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Daily Covid-19 Cases Outperform US Delta Wave

2021-12-25T22:20:15.122Z


Daily covid-19 cases have surpassed the delta wave. Hospitalizations so far have not been equaled.


What you need to know about the omicron variant 2:06

(CNN) -

As omicron, the highly contagious variant of the coronavirus, continues to spread across the U.S. this holiday season, the daily cases of covid-19 detected have dwarfed those driven by the delta variant during the summer.

Covid-19 hospitalizations are still relatively lower than the peaks from earlier this year, yet the situation may worsen as tens of millions of Americans remain unvaccinated, putting them at higher risk of complications and death.

  • The US has lagged behind all these American countries in the covid vaccination ranking

Health and government officials warned that the omicron variant threatens to overwhelm hospitals and health personnel.

"Although hospitalizations may be less, that does not mean zero. There are many places in the country where hospitalizations are now increasing," Dr. William Schaffner, a professor at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, told Poppy Harlow of CNN.

More than 69,000 Americans were hospitalized with COVID-19 on Christmas Eve, according to data from the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

Despite an increase of approximately 2% compared to last week, the figure remains below the peak of hospitalizations during the wave of the delta variant and is half of the January record.

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But experts note that hospitalization figures tend to lag over time as some illnesses worsen, and researchers are still working to determine whether omicron is less likely to cause serious illness.

Fauci: When receiving booster doses, your protection goes up 1:00

Twelve states have seen at least a 10% increase in COVID-19 hospitalizations in the past week compared to the previous, HHS data shows.

That's against the backdrop of a 48% increase in COVID-19 cases since last week, bringing the US average to 182,682 new daily cases, according to Johns Hopkins University.

Case numbers outpacing the summer surge is a sobering indication of the spread of omicron, as it quickly became the most prevalent variant in the US this week.

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    An expert gives his opinion on Christmas trips

And as the shortage of covid-19 tests led to long lines in many metropolitan areas before Christmas, parts of the country are reporting surges.

Covid-19 cases in Los Angeles County have nearly tripled in the past week, reaching 9,998 new cases for its nearly 10 million residents, public health data shows.

However, hospitalizations have remained stable.

New York state broke its own daily record for COVID-19 cases on Friday, when it reported 44,431 new cases, a 14% increase from Thursday.

"This is not a surprise," said New York Governor Kathy Hochul.

"This is a very, very contagious variant."

Hospitalizations in the state are also increasing, but at a slower rate.

Data on Friday showed 4,744 New Yorkers receiving COVID-19 treatment in hospitals, marking a 4.6% increase from Thursday.

Thousands of flights canceled on Christmas day

The spread of the omicron variant may also be to blame for the cancellation of thousands of flights around the world during the Christmas holidays, when millions of Americans travel to reunite with family and friends.

  • More than 5,000 flights canceled on Christmas weekend

At 11:00 am (Miami time) on Christmas Day, Delta Air Lines canceled nearly 300 flights and United Airlines recorded about 240 cancellations, according to tracking website FlightAware.

And while the weather may have been to blame for the cancellations, Delta and United have acknowledged that they have had staffing issues due to the omicron variant.

"More than 150 cancellations per day are expected on both Saturday and Sunday," Delta said in a statement Friday.

On Christmas morning, JetBlue Airways canceled 120 flights, representing 12% of its scheduled trips, according to FlightAware.

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Long lines in the US to get tested for covid-19 |

The lines to test for COVID-19 are long from New York to Miami-Dade County.

(ED JONES / AFP via Getty Images) →

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As the omicron variant spreads faster than any previous coronavirus variant, people have been training for hours to get tested for covid-19 prior to the holidays.

(ED JONES / AFP via Getty Images)

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Supply simply cannot meet demand, at a time when testing is more important than ever.

(ED JONES / AFP via Getty Images)

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"Testing is the foundation because without it, there is no way for people to isolate themselves," said Mara Aspinall, a professor in the Arizona State University College of Health Solutions.

(Spencer Platt / Getty Images)

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In addition to the usual demand for tests, the current increase comes from people with symptoms, with the flu and other viruses floating around, wanting to know if they have covid-19.

(Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images)

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Others want to try it out before getting on a plane or spending time with their family over Christmas.

(PEDRO UGARTE / AFP via Getty Images)

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Cases in the US have skyrocketed dramatically in some states, with an average of 121,707 new covid-19 cases being reported each day, according to Johns Hopkins University.

(Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images)

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Covid-19 cases are increasing at a much faster rate in parts of the Northeast, Midwest and South of the country.

(Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images)

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"In the past few days, we've seen a more than 200% increase in demand for testing across the county," said Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava.

(Joe Raedle / Getty Images)

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Levine Cava said the county will distribute thousands of home test kits and is laying the groundwork to offer Pfizer antiviral pills as soon as they are approved and available.

(CHANDAN KHANNA / AFP via Getty Images)

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Miami-Dade reports a total of 702,309 covid -19 cases, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

(CHANDAN KHANNA / AFP via Getty Images)

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Los Angeles has more than 1.5 million reported COVID-19 cases, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

(FREDERIC J. BROWN / AFP via Getty Images)

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This week, Joe Biden announced the purchase of 500 million home rapid tests and a plan to distribute them for free through a website.

(CHANDAN KHANNA / AFP via Getty Images)

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The 500 million new tests will be available next month and will reach Americans by mail.

(JOSEPH PREZIOSO / AFP via Getty Images)

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For their part, Walgreens and CVS limited purchases of COVID-19 tests at home as demand increased.

(Spencer Platt / Getty Images)

Isolation periods are shortened

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced Thursday a reduction in the isolation period for healthcare workers who test positive for COVID-19.

As long as they are asymptomatic and then test negative, the time period can decrease from ten days to seven.

  • Fauci says that reducing the isolation period for the fully vaccinated is evaluated

"That isolation time can be further shortened if there is a staff shortage," the CDC said in a statement, noting the increase in COVID-19 cases due to omicron.

The agency also recommended that health workers do not have to self-quarantine "after high-risk exposures" to the virus if they are vaccinated and boosted.

Quarantine refers to those who were exposed but not diagnosed with an infection, while isolation refers to those who tested positive.

Meanwhile, New York State on Friday launched a more expansive isolation policy, allowing fully vaccinated essential workers who test positive for COVID-19 to return to work after five days if they do not show symptoms and if they do not. they have had a fever for 72 hours, the governor said.

Hochul did not explicitly define who is considered an essential worker, but explained that it includes those who work in healthcare, sanitation, supermarkets, pharmacies and restaurants.

CNN medical analyst Dr. Leana Wen said Friday that she supports the new isolation rules.

"I think it's really important for us to do this, because at this point we are facing a potential collapse of our essential infrastructure," Wen said.

"This is why it is so important to healthcare workers that we preserve the capacity to function of our hospitals, but also the traffic and grocery stores that arrive this holiday season. And many other essential workplaces they may have a critical shortage of workers. "

Biden: They can enjoy the holidays if they are fully vaccinated 5:42

Preventable hospitalizations cost billions, according to estimates

As hospitals and health officials prepare for omicron, additional research is being done looking at the earlier stages of the pandemic.

During the delta surge that began over the summer, there were about 690,000 preventable COVID-19 hospitalizations in the United States that cost nearly $ 14 billion, according to new estimates from the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF). .

About 1.2 million hospital admissions were recorded between June and November 2021, according to HHS data.

For its analysis, the KFF used data from the CDC to estimate that 85% of those hospitalizations were among the unvaccinated.

  • Latinos who continue to fight due to covid-19 in New Jersey are on high alert by omicron

Hospitalizations in which Covid-19 was not the main cause, as well as those that could not be prevented with vaccines, were excluded, since they are not 100% effective.

Using various studies, the KFF estimated that the average hospitalization costs about $ 20,000 and preventable COVID-19 hospitalizations a total of $ 13.8 billion over the course of six months.

"The monetary cost of treating people not vaccinated against covid-19 is borne not only by patients but also by society in general, including public programs financed by taxpayers and private insurance premiums paid by workers, companies and individual buyers, "wrote the analysts.

"Although, of course, there was a societal cost to developing and distributing vaccines, vaccines save the US health system money in the long run by avoiding costly hospitalizations."

CNN's Deidre McPhillips, Evan Simko-Bednarski, Andy Rose, Michael Nedelman, Veronica Stracqualursi and Stella Chan contributed to this report.

coronavirus variant coronavirus

Source: cnnespanol

All news articles on 2021-12-25

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