Latest News
AS USA
– Surgeon General says that Omicron cases have yet to peak in the United States
– New data shows many people with Omicron are contagious for more than five days
– China says that due to the Omicron variant, tickets to the Winter Olympic Games will not be sold to the public
– Site to order at home rapid antigen tests in the US will go live on 19 January at COVIDTests.gov
– Omicron "will find just about everybody", Dr Fauci says
– CDC confirms N95 masks are the safest
– When can you get your covid-19 booster vaccine after an infection with Omicron?
– Public health experts discuss possibilities of long covid from the Omicron variant.
– Vaccine mandates for workplaces with over 100 employees struck down by the Supreme Court
– Experts believe California will soon see its Omicron peak.
– Is it normal to experience armpit pain after receiving the vaccine?
Key websites:
– World Health Organisation
– The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
– The Lancet
CORONAVIRUS US
Can the Omicron variant of covid-19 cause long-term symptoms?
SUPREME COURT
Why has the Supreme Court blocked Biden's vaccine mandate for businesses?
CORONAVIRUS US
Coronavirus California: how long will the omicron crisis last according to the Hospitals?
COVID-19
What is Bill Gates' prediction on Covid after Omicron?
US NEWS
What did the Supreme Court decide about Biden's vaccine mandates?
CORONAVIRUS US
Is the Omicron variant saturating hospitals?
CORONAVIRUS US
Is the Deltacron variant more contagious than Omicron?
Coronavirus US
What side effects does the covid-19 vaccine have on children?
WORLD NEWS
US coronavirus: what is the Deltacron variant and where has it emerged?
US NEWS
Coronavirus US: does covid-19 increase the risk of diabetes in children?
US NEWS
How long after having covid-19 can you get your booster vaccine?
CORONAVIRUS US
Coronavirus California: how long will the omicron crisis last according to the Hospitals?
New infections of covid-19 are soaring in California, currently around four times the number during last winter’s surge. The fast-spreading Omicron variant is the culprit, which is around four times as infectious as the original strains of the virus and up to twice as contagious as the Delta variant.
Public health officials and experts think the end of the surge may be in sight. If the Omicron surge hasn’t peaked already, then it should do so in the next week or so. The number of hospitalizations lags behind new case numbers, but the stressed hospital system in California could see relief by the end of the month.
Read the full story
CORONAVIRUS US
Can the Omicron variant of covid-19 cause long-term symptoms?
The fast-spreading covid-19 Omicron variant has pushed new infection rates sky-high leaving researchers scrambling to unlock its secrets. So far, evidence suggests that the strain that was first discovered in mid-November causes less severe illness than the Delta variant, but it is still dangerous.
Much of the knowledge on Omicron has come from observations of those who have been infected but there are still no scientific studies. Although the virus behaves somewhat differently to prior covid-19 variants, health experts warn that people should assume that Omicron too can cause long covid until proven otherwise.
Read more
Hong Kong hamsters face cull after Covid-19 infection
Authorities in Hong Kong have ordered for 2,000 hamsters and other small rodent pets to be culled after suspicions that they could be responsible for infecting a 23-year-old pet shop worker with Covid-19. Eleven samples from hamsters at the Little Boss pet shop tested positive for the Delta variant of Covid-19, and while there is no scientific evidence to show that pets can transmit the SARS-CoV-2 virus to humans, the rodents will be killed as a precaution.
Moscow mayor extends curbs and WFH to April
The mayor of Moscow said on Tuesday he was extending Covid-19 home-working rules and guidance to protect elderly people until 1 April as the city braces for a sharp rise in infections with the Omicron variant.
"Given the rapid and wide spread of Omicron, it is clear that the workload of outpatient clinics will increase sharply," Mayor Sergei Sobyanin said. "For clinics to cope with their increased work load, more doctors have been put on duty… We have a few difficult weeks ahead of us."
Moscow imposed rules from late October to the end of February requiring people over 60 to stay at home unless they were vaccinated or had recovered from Covid, and obliging businesses to move at least 30% of staff to remote work. Sobyanin said he was extending the restrictions to 1 April.
Omicron has pushed Covid-19 case figures to record highs in parts of western Europe and the United States but the variant has been slower to hit Russia, where daily Covid-19 cases have fallen from a peak of 41,335 registered in early November. On Tuesday it reported 31,252 new cases and 688 deaths in the previous 24 hours. "As of this morning, there were 1,682 cases of Omicron in Russia, but we understand that there are many more," Deputy Prime Minister Tatiana Golikova said at a televised meeting of the government coronavirus taskforce.
Moderna CEO says data for Omicron-specific shot likely available in March
Moderna Inc's vaccine candidate against the Omicron variant will enter clinical development in the next few weeks and the company expects to be able to share data with regulators around March, CEO Stephane Bancel said on Monday.
"The vaccine is being finished … it should be in the clinic in coming weeks. We are hoping in the March timeframe to be able to have data to share with regulators to figure out next steps," Bancel said at the World Economic Forum's virtual Davos Agenda conference.
Moderna is also developing a single vaccine that combines a booster dose against covid-19 with its experimental flu shot. Bancel said the best case scenario was the combined Covid/flu vaccine would be available by the fall of 2023, at least in some countries.
"Our goal is to be able to have a single annual booster so that we don't have compliance issues where people don't want to get two to three shots a winter."
Merck signs supply deal with UNICEF for 3 mln courses of Covid-19 pill
Merck & Co Inc and partner Ridgeback Biotherapeutics said on Tuesday they had signed an agreement with the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) to supply up to 3 million courses of their Covid-19 antiviral pill. Merck would supply the pill, molnupiravir, to UNICEF through the first half of 2022 for distribution in more than 100 low- and middle-income countries upon regulatory authorizations, the companies said.
The pill received authorization from the US Food and Drug Administration in December and has also been authorized in several other countries including India, Mexico and the UK. Many countries have signed supply deals with Merck for the drug. Merck said in January it expects molnupiravir to be effective against the highly contagious Omicron variant, which has driven a surge in Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations across the world.
Spain's Covid-19 booster program slower than expected
Spain is one of the most vaccinated countries in the world in the fight against Covid-19 with just over 90% of the population over the age of 12 having receiving both doses of the vaccine. The booster program however is going at a much slower pace. Booster shots are not mandatory but are available for anyone over 40 who has had two shots of the Pfizer, Moderna or Astrazeneca vaccines or one shot of the Janssen vaccine.
Nine out of 10 citizens aged over 70 have had a third dose of a vaccine, while for the 60-69 group the figure is 84%. More than half of the 50-59 group has also had a booster shot, as have more than a third of those aged 40-49. Among children aged between five and 11, 44% have had a first dose of the pediatric vaccine so far.
Read the full story here
Denmark ends lockdown as cases hit new record
Denmark registered a record number of coronavirus infections on Monday, as cinemas, museums and other cultural institutions reopened after a month-long covid-19 lockdown.
The Nordic country registered 28,780 new cases in the space of 24 hours and the number of coronavirus-related hospitalisations rose to 802, the highest in a year.
Still, health authorities said earlier this month that the now-predominant Omicron variant was milder than initially thought and that around 29% of those in hospital were there due to reasons other than covid-19.
Since a peak of 82 on 6 January, the number of covid-19 patients in intensive care has fallen steadily to 52 on Monday.
As a consequence, lawmakers last week agreed to ease restrictions, including reopening theatres, cinemas, museums, entertainment parks and botanic gardens, and allow limited spectators at indoor and outdoor sports events.
Denmark has high support for covid-19 vaccination, with four out of five having received two jabs and just over half of the population with three jabs.
Thailand to lower COVID-19 alert, ease curbs as infections slow
Thailand will lower its Covid-19 alert level and is considering easing more restrictions to boost its economy, its health minister said on Tuesday, in response to a slower infection rate.
Among measures being considered are establishing more 'sandbox' areas for tourists, who can skip quarantine if they stay in specified areas for seven days and undergo two Covid-19 tests. Nightclubs, pubs and bars will remained closed for now, however, Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul told reporters, adding the Covid-19 alert level will be lowered to 3, from 4, on the government's 5-level system.
New Sandbox areas could include Chiang Mai, Chonburi, Khon Kaen and Samut Prakan provinces, he said. The scheme, a calibrated move to rebuild Thailand's decimated tourism sector, currently operates in Phuket, Phang Nga, Krabi and Koh Samui. Anutin on Monday said he would propose the return of a 'Test and Go' scheme that allows free movement to tourists who pass one Covid-19 test on arrival.
Thailand has recorded 2.3 million cases of Covid-19 and almost 22,000 deaths overall. Nearly two-thirds of its residents are vaccinated and 13.5% have received boosters.
French covid hospitalisations see biggest jump since Nov 2020
The number of people with covid-19 in French hospitals rose by 888 to 25,775, the health ministry said on Monday, the biggest one-day increase since early November 2020 – before the start of the country's vaccination campaign.
The last time the number of covid patients was over 25,000 was on 17 December 2020. Health ministry data on Monday also showed that the number of people with covid-19 in intensive care units rose by 61 to 3,913, after being flat to stable for four days.
France's Institut Pasteur said last week that it expected to see a peak of new Omicron variant coronavirus infections in mid-January, followed by a peak in hospital admissions in the second half of January.
On Sunday, the ministry reported more than 278,000 new infections, which was a decline of 6% against a week earlier and the first week-on-week fall this year.
On Sunday, the seven-day moving average of new infections fell to 294,452, after setting a record high of just over 297,000 on Saturday. That was the first fall time since mid-November, when new infections averaged around 10,000 per day.
Mayara da Silva Alves receives a dose of Pfizer vaccine as part of the first group of children under 12 years of age to be part of the immunization campaign against covid-19 in Brazil.
As Omicron cases increased in the last week, State Governments decided to start vaccinating children between 5 and 11 years old.
Photo by Alexandre Schneider/Getty Images
US NEWS
How long after having covid-19 can you get your booster vaccine?
While new data is showing the booster shot does not necessarily slow down the transmission of the more contagious Omicron variant, it has been shown to reduce the severity of illness. However, for millions avoiding ineffective has not been possible before they were able to get their third shot.
Read our full coverage for the details as well as information on how long a person is contagious with the Omicron variant.
Japan PM plans stronger Covid curbs for Tokyo, 12 other regions
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said on Tuesday he planned to impose a state of quasi-emergency, meaning stronger Covid-19 curbs on dining and gatherings, on 13 regions including Tokyo from 21 January to 13 February. He said the government had halted a programme where those vaccinated or with negative test results would be exempted from coronavirus restrictions as virus cases jumped.
Good morning and welcome to our live blog for Tuesday 18 January 2022, covering the latest news on the spread of the Omicron variant of Covid-19, with a particular focus on the situation in the United States.
.
0 comments
Para poder comentar debes estar registrado y haber iniciado sesión. ¿Olvidaste la contraseña?
International editions
Apps
Follow us
© DIARIO AS, S.L. – Valentín Beato, 44 – 28037 Madrid [España] – Tel. 91 375 25 00
