Happy New Year! It’s perhaps jarring to offer and receive such buoyant wishes given that 2022 is not off to an ideal start: as the Omicron variant continues to sweep the globe, many countries are logging record-high daily cases. More of my friends and family have COVID-19 right now than at any other point in the pandemic; in recent days, I’ve come to expect that anyone who tells me they have the sniffles will test positive. This made for a less-than-social holiday season, but fortunately, almost everyone I know has experienced only mild symptoms, which is in line with officials’ big-picture prognosis for this variant.
If you tuned out the news over the past week, here’s a look at some of the biggest pandemic-related stories you might have missed:
The virus is spreading faster than ever. As the New York Times points out, global cases are, for the first time, averaging more than 1 million per day. The U.S., Canada and many parts of Western Europe are leading the surge. Last week, the U.S. began averaging more than 265,000 new daily cases, an uptick driven by the Omicron variant. (The previous high, 250,000, was set last January.) And this dizzying spike doesn’t even capture the full picture. Because so many people are using at-home tests and not reporting positive results to health officials, cases are likely being undercounted.
Fortunately, Omicron appears to cause milder disease. Compared to earlier variants, like Delta, Omicron may inflict less damage to the lungs, according to new research on animals. (The findings have not yet been peer-reviewed or published in a medical journal.) And while hospitalizations are rising for children, Omicron is not more severe for this age group. “I think the important story to tell here is that severity is way down and the risk for significant severe disease seems to be lower,” Dr. David Rubin, a researcher at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, told the New York Times.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) cut COVID-19 isolation time to five days. Those who have the virus can stop isolating after five days if they’re no longer experiencing symptoms, the agency said, halving its previous recommendation. Why? Many more people will be testing positive during the Omicron spike, and shorter isolation periods will allow them to return to work or school sooner, ideally reducing widespread disruptions. However, after being met with tremendous backlash, the CDC is reportedly considering amending the new recommendations.
TODAY'S CORONAVIRUS OUTLOOK
More than 615 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been shipped to various U.S. states as of yesterday afternoon, of which more than 507.6 million doses have been administered, according to TIME's vaccine tracker. About 62% of Americans have been completely vaccinated.
More than 290.1 million people around the world had been diagnosed with COVID-19 as of 12 a.m. E.T. today, and more than 5.4 million people have died. On Jan. 2, there were 832,942 new cases and 2,956 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 55.5 million coronavirus cases as of 12 a.m. E.T. today. More than 826,000 people have died. On Jan. 2, there were 254,091 new cases and 244 new deaths confirmed in the U.S.
Here's how the country as a whole is currently trending in terms of cases:
And in terms of deaths:
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 Jan. 3, 12 a.m. E.T. To see larger, interactive versions of these maps and charts, click here.
WHAT ELSE YOU SHOULD KNOW
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today authorized booster doses of Pfizer-BioNTech’s coronavirus vaccine for 12- to 15-year-olds, who became eligible for vaccination in May. (Boosters had already been recommended for everyone age 16 and older.) CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky must now decide whether to sign off on the FDA’s recommendation, a ruling that’s expected this week. Also of note: The FDA said anyone eligible for a booster can now get one five months after their second shot instead of waiting six months.
German health minister Karl Lauterbach’s office was vandalized on New Year’s Eve, and he believes that protesters angry about coronavirus restrictions were responsible,per the Washington Post. “These people do not represent society, where the overwhelming part is really sticking together and trying to do everything against the pandemic,” he told the news agency DPA. Social gatherings in Germany have been limited to 10 people since late December, while nightclubs are closed and only those who are fully vaccinated can enter non-essential shops, restaurants and bars.
New York City is once again an epicenter of COVID-19 cases, but newly sworn-in Mayor Eric Adams is adamant that schools will remain open. “We want to be extremely clear,” Adams said at Concourse Village Elementary School in the Bronx today. “The safest place for our children is in a school building, and we are going to keep our schools open.” New York State logged more than 85,000 new coronavirus cases on Dec. 31, which is the highest one-day total there since the pandemic began.
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.
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Today's newsletter was written by Angela Haupt and edited by Elijah Wolfson.
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