The US and other developed countries are considering a second booster for their populations, but a co- creator of the vaccine warns that they can't vaccine the planet every four to six months.
Andrew Pollard is the director of the Oxford Vaccine Group. Pollard said that the vaccine effort should target the vulnerable.
Since the first non-trial doses of the COVID vaccine were jabbed in late 2020, Pollard estimates that 9 billion doses have been given worldwide. The effort to keep everyone protected from infections must be stopped.
Society has to open up. He told the Telegraph that winter is not the best time for infections because there will be a period when we open. "That's a decision for the policymakers, not the scientists."
Pollard told Sky News that it's too early to say if future coronaviruses will be milder than the ones that emerged earlier in the year.
"I don't think we can be sure that future versions of coronaviruses, the sons and daughters of omicron, will be causing mild disease," he said.
Also in the news.
The last seven days saw almost double the number of new infections as the CDC Director said. She said hospitalizations were up.
700 employees are being fired by the Mayo Clinic because they didn't comply with the vaccine policy. Less than 1% of the clinic's workforce were dismissed.
Starbucks says it will have to have weekly COVID testing if it doesn't have fully vaccined workers by February 9. The coffee giant said it was acting in response to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which issued a vaccine-or-test requirement for companies with more than 100 employees.
The World Health Organization does not consider a new coronaviruses variant, dubbed IHU, to be of interest or concern.
A teacher in New York was arrested after she injected a teenager with a vaccine without their consent. According to a news release, LauraParkerRusso was charged with unauthorized practice of a profession.
The US has recorded more than 57 million confirmed COVID-19 cases and more than 830,000 deaths. There were 295.5 million cases and 5.4 million deaths in the world. The CDC says that more than 200 million Americans are fully vaccine free.
The US has seen a surge in coronaviruses cases, how omicron is shaping the epidemic.
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She was not a vaccine patient. That was the problem. A politician in Southern California has died.
The death of a Southern California politician who opposed vaccine mandates has caused a heated debate on her husband's Facebook page.
Kelly Ernby, a Republican who ran for the state Assembly in 2020 and planned to seek a seat again this year, died this week at the age of 46.
Ernby was against government-mandated vaccinations for children in the past, and she was against mandating COVID vaccines in December.
Her death from the disease caused a flurry of responses on social media, and some commenters expressed their sympathies to her husband. One person wrote, "If your Wife would have been vaccined, she'd still be alive.''
No one's words were more poignant than those of Mattias Ernby, who wrote that Kelly Ernby was not a vaccine patient. That was the problem.
The Supreme Court is hearing a challenge to federal mandates.
The Supreme Court is set to hear oral arguments on Friday, at a time when the omicron variant is causing infections to soar. While the justices have turned away challenges to state and local COVID-19 vaccine mandates, the Biden administration is all but guaranteed to face a tougher reception. State and local governments have the power to regulate public health. The federal government is different.
Brandon Trosclair, a second-generation grocer and former Republican candidate for legislative office in Louisiana, filed a suit against the federal government.
It was wrong to put that burden on the employer and the employee. Here you can read more.
John Fritze.
Should we be worried about Flurona?
The Texas Children's Hospital announced this week that a child had been exposed to the two viruses. The patient is at home and doing well. Health experts expect to see more flu cases.
Dr. Frank Esper is a physician at the Cleveland Clinic Children's Center for Pediatric Infectious Diseases. We have medicines for those two viral pathogens.
Adrianna Rodriguez.
The entertainment industry is struggling.
Entertainment specials and events are being canceled or postponed because of the surge in COVID-19 cases. The Critics Choice Awards show has been postponed. The New York Film Critics Circle awards ceremony was moved to Monday. The show was canceled after the star tested positive. Broadway is struggling. The musical will take a break from January 10 to March 14. Here you can read more.
Mrs. Doubtfire has been in development for six years. "We are doing everything in our power to keep the show going on Broadway." We can afford an extended run if we take this break.
Experts say that designer cloth masks don't cut it with omicron.
Health experts say cloth face masks don't do much to prevent tiny virus particles from getting into your nose or mouth and aren't effective against the omicron COVID variant. Omicron spreads quickly and efficiently, making it extremely transmissible even through thick fabric face masks. The experts are urging the public to use three-ply surgical masks, which offer more protection against the highly contagious variant. Germany and Austria have surgical masks requirements in public.
Linsey Marr, a researcher at Virginia Tech, told NPR that masks won't cut it with omicron.
The person is Gabriela Miranda.
The spring semester is online at many schools.
The new strain of the coronaviruses is reviving old problems for millions of college students. The first weeks of the spring semester will be offered virtually. Digital instruction is still a possibility according to those who are offering an in-person start. The University of Alabama reintroduced its masking requirements after it was rolled back.
Chris Marsicano, a professor at Davidson College, leads the College Crisis Initiative, which is studying how colleges respond to the swine flu.
He said that this is not like last fall, where going online for a little bit could mean going online forever. All indications are that a return to normal operations will follow any delay or remote start.
Chris Quintana.
Hospitalization data can provide some hope.
The average number of hospital admissions last week was 14,800, up from the week before but still below the peak of 16,500 per day a year ago. Public health experts believe that the vaccine's continued effectiveness at preventing serious illness, even against omicron, as well as the possibility that the variant does not make most people as sick as earlier versions, is why the vaccine's lower hospitalization numbers.
The case count is not the most important number according to Dr. Wafaa El-Sadr, director of ICAP, a global health center at Columbia University. She said the U.S. should focus on preventing illness, disability and death instead of focusing on vaccination.
Chicago teachers voted for remote learning.
Chicago Public Schools canceled Wednesday classes for 330,000 students after teachers voted to switch to remote learning. The Chicago Teachers Union voted to stop in-person learning and work remotely until January 18th. The union wants the district to require negative tests from students and staff before they return to school.
The union said that the decision was made with a heavy heart and focused on student and community safety.
The vote constituted an illegal work action, according to the mayor. She said that a shift back to virtual learning would affect children of color more than others. CTU leadership should not be allowed to shut down the entire school system.
Grace Hauck and Christine Fernando are related.
Is it positive for COVID-19? Do you need to be isolated?
Millions of Americans will likely go through the process of testing positive for COVID-19 in the coming weeks.
There is a difference between being isolated and being in a group. Quarantine means keeping someone away from others who have chronic illnesses. According to the CDC, isolation means keeping someone who is sick or positive for COVID-19 away from others.
If you have symptoms, you don't need to quark. If you test positive for vaccine or unvaccinated, the CDC says isolating is necessary.
In December, the CDC shortened the time it recommends people isolated from 5 days to 2 days, if they have COVID-19, and if their symptoms are not getting worse.
The CDC has updated guidance on isolating and quarantining.
The Associated Press contributed.
The vaccine creator warns that the vaccine pace is not sustainable.
