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CEO of New York’s Largest Hospital System Says ‘No Crisis’ Despite Surging COVID Cases
The CEO of New York state’s largest hospital system urged people to stay calm amid the surge in coronavirus cases while appearing on CNN Tuesday.
Michael Dowling, CEO of Northwell Health — which serves New York City, Long Island and Westchester County — told CNN that while the area’s positivity rate is rising, it does not automatically mean an increase in hospitalizations.
Dowling said that as of Tuesday, hospitals in the Northwell Health network were still managing the case increases.
“We’re doing very, very well. Very manageable. There’s no crisis,” he said. About 460 COVID-19 patients are in the hospital system, less than 10% of its overall capacity, Dowling said.
Vaccinated People With COVID May Soon Not Have to Isolate for 10 Days — if They’re Asymptomatic — Fauci Suggests
The federal government is considering relaxing its guidance for people with COVID-19 to isolate for 10 days after developing symptoms — particularly for healthcare workers with asymptomatic cases — Dr. Anthony Fauci said Monday, as the U.S. faces a likely huge influx in mild breakthrough cases from the highly transmissible Omicron coronavirus variant.
Fauci was asked about the isolation period after Dr. Anish K. Jha, dean of the Brown University School of Public Health, suggested on Twitter the 10-day period may be “excessive” for people who have received booster shots and only have mild breakthrough cases — though he noted “more data” on exactly when people stop being contagious “would be nice.”
CDC Director Says Initial COVID Shots ‘May Not Be Enough’ as Omicron Rapidly Sweeps the Nation
CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said the Omicron variant of the coronavirus has “over 50 mutations and because of those mutations, just being vaccinated with two doses may not be enough” ahead of the holidays.
Walensky told CNBC’s “The News with Shepard Smith” on Monday that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was “examining” its definition of fully vaccinated. Right now, the agency defines full vaccination as two weeks after the second dose of one of the two-shot vaccines from Moderna or Pfizer or two weeks after the one-dose vaccine from Johnson & Johnson.
Even so, Walensky said that vaccines “may not prevent infection” according to data so far. She said this means people need “to continue to wear their masks to prevent the infections overall.”
FDA Expected to Authorize Pfizer and Merck COVID Pills This Week
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is poised to authorize a pair of pills from Pfizer Inc. and Merck & Co. to treat COVID-19 as soon as this week, according to people familiar with the matter — a milestone in the fight against the pandemic that will soon expand therapies for the ill.
An announcement may come as early as Wednesday, according to three of the people. They asked not to be identified ahead of the authorization and cautioned that the plan could change.
Pfizer’s pill, Paxlovid, and Merck’s molnupiravir are intended for higher-risk people who test positive for COVID. The treatments, in which patients take a series of pills at home over several days, could ease the burden on stretched hospitals with infections poised to soar through the winter in the U.S.
Biden Plan Will Send out 500 Million Coronavirus Tests and Federal Vaccinators Across 12 States
The White House says President Biden will deliver a speech Tuesday to announce a plan to distribute 500 million free at-home rapid COVID-19 tests beginning next month, as the administration ramps up attempts to deal with the spread of the Omicron variant. The administration says it will set up a website for Americans who want to request a test to be delivered to their homes for free.
The president’s so-called “winter plan” will also send 1,000 medical military members — including doctors, nurses, and other personnel — to hospitals overwhelmed with COVID patients and will set up more free federal testing sites.
And the administration says it will deploy hundreds of federal “vaccinators” across 12 states, Tribes, and territories to help “enable thousands of additional appointments over the next few weeks.”
9 NHL Teams Hit Pause as COVID Surges Across League
As COVID surges across the league, nine NHL teams have been forced to halt all activity.
The league and NHL Players’ Association said Sunday the plan was to avoid a full league shutdown, pausing team activities on a case-by-case basis and postponing all cross-border games through Thursday. The Christmas break begins Friday and runs through Sunday, with games scheduled to resume next Monday.
Approximately 10% of the league’s players are in virus protocol. With the spread of the Delta and Omicron variants in North America, it is unlikely for the hockey players to participate in the upcoming Winter Olympics.
Moderna Could Be Ready to Develop Omicron Booster in Weeks — CEO
COVID-19 vaccine maker Moderna (MRNA.O) does not expect any problems in developing a booster shot to protect against the Omicron variant of the coronavirus and could begin work in a few weeks, Chief Executive Stephane Bancel said in an interview.
Moderna hopes to start clinical trials early next year on a vaccine to protect against the fast-spreading Omicron variant but for now is focussing on a booster dose of its current mRNA-1273 vaccine.
“It only needs minor adjustments for Omicron. I don’t expect any problems,” Bancel said in an interview with the Swiss newspaper Tages-Anzeiger published on Tuesday.
Bill Gates Says He’s Canceled His Holiday Plans Due to Omicron, but He Believes the Wave Will Be Over by March
Just when it seemed like life would return to normal, we could be entering the worst part of the pandemic,” Bill Gates said as he kicked off a Twitter thread about the variant.
But the billionaire also said he believes this current wave of the coronavirus will be over by March of next year since the new coronavirus variant spreads so quickly.
Because of its quick transmissibility, Gates thinks we could get out of this wave in under three months.
Omicron Sweeps Across Nation, Now 73% of New U.S. COVID Cases
Omicron has raced ahead of other variants and is now the dominant version of the coronavirus in the U.S., accounting for 73% of new infections last week, federal health officials said Monday.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention numbers showed nearly a six-fold increase in Omicron’s share of infections in only one week.
Much about the Omicron variant remains unknown, including whether it causes more or less severe illness.
Highly Vaccinated United Arab Emirates Reports Most Virus Cases in Months
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Tuesday recorded its highest daily virus caseload in months, a spike that comes as the Omicron variant races across the globe and the Mideast tourist hub prepares to welcome hordes of tourists for the holidays.
The emirate reported 452 infections in the past 24 hours, including two deaths — an increase not seen in the highly vaccinated Gulf Arab state since mid-September.
The UAE boasts one of the world’s highest vaccination rates, with authorities reporting that over 99% of eligible residents have received at least one dose. The government also offers Pfizer-BioNTech booster shots to all adults.
German Committee Recommends Booster After Three Months as Omicron Spreads
Germany’s STIKO vaccine authority on Tuesday shortened the recommended period between a second coronavirus shot and a booster to three months from six, reflecting the increasing presence of the highly infectious Omicron variant.
The authority said anyone over age 18 should have a booster using an mRNA vaccine three months after completing a two-shot course of COVID-19 vaccines.
For the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine, that period remains four weeks.
STIKO also recommended that anyone over age 12 who was infected with the coronavirus should receive a shot at least three months after they recovered.
