The highly infectious Omicron variant is sweeping the world, driving increasing cases of COVID-19 and placing pressure on an already-beleaguered healthcare system. Per a USA Today analysis of Johns Hopkins University data, the United States is reporting an average of more than 700,000 new COVID-19 cases per day.
Children of the COVID era flocked back to school in various nations on January 10 as the Omicron strain spread exponentially and tennis superstar Novak Djokovic’s battle to play laid bare global passions over vaccines.
COVID-19 hospitalizations in the United States were poised to hit a new high as early as January 7, according to a Reuters tally, surpassing the record set in January 2021 as the highly contagious Omicron variant fuels a surge in infections.
Swabbing the nose with a rapid antigen test will not reliably detect the Omicron variant in the first few days of an infection, so manufacturers should seek U.S. approval to allow users to safely collect samples from the throat as well, according to an infectious diseases expert.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control has not yet seen a signal that the Omicron variant of COVID-19 is more severe in young children despite an increase of the hospitalizations, the agency’s director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said at a press conference on January 7.
The newly discovered COVID-19 variant, dubbed IHU (also known as B.1.640.2), is the latest in a long string of variants as the SARS-CoV-2 virus inches closer to either becoming endemic or burning itself out.
The more infectious Omicron variant of Covid-19 appears to produce less severe disease than the globally dominant Delta strain, but should not be categorized as “mild”, World Health Organization (WHO) officials said on January 6.
Top U.S. infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci warned on January 5 against complacency about the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, saying the sheer number of cases could strain hospitals despite signs of lower severity.
The American Medical Association (AMA) on January 5 criticized the government’s guidelines on quarantine and isolation in the United States, saying the guidance was “confusing” and risked further spread of COVID-19.
The United States cannot be complacent about the Omicron variant of the coronavirus despite signs of its lower severity compared to the Delta variant, top U.S. infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci said on January 5.