The US Tuesday broke the previous record for most daily cases as infections accelerate. And most experts are saying Omicron is going to make for a very difficult January. One CNN medical analyst thinks the US could see half a million cases a day sometime over the next week to 10 days. The rate of booster doses has actually fallen in recent weeks. Only 32.7% of the U.S.’s fully vaccinated population is boosted.

As it often has, the new CDC guidance around isolating and quarantining has left many Americans confused and many medical experts critical. They want to know why let people leave isolation without getting tested in the middle of a wintertime spike in cases. They think the answer might be pressure from the private sector.

Speaking of the CDC, it’s revised down its estimates for how many US infection are caused by Omicron. Revised it down by a lot. They now say it accounts for about 59% of all cases, not 73% like it said previously. Want some more good news? Another leading immunologist in the UK says Omicron is “not the same disease we were seeing a year ago” and high Covid death rates in the UK are “now history.” A small CDC study shows people who had Covid and later get reinfected with Omicron appear to experience fewer symptoms. And a special envoy for the World Health Organization says that in pandemics, the expected pattern is the virus becomes more transmissible but less serious, and Omicron might be a step toward our relatively safe coexistence with the virus.

If you’re having trouble finding a rapid test to see if you have Omicron, don’t stress too much about it. The FDA says that when it comes to detecting the new variant, they’re more likely to give you a false negative anyway.

So how do you know if you have a cold, the flu, or COVID? An attending physician at Children's National Hospital tells CNN the early signs are alike for all three. Flu symptoms include fever, fatigue, body aches, sore throat, shortness of breath and vomiting or diarrhea.

Covid-19 infection can be distinguished by headaches and a dry cough. Maybe loss of taste and smell though that’s not common with Omicron. Night sweats are more common with Omicron. The best way to determine if it might be COVID is to factor in possible exposure you’ve had.

In the United States cases were up 105%, deaths are down 5%, and hospitalizations are up 6% 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 Alaska, New Mexico, Michigan, Arizona, and Ohio.

There are 11,981,273 active cases in the United States.

The five areas with the greatest increase in hospitalizations per capita: Puerto Rico 225%, Washington DC 111%, New Jersey and Louisiana 60%, and Florida 57%.  

The top 10 areas with the highest number of recent cases per capita according to The New York Times: Pitkin, CO. Summit, CO. Essex, NJ. Hopkins, TX. Eagle, CO. Washington, DC. Miami-Dade, FL. San Juan, PR. Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands. And New York City, NY.

There have been at least 820,708 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 77.3%, Rhode Island at 76.1%, and Maine at 75.6%. The bottom 3 vaccinating states are Wyoming at 47.3%, Alabama at 47.5%, and Mississippi at 48.1%. The percentage of the U.S. that’s been fully vaccinated is 61.8%.

Globally, cases were up 48% and deaths down 11% over 14 days, with the 7-day average trending up since October 15.

There are 25,972,119 active cases around the world.

The five countries with the most new cases: The United States 312,939. France 179,807. The U.K. 129,471. Spain 99,671. And Italy 78,313.

There have been at least 5,413,846 deaths reported as Covid-related worldwide.

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