Hopes for a normal holiday season are being dashed as the Omicron (B.1.1.529) COVID-19 variant continues to sweep across the United States.
As of today, the variant has been detected in 45 states, and is causing a surge of case activity in the Northeast, where New York City has emerged once again as a virus hot spot.
In an interview on National Public Radio, outgoing National Institutes of Health director Francis Collins, MD, PhD, warned that the country could see up to 1 million daily infections if Americans don't take the Omicron variant seriously.
"Even if it has a somewhat lower risk of severity, we could be having a million cases a day if we're not really attentive to all of those mitigation strategies," he said.
COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths lag behind initial infections by about 3-4 weeks, so the true impact of Omicron will not be felt until the new year. But hospitals in many parts of tech country are already strained from sustained Delta (B1617.2) activity.
The United States reported 70,815 new COVID-19 cases yesterday, and 137 deaths, according to the Johns Hopkins COVID-19 tracker. The 7-day average of new daily cases is 131,903, with 1,289 deaths, according to the Washington Post tracker.
Cases have risen 12% over the past week, deaths are up 4%, and hospitalizations have remained flat.
Moderna says booster fights Omicron
Moderna announced this morning that a 50-microgram booster dose of its vaccine raised Omicron neutralizing antibody levels roughly 37-fold compared to pre-boost levels, and a 100-microgram dose raised them 83-fold.
The data come from 20 sera samples. Moderna executives said the news was encouraging for Americans who have been boosted with a third dose of Moderna, and also said they will continue working on an Omicron-specific booster.
"Moderna will continue to rapidly advance an Omicron-specific booster candidate into clinical testing in case it becomes necessary in the future. We will also continue to generate and share data across our booster strategies with public health authorities to help them make evidence-based decisions on the best vaccination strategies against SARS-CoV-2," Stéphane Bancel, chief executive officer of Moderna said in a press release.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) COVID Data Tracker shows 61.5% of Americans are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, 72.9% have received at least one dose of vaccine, and 29.8% of fully vaccinated Americans have received a booster dose.
More Americans testing for COVID-19
Waiting times for COVID-19 tests are growing in parts of the United States as concerns over Omicron and the coming holidays drive up demand, the Wall Street Journal reports. Demand is expected to rise even further in the weeks ahead.
In New York City, Mayor Bill DeBlasio said yesterday that the city will open more testing sites amid the spike in COVID-19 cases, CBS News reports. He also called on the White House to invoke the Defense Production Act to provide more at-home tests and monoclonal antibodies.
Other COVID headlines
- Boston today announced that, starting Jan 14, proof of vaccination be needed to enter some indoor spaces.
- Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced Friday that he has mobilized 1,050 members of the National Guard to assist with COVID-related staffing issues, according to Axios.
- Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Sen. Cory Booker said Sunday they have both tested positive for the coronavirus, the Washington Post reports. Both were fully vaccinated, and Warren had received a booster shot.
