandate for health care workers, which does not allow for religious exemptions. Some health care workers sued the state saying the mandate violated their religious freedoms, but the highest court effectively said there are no religious freedoms in this matter.

A new AP poll shows Americans are worried about the Omicron variant, but not worried enough to do much about it. In fact, fewer say they’re regularly wearing masks or isolating compared to the first of the year. 36% are very or extremely worried they or a family member will be infected, that’s up from 25% in late October. 55% of those who are unvaccinated say they have little or no worry.

In the United States cases were up 49%, deaths are up 40%, and hospitalizations are up 22% over 14 days. The 7-day average of new cases has been trending up since November 29. 

The five states that had the most daily deaths per 100,000 are Michigan, Wyoming, Kentucky, West Virginia, and Arizona.  

There are once again over 10 million active cases in the United States, at 10,044,267.

The five states with the greatest increase in hospitalizations per capita: Connecticut 77%, New Jersey 64%, Delaware and Washington DC 61%, and North Carolina 59%.

The top 10 counties with the highest number of recent cases per capita according to The New York Times: Allen, KS. Seward, KS. Waseca, MN. Edgar, IL. Piatt, IL. Pike, IL. Jefferson, IN. Clay, IL. Vermilion, IL. And Fulton, PA.

There have been at least 798,710 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 75.2%, Rhode Island at 74.8%, and Maine unchanged at 74.1%. The bottom 3 vaccinating states are Idaho unchanged at 45.7%, Wyoming unchanged at 46.4%, and Alabama at 46.9%. The percentage of the U.S. that’s been fully vaccinated is 60.8%.

Globally, cases were up 6% and deaths down 2% over 14 days, with the 7-day average trending up since October 15.

There are 22,083,874 active cases around the world.

The five countries with the most new cases: The United States 95,343. The U.K. 54,661. Russia 29,558. Germany 28,804. And Turkey 18,796.

There have been at least 5,311,574 deaths reported as Covid-related worldwide.

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