The coronavirus will hit millions of Americans in a “viral blizzard” within a few weeks as infections from the Omicron variant pile on top of Delta, an expert predicts, reports CNN.
Increased hospitalization
Already, hospitalizations are rising as the holiday season gets into full swing. Long lines for Covid-19 testing formed Thursday in metro areas, including New York, Boston and Miami.
Two indicators are up about 40 percent in the last month, according to data from Johns Hopkins University: the seven-day average of new cases topped 120,000; and the total number of hospitalizations stands at more than 68,000.
The seven-day average for deaths was 1,286 as of Thursday, an 8% increase from a month ago, the data show.
Omicron Vs Delta variant
The Delta variant remains a problem. And Omicron, with its high transmissibility, could strike millions more soon, said Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota.
“We’re really just about to experience a viral blizzard,” Osterholm told CNN’s Erin Burnett on Thursday. “In the next three to eight weeks, we’re going to see millions of Americans are going to be infected with this virus, and that will be overlaid on top of Delta, and we’re not yet sure exactly how that’s going to work out.”
Health care system
Omicron will cause a serious strain on the health care system as more workers will likely get sick, Osterholm said, even though most cases from Omicron seem to be mild.
Other signs include:
- New Orleans says it will require kids ages 5 to 11 be vaccinated before entering public schools, restaurants and other businesses.
- Colleges and universities are returning to online learning.
- Sports leagues are postponing games due to players testing positive.
- Broadway shows are canceling performances.
“For the health care workers, the hospitals, for people who are sick, even sick with things other than Covid, that represents a real danger and a real threat,” Slavitt told CNN’s Don Lemon on Thursday.
Vaccine rollout
Andy Slavitt, a former senior pandemic adviser to President Joe Biden, said that while tools such as vaccines are now available rather than during last winter’s surge, “a very rough January” lies ahead due to Omicron.
Getting vaccinated or boosted remains key as millions of Americans get ready for holiday travel.
Recent lab studies of blood taken from vaccinated people and exposed to Omicron showed the variant can evade some protection offered by two doses of Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine, but a booster dose restores much of that immunity, researchers reported Wednesday. The Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine has shown similar results.
While successes are being found in some treatments pre- and post-infection, the rates of severe disease and death for those vaccinated continue to prove much lower even with data showing vaccines’ reduced effectiveness against certain variants.
Further development of vaccines
Continued research into additional drugs to fight coronavirus is ongoing.
Merck’s Covid-19 antiviral, molnupiravir, lowers the risk of hospitalization or death in high-risk unvaccinated adults by 30%, according to a statement issued after publication of its clinical trial data in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Among people who got the treatment, the risk of hospitalization and death was 6.8%, compared with 9.7% among people who got a placebo, the study said. There was one death in the treatment group, compared with nine deaths in the placebo group.
New Orleans to require vaccinations for children 5 to 11
Beginning on January 3, children ages 5 to 11 will be required to provide proof of vaccination or a negative Covid-19 test before entering bars, restaurants and other businesses, New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell announced in a press conference Thursday.
“Children ages 5-11 will be required to show proof of at least one vaccine dose. Beginning in February, the requirements will expand to two doses,” she said.
The mandate will also be extended to children in New Orleans public schools.
New Orleans Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Henderson Lewis, who also spoke at the press conference, said students ages 5 to 11 will be required to be vaccinated by Feb. 1.
Did you subscribe to our daily Newsletter?
It’s Free! Click here to Subscribe
Source: CNN
