Today the Biden administration's COVID-19 response coordinator, Jeff Zients, said the United States would be shipping 9 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine to Africa in the coming days, as the global threat of the Omicron (B.1.1.529) variant continues to grow.
Yesterday, President Joe Biden said the White House would be sending another 2 million doses of vaccine around the world in the next 100 days.
"If we want to protect the American people and our economy, we must defeat the virus everywhere," Zients said during a press conference today.
Omicron in 4 more states
The United States is one of roughly 35 nations that have confirmed cases of the Omicron variant, first identified last week in South Africa.
Yesterday and today Nebraska, New York, and Hawaii, as well as Missouri, confirmed their first cases of the variant strain of COVID-19, joining Colorado and Minnesota as states with confirmed cases.
Health officials in Hawaii say their single case of Omicron has occurred in a person with no travel history, suggesting the variant strain is spreading through the community. The patient is an unvaccinated Oahu resident.
The most recently confirmed case was in Missouri, in a St. Louis City resident who had recently traveled within the country. The patient's sample was sequenced by a commercial lab, and state officials are awaiting confirmation from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
"The Delta [B1617.2] variant is still the predominant variant present in Missouri, currently representing well over 99 percent of the cases. Citizens are urged to complete their vaccination series for COVID-19 and get their booster," said Donald Kauerauf, director of the state's health department.
So far most US cases have been related to travel, both international and domestic. Beginning next week, new travel rules for people entering the United States will take effect. All inbound travelers—regardless of nationality and vaccination status—will need to show a negative COVID-19 test taken within 24 hours of departure.
CDC recommendations stay the same
CDC Director Rochelle Walensky, MD, MPH, said at the press briefing that the recommendations to protect against COVID-19 remain the same, regardless of the circulating variant.
"The best protection is the layered mitigation strategies, including vaccination, getting a booster dose, and wearing a mask," she said.
The United States reported 140,875 new COVID-19 cases yesterday and 3,800 deaths, according to the Johns Hopkins COVID-19 tracker. The new 7-day average of daily cases is 86,400, according to Walensky.
Hospitalizations stand at 6,300 per day, and daily deaths are 860 per day. Federal data show the 7-day average of hospital admissions with COVID-19 has climbed 18% in the past 2 weeks, Bloomberg reports. Hospitalizations are on the rise in 39 states and the District of Columbia.
In addition to reporting five cases of Omicron today, New York reported its highest single-day total of COVID-19 cases (11,300) since January, along with new months-long highs in hospitalizations and deaths, NBC New York reports.
