These days, the dominant narrative is that Americans are over the pandemic. That’s true for a lot of people—but not for everybody. During this third holiday season of COVID-19, I decided to explore what celebrations look like for people who are still trying to avoid the virus due to medical risk factors, fears of long-term health consequences, or desires to protect others.
On behalf of TIME, the Harris Poll ran a national survey about COVID-19 and the 2022 holidays—and the results surprised me. While about three-quarters of respondents plan to celebrate with people outside of their household, 55% said COVID-19 is shaping their plans in some way. Of those who plan to celebrate in person, more than a third will limit their guest lists, about a quarter will try to maintain social distancing, and more than 10% will require masks or hold events outside, according to the poll. Those are minorities, but pretty significant ones.
When I interviewed people who are very committed to taking precautions this holiday season, many of them expressed sadness about missing the big parties or family events they loved prior to 2020. Some have lost touch with relatives who aren’t willing to mask up, or who never got vaccinated. Others have young children who have never met some of their family members.
But I was also touched by some of the new traditions that have been born from the pandemic. Claire, who lives in the South, described a Zoom scavenger hunt she and her friends organized for their kids last Christmas. Kara, who lives in Delaware, told me about “tailgate Thanksgivings,” in which families meet outside, swap home-cooked dishes, then return home to eat them together over video. While these new traditions may not replace the old ones, they show that it’s possible to stay safe and connected—even in year three of a pandemic.
Nearly 638.9 million people around the world had been diagnosed with COVID-19 as of 8 A.M. today, and over 6.6 million people have died. On Nov. 22, there were 551,594 new cases and 1,602 new deaths confirmed globally.
Here's how the world 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:
And here's every country that has reported over 10 million cases:
The U.S. had recorded more than 98.3 million coronavirus cases as of 8 A.M. today. Nearly 1.08 million people had died. On Nov. 22, there were 34,678 new cases reported in the U.S., and 552 deaths were confirmed.
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 Nov. 23. To see larger, interactive versions of these maps and charts,click here.
WHAT ELSE YOU SHOULD KNOW
Heading into Thanksgiving weekend, the Biden Administration kicked off a new push to get Americans boosted with bivalent shots that target currently circulating variants, including BA.5. The Administration will increase access to the shots by opening pop-up clinics and funding community-health organizations that facilitate vaccination. Tens of thousands of people in the U.S. still test positive for COVID-19 each day, and respiratory viruses including the flu and RSV are also spreading widely this year. The booster campaign is meant to at least tamp down a potential COVID-19 surge fueled by holiday gatherings, thereby preventing unnecessary deaths, the Administration said in a statement.
Real-world data published yesterday suggest the new Omicron boosters provide additional protection against COVID-19. Researchers from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention compared people who’d received two or more original vaccine doses with those who’d also received the bivalent booster. The booster’s relative efficacy ranged from about 30% to more than 50%, depending on age and vaccination timing—meaning those who got it had an extra layer of protection against infection and symptomatic disease.
It’s gotten increasingly difficult to track U.S. COVID-19 case counts now that many people test themselves using at-home diagnostics—the results of which usually aren’t reported to public-health agencies. To help solve that problem, the National Institutes of Health this week launched a new website where people can voluntarily report their rapid test results. It’s called Make My Test Count, and it allows people to report results from any testing brand.
China continues to take aggressive steps to curb a spike in COVID-19 cases, the New York Times reports. Many schools and businesses in Beijing have been ordered to close, parts of the city of Shijiazhuang are under five-day lockdown orders, and residents of some Shanghai neighborhoods are required to take regular tests. Some 23,000 cases have been reported nationwide in the last 24 hours, according to the World Health Organization.
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 Jamie Ducharme and edited by Elijah Wolfson.
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