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2 hours ago
17 suspected omicron cases after a Christmas party
17 cases of omicron are suspected in a covid-19 outbreak after a Christmas party at a company in Oslo, Norway, a health official told CNN on Friday.
About 125 people attended the party and more than 60 people tested positive for COVID-19, with one confirmed case of omicron so far, said Caroline Bremer, the communications chief for Oslo's health department.
"We expect more cases and we are doing the work that we can to confirm and trace," he told CNN.
The event was attended by people from "several surrounding municipalities" as well as from Oslo, and health officials coordinated contact tracing, according to a statement issued by the Norwegian Institute of Public Health on Thursday.
15 hours ago
At least 5 US states have reported omicron cases
At least five US states have reported cases of the omicron variant as of Thursday night.
Health authorities in California, Colorado, Hawaii, Minnesota and New York have announced cases.
In New York, authorities said Thursday they had identified five cases of the variant and not all of them are from travelers, indicating community spread.
However, they claimed that they were all mild.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul, accompanied by the city's mayor, Bill de Blasio, and the city's health commissioner, Dr. Dave Chokshi, said that "they appear to be minor cases."
He added that he expects more cases to emerge in the coming days.
11 hours ago
Five cases of the omicron variant identified in New York
By Laura Ly
They confirm five cases in New York of the variant omicron 1:15
New York authorities said Thursday they had identified five cases of the omicron variant in the state and not all of them are from commuters, indicating community spread.
However, they claimed that they were all mild.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul, accompanied by the city's mayor, Bill de Blasio, and the city's health commissioner, Dr. Dave Chokshi, said the five confirmed cases are not life-threatening and " appear to be minor cases. "
He added that he expects more cases to emerge in the coming days.
"We are not changing our protocols, we are staying where we are, but we are making sure to work together and encourage people to get tested, to get tested often, to get vaccinated. Again, that's it. our best defense, "said Hochul.
Four of the five confirmed cases were identified in New York City residents.
Another case was identified in a Suffolk County resident.
"The omicron variant is here in New York City and in New York state. We are in a situation where there is community spread. This is not just because of people traveling," Chokshi said.
Chokshi added that although the Suffolk County woman tested positive on November 30, the sequencing results did not reveal the presence of the variant until Thursday.
He added that about 15% of PCR tests in New York City undergo sequencing.
De Blasio said New York City has "the strongest test and tracking team in the United States" and is committed to keeping the public informed.
When asked if Hochul plans to institute stronger mandates to combat COVID-19 as a result of these cases, the governor said that the state is encouraging the use of masks in closed spaces and vaccination, but said that "they are not going to overreact. "
He also said that the contacts of the five cases have begun to be traced and that it is too early to know if any of them are related.
CNN's Liam Reilly contributed to this report.
10 hours ago
Omicron is a concern, but the US is in a "different place" in the pandemic
By Jen Christensen
The omicron variant has people worried, but now there are tools to protect people and the US needs to redouble its use, US Secretary General of Health Dr. Vivek Murthy said Thursday.
“We are in such a different place now than we were a year ago because we have learned so much more.
We have vaccines available.
We have a lot more tests available, and what we need to do to get through this winter is make sure we are doubling down on our vaccination strategy, ”Murthy told CNN.
Scientists are still trying to determine if the new variant is more communicable, causes more serious disease, and if vaccines work well against it.
"One thing we do know is that we are doing whatever it takes to get those answers," Murthy said.
"It will take several weeks."
Murthy said scientists have clues to how well tests work to detect omicron infections and how well vaccines work to protect people against omicron infections.
Scientists are "increasingly confident," he said, that existing tests will detect this version of the virus, but will continue to investigate to be 100% sure.
"There are a lot of things that we don't know, but there are a lot that we do know," Murthy said.
"We do know that from this variant, like other variants, we can protect ourselves with masks, with hand hygiene, with distancing, the same tools that worked last year and will continue to work throughout this year."
Murthy added that people need to be pushed.
"We feel very confident, Wolf, that you will get some protection from the vaccine, but it is especially important that you get a booster," Murthy said.
12 hours ago
New travel rules for the United States
Just when we thought America's travel requirements were starting to stabilize, the omicron variant enters the picture.
According to the announcement made this Thursday by President Joe Biden of the new measures aimed at curbing the pandemic, all international travelers entering the country will have to undergo a test within 24 hours before leaving for the United States.
Read more about the new travel rules in this note.
13 hours ago
This is how they discovered the omicron variant in South Africa
Researchers from South Africa discovered the omicron variant by noting that the coronavirus samples had unusual mutations and a gene was missing, a sign of change.
Since then, the covid-19 cases have increased steadily.
Read more about how the find was in this note.
14 hours ago
Pfizer Seeks FDA Clearance for Booster for 16-17 Year Olds
By Jamie Gumbrecht
Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla tweeted that the company has asked the US Food and Drug Administration to expand the emergency use authorization of booster doses of its COVID-19 vaccine to include 16 and 17 year olds.
"We hope to provide strong protection for as many people as possible, particularly in light of the new variant," Bourla tweeted on Tuesday.
Boosters are already authorized in the US for all adults six months after their second dose of the Pfizer / BioNTech or Moderna vaccines, or two months after a single dose of Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
The FDA and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also approved the booster combination.
The delta variant is the dominant strain circulating in the United States, but President Joe Biden and U.S. health officials encourage vaccinated individuals to get boosted after the omicron variant is detected in several countries. , including the United States.
This week, the CDC reinforced its recommendation that all adults should be boosted.
When Pfizer initially requested FDA approval for booster doses, it requested full approval of boosters for everyone 16 years of age and older.
Instead, the FDA authorized boosters for a more limited group of adults.
Subsequently, the authorization was extended to all adults and additional vaccines.
The two-dose Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine is currently licensed for use in persons 5 to 15 years of age and is approved for persons 16 years of age and older.
15 hours ago
Biden continues to push for booster shots
By Maureen Chowdhury and DJ Judd
President Biden continued to urge all eligible Americans to receive booster shots during his remarks from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, Maryland, where he outlined his administration's COVID-19 response plan.
"We are expanding our national booster campaign to provide booster shots to all eligible adults. Our doctors and scientists believe that people who receive a booster shot are more protected than ever against COVID-19," Biden said.
Biden said it will provide "paid time for federal employees" to receive a booster shot.
"They don't cut their pay. I'm asking other private sector employers to do the same. Now, I don't want them to have to choose between a paycheck and getting extra protection from a booster shot," Biden said.
As the fate of the administration's vaccine requirements languishes in the courts, Biden said today's announcements "will not expand or add to those mandates," calling it "a plan that all Americans can, hopefully support, and it should be - and it should get bipartisan support, IMHO. It should unite us, not keep separating us. "
Biden acknowledged the imminent threat of the omicron variant, about which little is known, and told Americans: “I want to reiterate, Dr. Fauci and Dr. Collins believe that if you are concerned about the omicron variant, the best you can to do is be fully vaccinated and then get the booster shot when you're eligible. "
Biden also said the administration is preparing contingency plans for the vaccines.
“We do not yet believe that additional measures are needed, but to be prepared if necessary, my team is already working with officials from Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson to develop contingency plans for other vaccines or boosters, and I will also direct the FDA and CDC to use the fastest process available without taking safety shortcuts to renew those vaccines, reviewed and renewed, reviewed and approved if necessary. "
16 hours ago
The White House anticipates more cases of the omicron variant in the US.
By Maegan Vazquez
(Credit: Anna Moneymaker / Getty Images)
The Biden administration expects to see more cases of the omicron variant of the coronavirus, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Thursday.
He also reiterated earlier comments from public health officials, saying that the recently put in place travel restrictions would not prevent the variant from entering the US, but would give the country some time to prepare.
“We anticipate that there will be more cases and we know that will be the case.
And that is why we are focused on everything possible to combat the virus and the variant, "said Psaki during the White House press conference.
"There is a lot we still don't know about the variant," Psaki stressed.
“It could be less deadly.
It could be more.
We do not know".
"The President ... continues to believe that if we build on the bold steps we have taken to date, if we continue to make vaccines more accessible, in increasing testing, increasing use of masks, we can go back to a normal version. in this country.
That's what everyone wants and everyone would like to see, "he added.
17 hours ago
Biden announces new measures to combat covid-19
President Joe Biden on Thursday announced a series of new actions aimed at fighting the COVID-19 pandemic and protecting Americans from the newly discovered delta and omicron variants.
In a speech at the National Institutes of Health, Biden detailed the administration's nine-front plan, a day after officials confirmed the first recorded case of the omicron variant in the United States, in California.
"It is with the combined advice of all of you that we developed this plan, and it does not involve shutdowns or lockdowns, but rather widespread vaccinations, boosters, testing and much more," Biden said.
Read more about this news here.
18 hours ago
Norway investigates possible outbreak of more than 50 cases of omicron after major event
By James Frater
Concern about the appearance of the omicron variant of coronavirus.
Norway is investigating a potential outbreak of the omicron variant of the coronavirus after one person tested positive and more than 50 people tested positive for -19 following an event in Oslo.
The Norwegian health authority (NIPH) said Thursday that the only omicron case was "confirmed through genome sequencing" and said "now work is under way to map how many people have contracted the omicron infection."
More cases are expected, it added in a statement.
All reported cases were fully vaccinated people, yet at least half of those invited to the event were infected, according to Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre.
"This is serious. And I understand that people are upset," he said in a statement. The event, described as large, had attendees from several other municipalities around Oslo. "Effective screening is underway to limit transmission routes. and prevent major outbreaks, ”said NIPH.
Støre has called for new measures to try to contain the spread of the omicron variant in light of the outbreak.
"Although we do not have enough knowledge about the new virus now, the government believes that new measures need to be introduced," he said.
“It is necessary to take measures to limit the generalized infection.
As before, it is about buying time to obtain more knowledge about this variant, about how it is transmitted and what type of disease it brings ".
19 hours ago
Finland reports its first omicron variant case
By Sharon Braithwaite
Finland reported its first case of the omicron variant of the coronavirus on Thursday.
The person was traveling from Sweden, the Finnish health institute said in a press release, adding that other people in the same group also tested positive for COVID-19, but “have not yet been confirmed as cases of the omicron variant.
"
The group returned to Finland from Sweden, the institute said.
"Local authorities are tracking exposed people and took preventive measures in the hospital districts of Varsinais-Suomi, Helsinki and Uusimaa and Pohjois-Savo," he added.
18 hours ago
Peru on alert for positive omicron passenger who traveled to Japan
Hernando Cevallos, Minister of Health of Peru.
(Photo: Leonardo Fernandez / Getty Images)
The Peruvian Ministry of Health carries out in the city of Piura a follow-up to the people who had contact with the traveler who, upon returning to Japan, tested positive for the omicron variant of coronavirus, the institution reported on its Twitter account on Thursday.
The man got married in the Andean country and held a party with 14 people, who are under surveillance by the authorities.
The Minister of Health, Hernando Cevallos, recommended that the population be vaccinated against covid-19 with the two doses and maintain the other biosafety measures, they added.
“A new case of this omicron variant was detected in Japan, which was a person who came from Peru, it is a person of Japanese descent who was here in our country.
We have tried and continue trying to contact her, we already know her data, we know where she has lived in Peru, we are tracking the probable contacts that she may have had here in our homeland, "the minister explained.
18 hours ago
All 14 positives in the Netherlands were vaccinated
The 14 people who tested positive for the omicron coronavirus variant on two flights from South Africa to the Netherlands last Friday had been vaccinated, a spokesman for the local health board tells CNN.
"All the people in whom the omicron variant was found on Friday were vaccinated," Willem van den Oetelaar, a spokesman for the Kennemerland Board of Health, told CNN in a statement.
The Dutch government confirmed earlier this week that 14 of the 624 people who arrived in the Netherlands on Friday tested positive for the omicron variant of the coronavirus.
Of the total of 61 people who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, "about 90% of all the people who tested positive have told us they were vaccinated," van den Oetelaar said.
18 hours ago
They confirm the second positive case of omicron in the United States.
El Departamento de Salud de Minnesota anunció este jueves que identificó un caso de covid-19 causado por la variante ómicron en un residente que había viajado recientemente a la ciudad de Nueva York. Se trata del segundo caso de la nueva variante del coronavirus identificado en Estados Unidos, y las autoridades sanitarias esperan encontrar más a medida que continúe la secuenciación genética en todo el país.
El caso de Minnesota corresponde a un hombre adulto que vive en el condado de Hennepin y había sido vacunado. Desarrolló síntomas leves el 22 de noviembre y se sometió a pruebas el 24 de noviembre. Los síntomas de la persona ya se han resuelto, según un comunicado de prensa del departamento de salud del estado.
La persona había asistido a la convención Anime NYC 2021 del 19 al 21 de noviembre.
El primer caso de Estados Unidos se identificó en California el miércoles. Desde que la Organización Mundial de la Salud designó la variante ómicron como preocupante, las autoridades sanitarias han dejado claro que esperan encontrar casos en Estados Unidos. Sin embargo, la variante delta del coronavirus sigue siendo la variante dominante a nivel mundial y en Estados Unidos.
Las autoridades sanitarias están instando a la gente a vacunarse contra el covid-19, o a recibir un refuerzo si son aptos para ello. Otras medidas como las mascarillas, el lavado de manos, el distanciamiento físico y la ventilación seguirán funcionando contra la variante ómicron.
Hace 19 horas
La OMS cuestiona las prohibiciones de viaje por ómicron
Las prohibiciones de viaje no mantendrán los casos de ómicron fuera de los países, pero si se ponen en marcha, deben utilizarse bien para ganar tiempo, dijo este jueves a CNN la doctora Margaret Harris, portavoz de la Organización Mundial de la Salud.
"El Dr. Fauci tiene razón en que si se hace algo tan drástico como una prohibición de viajar, hay que utilizarla bien para ganar tiempo", dijo Harris sobre los comentarios del principal experto en enfermedades infecciosas de EE.UU. acerca de la eficacia de las prohibiciones temporales de viajar.
"Pero sabemos que no impedirá que se produzcan casos. Normalmente, cuando los países son conscientes de que existe un riesgo de importación, éste ya se ha producido".
La duración de la prohibición de viajar debe aprovecharse para intensificar la vigilancia, lo que incluye estudiar cómo y dónde se harán las pruebas a las personas, y qué ocurrirá cuando haya casos positivos, cuál es la situación en los hospitales, cómo se puede acelerar la vacunación y cómo asesorar a las personas y ayudarlas a protegerse, añadió.
La OMS ha emitido orientaciones contra la prohibición de viajar.
"La razón por la que no somos partidarios de las prohibiciones de viaje no es solo porque se perjudica a los países a los que se cierran las fronteras, sino que también se limita la propagación de cosas críticas como los materiales científicos que se necesitan, los suministros humanitarios que se necesitan para responder a algo como este brote", dijo Harris.
También habló del desfase que existe entre los países que se cree que tienen ómicron y los que realmente lo tienen.
"Probablemente hay muchos más países, esperamos, que ya tienen casos de la variante ómicron", dijo. "Es simplemente una cuestión de pruebas".
Hace 19 horas
Primer paciente con ómicron en EE.UU. evoluciona favorablemente
La Dra. Susan Philip, funcionaria de salud de San Francisco, dijo este jueves a John Berman, de CNN, en el programa New Day, que el paciente con el primer caso confirmado de la variante ómicron en Estados Unidos se encuentra bien, y que aún no hay signos de mayor transmisión del virus.
El miércoles se anunció el primer caso confirmado de la variante ómicron en Estados Unidos.
"Este primer individuo se encuentra bien", dijo Philip, cuando se le preguntó por el primer paciente.
"Estamos muy contentos de oírlo y han contribuido absolutamente a nuestro conocimiento en San Francisco, y a nivel nacional, porque llegaron a nuestra atención, informaron de sus síntomas y nos llamaron a salud pública para que pudiéramos iniciar el proceso de laboratorio para detectar el primer caso en EE.UU.".
Preguntada por cualquier indicio de transmisión por parte del paciente, Philip dijo que todavía están en proceso de investigación, y que querían notificar a sus colegas a nivel estatal y a los Centros de Control y Prevención de Enfermedades de EE.UU., así como al público, lo antes posible.
Dijo que aún era pronto, pero que las medidas que están tomando en San Francisco, como las vacunas de refuerzo, el enmascaramiento continuo en interiores y la realización de pruebas a la gente, son clave para evitar la propagación.
"No hay señales todavía", dijo Philip, cuando se le pidió que aclarara si había alguna señal de transmisión o casos adicionales relacionados con éste. "Y, ya sabes, creo que es importante, como has señalado, que este sea el primer caso detectado, es casi seguro que no es el primer caso en los Estados Unidos".
Hace 19 horas
Ómicron podría provocar más de la mitad de los casos de covid en Europa
AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS - DECEMBER 02: The passenger of a flight from South Africa is tested for the Coronavirus at Amsterdam Schiphol airport on December 2, 2021 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The Netherlands and other nations worldwide temporarily banned most travellers from South Africa after a new variant of Covid-19 named Omicron was discovered. Omicron has sparked worries around the world that it could resist vaccinations and prolong the nearly two-year Covid-19 pandemic. (Photo by Pierre Crom/Getty Images)
La variante ómicron podría ser la responsable de "más de la mitad" de las infecciones por coronavirus en la Europa en los próximos meses, según el Centro Europeo para la Prevención de Enfermedades y el Control (ECDC, por sus siglas en inglés).
Un comunicado de prensa del ECDC de este jueves dijo que los datos preliminares basados en la modelización matemática de ómicron "sugieren una ventaja sustancial sobre la variante delta".
"Cuanto mayor sea la ventaja de crecimiento de ómicron sobre delta y cuanto mayor sea su circulación en la UE/EEE, menor será el tiempo esperado hasta que ómicron cause la mayoría de las infecciones por SARS-CoV-2".
Andrea Ammon, director del ECDC, señaló que sigue habiendo un "gran número de factores" que "pueden cambiar la dinámica de la situación", y añadió la advertencia de que las pruebas que tiene el ECDC hasta ahora son limitadas.
A la vista de estos datos limitados, se requiere un "enfoque de varios niveles" para retrasar la propagación de ómicron, dijo el ECDC.
Deploying vaccines to the unvaccinated and booster doses to those over 40 remains "imperative," Ammon stressed.
Measures of physical distancing, adequate ventilation in confined spaces, and working from home if you feel unwell are also examples of helpful measures, according to Ammon.
The ECDC advised that any temporary travel-related measures should be "carefully considered in light of the latest epidemiological situation" and "regularly reviewed as new evidence emerges."
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