COVID, Coronavirus, Omicron and Delta variants, and vaccine updates for 02-04-2022

This is Covid 411, the latest on Omicron and other COVID variants, and new hotspots for February 4th, 2022.

Sweden has joined European nations removing coronavirus restrictions. The Prime Minister said, “It’s time to open Sweden again.” And apparently that will happen February 9. People can go to restaurants with no limits on occupancy or operating hours, and requirements for vaccine certificates and masks on public transportation will also be gone. Russia is considering loosening some restrictions too, even though they’re facing a record-breaking surge of infections.

If you’re on Medicare Part B, you’ve got free COVID tests coming, which you’ll be able to get over the counter. Medicare will cover up to eight free tests every month, starting in early spring. That actually only now matches what private insurers have been required to provide to people on their plans, so the government is playing a bit of catchup. 

Again, people you may have been calling whack jobs for two years may have been right. Israeli scientists have gathered the most convincing evidence to date that upping levels of vitamin D does help protect COVID patients from serious illness or death. They say they can even predict how people will do if infected based just on their age and vitamin D levels. Vitamin D deficiency is endemic across the Middle East, including in Israel, where nearly four in five people are low on it.  

The Olympics are putting the spotlight on China, which for two years has been trying to keep the spotlight off of it, at least when it comes to the origins of the novel coronavirus. A group of international scientists is again calling for a "comprehensive international investigation" into COVID’s origins. That’s 20 scientists from the U.S., U.K., Germany, New Zealand, France, Australia, India, and Japan. They want a new spirit of "openness and mutual trust" as the games commence.

It'd be easy to make fun of the Mayor of Los Angeles, except we’ve all probably done what he did. Or at least thought about it. He posed for pictures at SoFi Stadium during the NFC Championship game without a mask. HIV-positive Magic Johnson is standing there with him. Naturally the criticism started flying and the Mayor’s response was that he was holding his breath, so there was zero risk. 

In the United States, cases were down 49%, deaths are up 35%, and hospitalizations are down 16% 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 Mississippi, Arizona, Ohio, Connecticut, South Carolina, and Pennsylvania. 

There are 28,915,847 active cases in the United States.

The five areas with the greatest increase in hospitalizations per capita: Alaska 47%. Wyoming 42%. Idaho 36%. And West Virginia and Montana 30%.

The top 10 areas with the highest number of recent cases per capita according to The New York Times: Nome Census Area, AK. Whitman, WA. Adair, OK. Franklin, WA. Craig, OK. Santa Cruz, AZ. Clay, KY. Okmulgee, OK. Taylor, FL. And Carbon, WY.

There have been at least 896,557 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 79.5%, Rhode Island at 79.1%, and Maine at 77.6%. The bottom 3 vaccinating states are Alabama at 49.5%, Wyoming at 49.9%, and Mississippi at 50.2%. The percentage of the U.S. that’s been fully vaccinated is 63.9%.

Globally, cases were up 2% and deaths up 40% over 14 days, with the 7-day average trending down since January 25. 

There are 74,925,987 active cases around the world.

The five countries with the most new cases: Brazil 286,050. France 274,352. The United States 255,994. Germany 240,218. And Russia 155,768. 

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