COVID, Coronavirus, Omicron and Delta variants, and vaccine updates for 01-04-2022

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

Another Covid variant has reportedly been found in France. The mutant strain has 46 mutations. About 12 cases have been spotted near Marseille, with the first linked to travel to Cameroon. But there’s little sign it’s outcompeting the dominant Omicron variant, which now makes up more than 60% of cases in France, and the strain has not spread rapidly since its discovery December 10.

It's a little chaotic out there as schools and workplaces try to figure out what to do now that the holidays are over. For workplaces, the problem is so many people out sick with COVID they simply can’t open or get the work done. For schools it’s the now familiar debate between in person and remote learning. Some schools are doing neither because too many teachers and substitutes are sick. 

It’s booster time for kids as young as 12. The FDA approved Pfizer’s booster for that age whereas before, it was only available to those 16 and above. Now a CDC panel has to decide later this week whether or not to recommend the boosters but when has the CDC ever not recommended vaccine shots? Kids should be able to get the booster as early as five months after their last dose.

We can argue as to whether or not they’re essential personnel, but COVID has a lot of people in Congress sick as well. It’s been recommended they go to a “maximal telework posture.” The seven-day average rate of infection at the Capitol's testing center went from less than 1% to more than 13%. Breakthrough cases have not led to any deaths or hospitalizations among lawmakers or their staff.

If you think your Starbucks barista is more essential than Congress, the company’s U.S. workers must now be fully vaccinated by February 9 or face weekly testing, and hopefully they’ll get the names right on the tests. Starbucks’ 228,000 U.S. employees must disclose their vaccination status by January 10. 

In the United States, cases were up 238%, deaths are down 3%, and hospitalizations are up 41% 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 Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Arizona.

There are now over 14 million active cases in the United States, at 14,517,726.

The five areas with the greatest increase in hospitalizations per capita: Puerto Rico 617%, Louisiana 313%, Washington, DC 252%, the Virgin Islands 235%, and Florida 222%.  

The top 10 areas with the highest number of recent cases per capita according to The New York Times: Miami-Dade, FL. Pitkin, CO. Summit, CO. Essex, NJ. New York City, NY. Nassau, NY. Vega Baja, PR. Baltimore, MD. Charles, MD. And Prince George’s MD.

There have been at least 827,726 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 77.4%, Rhode Island at 76.5%, and Maine at 75.8%. The bottom 3 vaccinating states are Wyoming at 47.5%, Alabama at 47.6%, and Mississippi at 48.1%. The percentage of the U.S. that’s been fully vaccinated is 61.9%.

Globally, cases were up 127% and deaths down 14% over 14 days, with the 7-day average trending up since October 15. 

There are now over 32 million active cases around the world, at 32,130,741.

The five countries with the most new cases: The United States 408,874. The U.K. 157,758. Spain 93,190. Italy 68,052. And France 67,461. 

There have been at least 5,448,758 deaths reported as Covid-related worldwide. 

For the latest updates, subscribe for free to Covid 411 on your podcast app or ask your smart speaker to play the Covid 411 podcast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.