Human beings are a remarkably adaptable species. By constructing clothing, shelter and other technology, we live on every continent and in all climates, and have journeyed from the bottom of the sea to the moon. Some of our greatest adaptations have been to counter illnesses: by developing techniques like handwashing, cleaning and vaccination, we’ve managed to extend the average human lifespan by decades.
Adaptation is indispensable for our species’ survival, because as we’ve learned during the COVID-19 pandemic, the natural world won’t stop adapting, either. Just as public health experts began to cautiously voice hopes that we may finally be starting to put the pandemic behind us, the Omicron variant has raised the possibility that the virus may be learning to evade our immune systems’ defenses, which were bolstered by vaccination. Throughout the pandemic, however, scientists have developed a better understanding of the virus—and are now altering our arsenal of vaccines to adapt to the new threat, as my colleague Alice Park reports.
Pfizer and its partner BioNTech, for instance, are testing their two-dose shot against Omicron, while developing an Omicron-specific vaccine that could be ready as soon as the spring. Moderna, meanwhile, is studying a stronger dose of its existing shot, along with an Omicron-targeted vaccine and a shot for other variants. Johnson & Johnson-Janssen and AstraZeneca are also testing their shots against Omicron. As Alice notes, vaccines may ultimately be how humans get ahead of the coronavirus’ efforts to adapt itself—as more people get vaccinated, the virus will have fewer opportunities to mutate into more dangerous variants.
At the same time, it’s important to remember that as individuals, we can adapt to new threats to keep ourselves and our families safe, too. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention yesterday advised all Americans over 18 to get a booster, with head Dr. Rochelle Walensky warning that the new variant “emphasizes the importance of vaccination, boosters, and prevention efforts needed to protect against COVID-19.” In the coming days, one of the most important strategies will be keeping up with the news: there’s a lot scientists don’t know about Omicron yet, and it’s important to closely monitor the latest developments, including how quickly the virus is spreading in your area.
More than 570.6 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been shipped to various U.S. states as of yesterday afternoon, of which more than 459.2 million doses have been administered, according to TIME's vaccine tracker. About 59.3% of Americans have been completely vaccinated.
More than 262.1 million people around the world had been diagnosed with COVID-19 as of 12 a.m. E.T. today, and more than 5.2 million people have died. On Nov. 29, there were 670,348 new cases and 7,576 new deaths confirmed globally.
Here's how the world as a whole is currently trending:
Here's where daily cases have risen or fallen over the last 14 days, shown in confirmed cases per 100,000 residents:
And here's every country that has reported over 5 million cases:
The U.S. had recorded more than 48.4 million coronavirus cases as of 12 a.m. E.T. today. More than 778,600 people have died. On Nov. 29, there were 208,745 new cases and 1,962 new deaths confirmed in the U.S.
Here's how the country as a whole is currently trending:
However, it's important to keep in mind that the recent dip is likely due to reduced reporting during the holiday weekend; historically, the U.S. has seen similar short-term, apparent drop offs that were later shown to be outliers.
That said, here's where daily cases have risen or fallen over the last 14 days, shown in confirmed cases per 100,000 residents:
All numbers unless otherwise specified are from the Johns Hopkins University Center for Systems Science and Engineering, and are accurate as of Nov. 29, 12 a.m. E.T. To see larger, interactive versions of these maps and charts, click here.
WHAT ELSE YOU SHOULD KNOW
The Omicron variant was present in the Netherlands days earlier than originally thought—before South Africa informed the World Health Organization (WHO) of its discovery, the Associated Press reports. A Netherlands health institute detected Omicron in samples from Nov. 19 and 23, while South Africa first alerted the WHO to the variant on Nov. 24. The findings add to the uncertainty about how widely the variant has spread.
Residents of Greece who are over age 60 will be charged 100 euros (more than $110) a month if they refuse to get vaccinated, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis announced today, per the AP. The government previously mandated vaccination for health care workers and the fire service, but the new rule is the country’s first general mandate. Greece, where over 61% of the population is vaccinated, has reported a record number of new cases in November; from Nov. 14 to 20, 47,046 cases were reported, the most in a seven-day period for the country, according to Johns Hopkins University’s tracker.
Chinese General Secretary Xi Jinping yesterday pledged to send a billion vaccine doses to African countries, the New York Times reports. Africa—where only 10.3 percent of the population has received at least one dose of a vaccine—is the least-vaccinated continent in the world, and scientists fear that the highly contagious Omicron variant is spreading quickly there. China had previously agreed to deliver 155 million doses to African countries, and has delivered roughly 107 million so far.
A Food and Drug Administration advisory committee is meeting today to discuss whether to recommend molnupiravir, an antiviral pill produced by Merck, for patients at greater risk of severe COVID-19 illness. The pill, which research has shown reduces the risk of hospitalization and death in high-risk patients, could soon be authorized in the U.S. if the committee votes to recommend it. If authorized, molnupiravir would be the first treatment patients can use at home to improve their symptoms.
WHO-backed vaccine sharing program COVAX has allocated 4.7 million AstraZeneca doses for North Korea, which is one of the only countries that hasn’t started a vaccination program,Reuters reports. COVAX previously offered the country about 2 million doses of the vaccine, but North Korea turned them down due to worries about side effects.
Thanks for reading. We hope you find the Coronavirus Brief newsletter to be a helpful tool to navigate this very complex situation, and welcome feedback at coronavirus.brief@time.com. If you have specific questions you'd like us to answer, please send them to covidquestions@time.com.
If you were forwarded this and want to sign up to receive it daily, click here.
Today's newsletter was written by Tara Law and edited by Angela Haupt.
