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You are here: Home / Healthcare / COVID-19 / COVID-19 Coronavirus Updates: Monday / Tuesday, Dec. 13-14

COVID-19 Coronavirus Updates: Monday / Tuesday, Dec. 13-14

by Anne Laurie|  December 14, 20217:04 am| 39 Comments

This post is in: COVID-19, Foreign Affairs

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pic.twitter.com/LpddvXh4j3

— Dr. Salty ?? ??? (@DrSuperSalty) December 12, 2021


Nearly a year after the United States kicked off its COVID-19 vaccine rollout, rising death tolls, hospitalizations and mask mandates are taking over the country yet again https://t.co/cd9SGtpAwy pic.twitter.com/vnqdDebg7w

— Reuters (@Reuters) December 14, 2021

Millions wept and cheered one year ago when the COVID vaccine debuted. We revisit that joy as U.S. thought it had conquered coronavirus. https://t.co/xZbgdiEQ0Z

— USA TODAY (@USATODAY) December 13, 2021

At the beginning of COVID, 800,000 dead would have been an unthinkable worst-case scenario. Remarkable how that morphed into "COVID fears were overblown and we took it too seriously" in large parts of America.

— Ben Rhodes (@brhodes) December 13, 2021

How We Got to 800K: pic.twitter.com/M0PymkOCBf

— ian bremmer (@ianbremmer) December 13, 2021

As the U.S. Nears 800k #coronavirus deaths, 1 in every 100 older Americans has already perished. They are among the most vaccinated groups, but people 65 and older make up ~3/4 of the nation’s coronavirus death toll https://t.co/xnd6j53aXn

— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) December 13, 2021

#Omicron variant has led to a rush in wealthy nations for boosters. US booster shots may soon exceed all doses in low-income nations. Roughly 54M booster shots had been administered in the US as of Sunday, compared w/ 64M total doses in low-income nations https://t.co/vz8uILdBTd pic.twitter.com/J8gUMZJtg5

— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) December 14, 2021

======

Hard to watch
The US falls further to 67th on the list of countries for fully vaccinated https://t.co/4DfToRXl1g (w/ 2 shot definition) pic.twitter.com/Kg7QuREyZM

— Eric Topol (@EricTopol) December 12, 2021

Chinese manufacturing hub fights its first 2021 COVID-19 outbreak https://t.co/0t0afz14e0 pic.twitter.com/IWM9IL4yDF

— Reuters (@Reuters) December 14, 2021

Major Chinese manufacturing province Zhejiang is fighting its first COVID-19 cluster this year, with tens of thousands of citizens in quarantine and virus-hit areas suspending business operations, cutting flights and cancelling events.

The province reported 74 locally transmitted cases with confirmed symptoms on Dec. 12, official data showed on Monday, almost double the previous day’s 38 cases, lifting to 173 the total since the province started to report cases for the latest outbreak.

The outbreak in three Zhejiang cities – Ningbo, Shaoxing and Hangzhou – was developing at a “relatively rapid” speed, while the situation nationwide was largely stable, National Health Commission official Wu Liangyou said on Saturday…

Outbreaks in dozens of Chinese cities this year remained smaller than many overseas, but local governments were told to ensure infections are detected and contained as early as possible to prevent further spreading, triggering curbs that have led to occasional disruption to travel and tourism.

Flights leaving Ningbo Lishe International Airport to Shenzhen city were suspended from Sunday, while flights to Beijing were cancelled from Dec. 6. Only one daily flight from Hangzhou to China’s capital is allowed.

More than 50,000 people in Zhejiang have been quarantined at centralised facilities and nearly half a million people’s health condition were monitored, a province health official said on Monday. The coastal province has a population of 64.6 million…

India's Serum plans to launch Novavax shot for children in six months https://t.co/y8hDCTOqmr pic.twitter.com/esFh1LgSda

— Reuters (@Reuters) December 14, 2021

South Korea marks its deadliest day of the pandemic as an unrelenting, delta-driven spread stretched thin hospitals and left people dying while waiting for beds. Health experts are urging the government to strengthen social distancing requirements. https://t.co/O4zwgTYdBo

— The Associated Press (@AP) December 14, 2021

Singapore mulls COVID-19 boosters requirement to qualify as 'fully' vaccinated https://t.co/4W4a0jOlaa pic.twitter.com/tvMKX5lHhU

— Reuters (@Reuters) December 14, 2021

Norway will further tighten restrictions and speed up vaccination in a bid to limit an expected surge of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus, Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere said https://t.co/UEtoN4U4qU

— Reuters (@Reuters) December 14, 2021

France does not currently plan new restrictive measures to contain the current wave of the COVID-19 pandemic despite the threat of the new, highly contagious, Omicron variant of the disease, French government spokesman Gabriel Attal said https://t.co/4Oarvcz9J7

— Reuters (@Reuters) December 14, 2021

People in England rush out to get booster shots to protect themselves against the omicron variant, which the health minister says will be dominant in London "in 48 hours." https://t.co/hhMFhoc3tc

— AP Europe (@AP_Europe) December 13, 2021

According to UK govt, #Omicron new cases are tracking in parallel — 1st #COVID19 infections and re-infections.
And there are significantly more re-infection cases than naives. pic.twitter.com/yhrwEOYOph

— Laurie Garrett (@Laurie_Garrett) December 13, 2021

The age distribution of #Omicron cases in the UK, according to govt study, is almost a mirror opposite of what #COVID19 looked like in 2020: Bay far the majority are under 40, with a large part aged 20-30 years. pic.twitter.com/Apgw9lxc90

— Laurie Garrett (@Laurie_Garrett) December 13, 2021

Nigeria eyes diplomacy to resolve Omicron travel restrictions https://t.co/UZm9O9oJmC pic.twitter.com/s9BN3Vr0kv

— Reuters (@Reuters) December 14, 2021

Canada could see surge in COVID-19 cases as Omicron spreads – health official https://t.co/ow8F9rCCww pic.twitter.com/T5A5ok9flc

— Reuters (@Reuters) December 14, 2021

======

Why do Covid boosters work against Omicron if two doses struggle? https://t.co/PcpfXzD6o5

— BBC News (UK) (@BBCNews) December 14, 2021

“It’s not really a lack of information anymore, but an excess of misinformation.”

IDSA President-Elect @CarlosdelRio7 shares the complexities of addressing misinformation w/ patients in our latest Let’s Talk ID podcast: https://t.co/hDEMC0SSaY@theCovidCollab @McQHoya81 pic.twitter.com/Xw06SZJUTu

— IDSA (@IDSAInfo) December 13, 2021

Trial begins of needle-free Covid vaccine targeting new variants https://t.co/L9LFG5fWeP

— BBC News (UK) (@BBCNews) December 14, 2021

In the lab: RNA-based breath test is under development to detect SARSCoV2. New study in The Journal of Molecular Diagnostics outlines test of a breathalyzer called the Bubbler. It relies on viral RNA for diagnosis. Name derived from device's bubbling sound https://t.co/NKv1kV83KY

— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) December 13, 2021

======

In a surprise move Monday, California state officials announced that the state is instituting a universal indoor mask mandate, effective Wednesday, December 15 https://t.co/ht3uRdsXaI

— Deadline Hollywood (@DEADLINE) December 13, 2021

BREAKING: The Supreme Court refuses to block a COVID-19 vaccination requirement for New York state health care workers who sought a religious exemption. The court had previously turned away health care workers in Maine, who filed a similar challenge. https://t.co/fFofqP9Trv

— The Associated Press (@AP) December 13, 2021

NYC going in wrong direction. #COVID19 cases, pre-#Omicron discovery, and hospitalizations up to this week. The numbers don't lie: it's about the unvaccinated.https://t.co/tHgegWQ43u pic.twitter.com/qnAJAmGGIm

— Laurie Garrett (@Laurie_Garrett) December 13, 2021

Philadelphia is the latest large U.S. city to require proof of vaccination to dine indoors. Vaccination proof will be required starting Jan. 3 for bars, restaurants, indoor sporting events and movie theatres. https://t.co/9OsEaRZUyG

— The Associated Press (@AP) December 13, 2021

“We’re heartbroken. We’re overwhelmed.”

Minnesota hospitals take out full-page ad in @StarTribune, pleading with residents to *get vaccinated and boosted* and take other steps to protect themselves. pic.twitter.com/XnJYyZJMX8

— Dan Diamond (@ddiamond) December 13, 2021

This is what generally happens when you refuse a direct order, yes. https://t.co/B0UQf2D2Qn

— Jeff Fecke (@jkfecke) December 14, 2021

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39Comments

  1. 1.

    NeenerNeener

    December 14, 2021 at 7:07 am

    Monroe County, NY:

    There were 248 new laboratory-confirmed cases of COVID-19 on 12/13.
    Saturday 12/11: 434 new laboratory-confirmed cases of COVID-19 reported, 49 positive home tests reported
    Sunday 12/12: 302 new laboratory-confirmed cases of COVID-19 reported, 41 positive home tests reported.

    Deaths now at 1529 since the start of the pandemic.

    502 individuals are hospitalized for COVID-19 in the Finger Lakes Region (down 2 since previous day). 125 of these patients are in ICU (no change since previous day).

    Deaths Due to COVID in Monroe County – Percent Not Fully Vaccinated
    Between March 1, 2021 and December 13, 2021, a total of 291 deaths were reported. Among patients under the age of 65, 91% were not fully vaccinated. Among patients ages 65 and older, 66% were not fully vaccinated.

  2. 2.

    Amir Khalid

    December 14, 2021 at 7:18 am

    Malaysia’s Ministry of Health reports 4,097 new Covid-19 cases today in its media statement, for a cumulative reported total of 2,699,240 cases. It also reports 29 deaths as of midnight, for an adjusted cumulative total of 30,908 deaths – 1.15% of the cumulative reported total, 1.17% of resolved cases.

    Based on cases reported yesterday, Malaysia’s nationwide Rt is at 0.95.

    330 confirmed cases are in ICU, 144 of them on ventilators. Meanwhile, 4,301 more patients have recovered, for a cumulative total of 2,610,610 patients recovered – 96.7% of the cumulative reported total.

    Six new clusters were reported today, for a cumulative total of 6,049 clusters. 245 clusters are currently active; 5,804 clusters are now inactive.

    4,079 new cases today are local infections. 18 new cases today are imported.

    The National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme (PICK) administered 129,587 doses of vaccine on 13th December: 4,027 first doses, 4,970 second doses, and 120,390 booster doses. As of midnight, the cumulative total is 55,039,657 doses administered: 25,929,544 first doses, 25,515,074 second doses, and 3,787,928 booster doses. 79.4% of the population have received their first dose, while 78.1% are now fully vaccinated.

  3. 3.

    New Deal democrat

    December 14, 2021 at 7:37 am

    While the US waits for an Omicron surge, no change yesterday in the existing dynamic: 120,000 cases/day (steady for the last week). Cases flat in the West, up slightly in the South (mainly along the East Coast), declining slightly in the Midwest (with signs the Ohio Valley has peaked), and rising sharply in almost every State in the Northeast.

    Some *relatively* good news on several fronts out of South Africa. Via Prof. Tom Moultrie:
    https://mobile.twitter.com/tomtom_m

    1. “Updated normalised cases, admissions and deaths for Gauteng. Signs of decoupling continues. Suggests immunity from prior infections and/or vaccinations are providing some protection from severe COVID19 disease. Don’t interpret as decreased virulence of Omicron.”

    2. A large study indicating 2 doses of Pfizer remains effective against Omicron (contradicting some other alarmist reports).

    Also, from Trevor Bedford:
    https://github.com/blab/rt-from-frequency-dynamics/tree/master/results/omicron-countries

    It looks like in South Africa Omicron has completely displaced Delta, suggesting there will not be dual pandemics.

  4. 4.

    YY_Sima Qian

    December 14, 2021 at 7:38 am

    On 12/13 China reported 51 new domestic confirmed (none previously asymptomatic) & 4 new domestic asymptomatic cases.

    Inner Mongolia “Autonomous” Region reported 5 new domestic confirmed cases. 10 domestic confirmed case recovered. There currently are 515 active domestic confirmed cases in the region. 

    • Hulun Buir reported 5 new domestic confirmed cases (all at Manzhouli), 4 are traced close contacts already under centralized quarantine & 1 from mass screening. 10 domestic confirmed case recovered. There currently are 513 active domestic confirmed cases (504 at Manzhouli & 9 at New Barag Right Banner) in the city. 7 sub-districts are currently at High Risk. 2 townships & 2 sub-districts are currently at Medium Risk.
    • At Tongliao there currently are 2 active domestic confirmed cases in the city.

    Heilongjiang Province reported 1 new domestic confirmed & 4 new domestic asymptomatic cases. There currently are 42 active domestic confirmed & 4 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the province.

    • At Harbin there currently are 41 active domestic confirmed cases in the city. 3 residential buildings & 27 residential compounds are currently at Medium Risk.
    • Qiqihar reported 1 new domestic confirmed & 4 new domestic asymptomatic cases, mentioned yesterday. 1 village is currently at Medium Risk.

    Shaanxi Province reported 1 new domestic confirmed case (mild). There are currently 4 active domestic confirmed cases in the province.

    • Xi’an reported 1 new domestic confirmed case (mild), a traced close contact already under centralized quarantine since 12/9, a quarantine hotel worker & roommate of the domes confirmed case reported on 12/9. There currently are 3 active confirmed case in the city.
    • At Xianyang there currently is 1 active domestic confirmed case in the city.

    Shanghai Municipality did not report any new domestic positive cases. There currently are 6 active domestic confirmed & 2 active domestic asymptomatic cases remaining. 2 residential compounds are currently at Medium Risk. 

    Jiangsu Province did not report any new domestic positive cases. There currently are 1 active domestic confirmed (at Nanjing) & 3 active domestic asymptomatic cases (2 at Wuxi & 1 at Xuzhou) remaining in the province.

    Zhejiang Province reported 44 new domestic confirmed cases. There currently are 217 active domestic confirmed & 1 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the province.

    • Ningbo reported 4 new domestic confirmed cases, all traced close contacts already under centralized quarantine (starting from 12/7 – 12/11). There currently are 51 active domestic confirmed cases in the city, all found within a single sub-district. 2 residential compounds & an office building are currently at Medium Risk.
    • Hangzhou reported 2 new domestic confirmed cases (both mild), both traced close contacts already under centralized quarantine since 12/7. There currently are 19 active domestic confirmed cases in the city. 1 residential building is currently at Medium Risk.
    • Shaoxing reported 38 new domestic confirmed cases. There currently are 145 active domestic confirmed & 1 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the city, 143 at Shangyu District & 3 at Yuecheng District. 2 residential compounds are currently at Medium Risk.

    Chongzuo in Guangxi “Autonomous” Region did not report any new domestic positive cases. There currently is 1 active domestic asymptomatic case in the city.

    At Guangzhou in Guangdong Province there currently is 1 active domestic confirmed case in the city. 1 quarantine hotel is currently at Medium Risk.

    At Dalian in Liaoning Province 2 domestic confirmed cases recovered. There currently are 26 active domestic confirmed & 1 active domestic asymptomatic cases remaining.

    At Shijiazhuang in Hebei Province there currently are 5 active confirmed cases remaining.

    At Rizhao in Shandong Province there currently are 4 active domestic asymptomatic cases remaining.

    At Chongqing Municipality 1 domestic asymptomatic was released from isolation. There currently are 2 active domestic confirmed & 1 active domestic asymptomatic cases remaining.

    At Henan Province there currently are 37 active domestic confirmed cases remaining (32 at Zhengzhou & 5 at Zhoukou).

    Dehong Prefecture in Yunnan Province did not report any new domestic positive cases. 2 domestic confirmed cases recovered & 3 domestic asymptomatic cases were released from isolation. There currently are 42 active domestic confirmed & 26 active domestic asymptomatic cases at the prefecture. 1 zone at Longchuan County is currently at High Risk.

    Imported Cases

        

    On 12/13, China reported 25 new imported confirmed cases (2 previously asymptomatic), 11 imported asymptomatic cases, 0 imported suspect cases:

    • Guangxi “Autonomous” Region (location not specified) – 7 confirmed (1 previously asymptomatic) & 2 asymptomatic cases, no information released
    • Shanghai Municipality – 6 confirmed cases, 3 Chinese nationals (a family) returning from Singapore & 1 each from Zambia (via Addis Ababa), the US & Thailand
    • Guangzhou in Guangdong Province – 4 confirmed cases, 1 Chinese national each returning from Malaysia, Laos, Canada & the US; the case from Canada is infected w/ the Omicron Variant, arrived at Shanghai on 11/27, passed through the 14 days of centralized quarantine & tested negative multiple times, upon release from quarantine on 12/11 the case flew back to Guangzhou & entered home quarantine, testing positive on 12/12;1 asymptomatic case, a Chinese national returning from Laos
    • Shenzhen in Guangdong Province – 1 asymptomatic case, a Chinese national returning from Singapore
    • Yunnan Province (location not specified) – 3 confirmed cases, 2 Chinese nationals returning from Myanmar & 1 from Laos; 5 asymptomatic cases, 3 Chinese national returning from Laos & 2 from Laos; all via land border crossing
    • Xiamen in Fujian Province – 2 confirmed cases, 
    • Hangzhou in Zhejiang Province – 1 confirmed case, coming from the DRC
    • Zhengzhou in Henan Province – 1 confirmed case (previously asymptomatic), no information released
    • Changsha in Hunan Province – 1 confirmed case, no information released
    • Jiangsu Province (location not specified) – 1 asymptomatic case, no information released
    • Tianjin Municipality – 1 asymptomatic case, a Chinese national returning from the Philippines (an Omicron case)

    Overall in China, 26 confirmed cases recovered (12 imported), 12 asymptomatic cases were released from isolation (8 imported) & 2 were reclassified as confirmed cases (both imported), & 718 individuals were released from quarantine. Currently, there are 1,431 active confirmed cases in the country (518 imported), 22 in serious condition (4 imported), 445 active asymptomatic cases (399 imported), 2 suspect cases (both imported). 58,721 traced contacts are currently under centralized quarantine.

    As of 12/13, 2,621.19M vaccine doses have been injected in Mainland China, an increase of 8.972M doses in the past 24 hrs.

    On 12/14, Hong Kong reported 5 new positive cases, all imported (including 1 w/ Omicron Variant).

  5. 5.

    Sloane Ranger

    December 14, 2021 at 7:45 am

    Monday, 13th in the UK we had 54,661 new reported cases. The rolling 7-day average is up by 9.9%. Some of these cases will have occurred over the weekend but are only being reported now due to weekend office closures. New cases by nation,

    England – 44,931 (up 4218)

    Northern Ireland – 1431 (down 117)

    Scotland – 3756 (down 246)

    Wales – 4543 (up 1952, but Wales does not report at all on Saturdays so a high proportion of these cases will relate to weekend catch up cases).

    Deaths – Yesterday, there were 38 new deaths within 28 days of a positive test but offices will still be catching up after the weekend so expect a significantly larger number tomorrow. The rolling 7-day average is down by 0.6%. 26 deaths were in England, 4 in Northern Ireland, 8 in Wales and none in Scotland.

    Testing – 1,259,313 tests took place on Sunday, 12 December. The rolling 7-day average is up by 11.6%. The PCR testing capacity reported by labs on that date was 808,862.

    Hospitalisations – As of Friday, 10 December, 7372 people were in hospital and 901 were on ventilators. The rolling 7-day average for hospital admissions was up by 5.1% as of 7th December.

    Vaccinations – As of Sunday, 12 December, 51,279,167 people had had 1 shot of a vaccine, 46,775,202 had had 2, and 23,561,729 had had a 3rd shot/booster. In percentage terms, this means that, as of that date, 89.2% of all UK residents aged 12+ had had 1 shot of a vaccine, 81.3% had had 2, and 41% had had a 3rd shot/booster.

  6. 6.

    lowtechcyclist

    December 14, 2021 at 7:45 am

    “We’re heartbroken. We’re overwhelmed.”

    Minnesota hospitals take out full-page ad in @StarTribune, pleading with residents to *get vaccinated and boosted* and take other steps to protect themselves.

    Let’s hope people listen.  If they won’t listen to this, coming from the doctors and nurses, it’s hard to imagine that there’s anyone they’d listen to.

    But really, there needs to be a way to make Fox News and the other disinformation-spreading media pay a price, to hold them at least financially responsible for all the deaths they’ve had a role in causing.

  7. 7.

    Central Planning

    December 14, 2021 at 8:00 am

    @lowtechcyclist:

    Let’s hope people listen.

    Narrator: They will not

    We still have people at work who refuse the vaccine. One person posted a link in a public forum for how to report your employer if they force you to get a vaccine against their state’s mandate that no one has to get it.

    Others are saying that you will regret caving on your beliefs. I wonder how they feel about Santa, the Easter bunny, or the tooth fairy. Why can’t people re-evaluate their beliefs and have them change?

  8. 8.

    Peale

    December 14, 2021 at 8:08 am

    Appears that there’s good news about Paxlovid this morning. Press release only, but it looks like Pfizer have its data to go to the FDA.

  9. 9.

    debbie

    December 14, 2021 at 8:13 am

    I wonder if the reason more youngs are infected with Omicron than had been the case with previous variants is because they’re out and about more than others, rather than because of some sort of mutation.

  10. 10.

    New Deal democrat

    December 14, 2021 at 8:18 am

    @lowtechcyclist:
    “there needs to be a way to make Fox News and the other disinformation-spreading media pay a price”

    There may be some criminal and civil avenues open to punish misinformation and disinformation, but they would vary by state.

    If I knowingly provide you false information (“my elixir will cure cancer!”), and I expect you to act on my claim, and you do so resulting in injury or death, in some States I could be held criminally liable.

    If I don’t “know,” but either recklessly don’t care, or I negligently give you bad information, expecting you to rely on it, and you suffer injury or death, I can probably be held civilly liable.

    Note the restrictions: you have to prove my state of mind, and beyond reasonable doubt in the criminal cases; and you have to prove I fully expected you to act to your detriment on my bad information.

    I don’t think there are attorneys general with the stomach to bring criminal charges. But the plaintiffs’ bar that has most recently brought, e.g., Roundup cases – I can see them salivating at the prospect if clients start showing up on their doorstep.

  11. 11.

    Matt McIrvin

    December 14, 2021 at 8:29 am

    @debbie: They’re out and about more, and they’re less likely to be vaccinated.

    Also, the prevailing theory of why Omicron seems “milder” is just that it’s hitting populations that have some prior immunity. If there were less immune escape, they might not get it at all–instead, they’re getting it but the cases are relatively mild.

    Mind you, “relatively mild” still means there are ICU hospitalizations and deaths, and the greater transmissibility could still mean the hospitals get overwhelmed anyway. But the actual data from the field are still pretty confusing.

  12. 12.

    Soprano2

    December 14, 2021 at 8:30 am

    @New Deal democrat: Wow, and that was fast! It’s been about a month since they announced their discovery of Omicron, hasn’t it?

  13. 13.

    Soprano2

    December 14, 2021 at 8:33 am

    @Central Planning: I’m seeing yet another full face this week at work, which means another of my co-workers is vaccinated now. Slow, but progress!

    OTOH, our server who got Covid (early 30’s) is coming back to work today after 15 days off. She got the monoclonal antibodies, so she was pretty sick. Her husband said she went to stay with her mom so he and their baby wouldn’t get sick. He said he’s had it twice but still isn’t vaccinated! I thought they both were, I guess I need to talk to them. Perhaps her scare will get them to get the shots.

  14. 14.

    Ken

    December 14, 2021 at 8:33 am

    BREAKING: Air Force discharges 27

    OMG! That leaves them with only 329,587 people in the whole service!! We are defenseless!!!

    (Unsnarking: To save you clicks, that number is correct to the nearest thousand. So they discharged less than 1% of 1%.)

  15. 15.

    Matt McIrvin

    December 14, 2021 at 8:39 am

    @New Deal democrat:

    It looks like in South Africa Omicron has completely displaced Delta, suggesting there will not be dual pandemics.

    I don’t think you can conclude that at all. South Africa’s Delta wave was already burning itself out when Omicron showed up–Omicron didn’t have to displace it; that was resistance induced by Delta infection.

  16. 16.

    smith

    December 14, 2021 at 8:55 am

    @debbie: It may be different in the UK, but here the pattern has almost always been more infections per capita in the youngs. The only time in this pandemic when the olds were the most infected was during that first big surge in spring 2020.  Since the advent of vaccines, the olds have had the lowest infection rate. Death rates across age groups, of course, are reversed. The infection pattern is probably due to both vaccination rates and different degrees of social mixing.

  17. 17.

    Matt McIrvin

    December 14, 2021 at 8:59 am

    @smith: Last I checked, it is like that to an even greater degree in the UK. Their elderly are close to 100% vaccinated. The “young immortals” aren’t, and they’re hanging out at pubs and parties like nothing happened.

  18. 18.

    Ohio Mom

    December 14, 2021 at 9:05 am

    Disclaimer: I am over 65 and Ohio Dad is right behind me, will join me in this cohort shortly. I have a vested interest here!

    Still, seeing the disproportionate number of lost oldsters leads me to wonder what larger societal effects this may have. More money in the Social Security and Medicare pots? Less profit for the nursing home industry? And so on.

    Or maybe no real effects because our society treats the elderly as completely peripheral.

    On another note, there is a big front page article in today’s local paper on the challenges teachers are facing. Their students have regressed socially and emotionally, and behavioral issues are taking much of staff attention.

    It was a surprisingly well-researched article for The Cincinnati Enquirer. The reporters went to several different types of districts and saw the same things in rural, suburban and urban districts. The stresses are universal.

    Maybe this is me just tired of living in Covid, looking ahead to what the reverberations will be once the pandemic has reached whatever its conclusion will be (I would guess, an uneasy equilibrium with continued small outbreaks, at least as long I as live).

  19. 19.

    New Deal democrat

    December 14, 2021 at 9:10 am

    @Matt McIrvin: We disagree. Although infections were very low at the end of October, look at Trevor Bedford’s graphs. Delta’s share of infections remained at about 99%, but started to all but disappear when Omicron showed up, both on or about November 1.

    Only one measure, of course.

  20. 20.

    smith

    December 14, 2021 at 9:11 am

    @Matt McIrvin: I was just surprised that the Garrett tweet implied that this was a change with the onset of omicron, when my understanding was that the youngs being more likely to be infected was always the case. She didn’t show the 2020 numbers, so it wasn’t clear.

  21. 21.

    smith

    December 14, 2021 at 9:30 am

    @Ohio Mom: Still, seeing the disproportionate number of lost oldsters leads me to wonder what larger societal effects this may have.

    I think there will be some real costs from the loss of so many old people. Many families depend on grandparents for child care, or as a financial safety net if things get bad. Even the inheritance situation will be affected, since dying of covid usually entails a long and very expensive stay in the hospital, so much less will be passed on to the next generation.

  22. 22.

    Matt McIrvin

    December 14, 2021 at 9:44 am

    @New Deal democrat: The share that was Delta plummeted because the denominator of the fraction increased due to Omicron. If you look at Bedford’s logarithmic graph of variant-specific case counts, Delta showed a smooth exponential drop before Omicron and then as the counts got really low, the decay rate actually decelerated. It doesn’t look to me like Omicron was doing any of that.

  23. 23.

    rikyrah

    December 14, 2021 at 9:49 am

    The last 350,000 COVID DEAD didn’t have to die.

     

    Think on that.

  24. 24.

    Ohio Mom

    December 14, 2021 at 9:51 am

    @smith: Yes, that is the sort of example I was thinking about. Circumstances that may seem specific to a family but when repeated many times over, change the fabric of a community.

    All those children that are not going to be babysat by grandparents — who takes over the grandparents’ role? That also has effects downstream.

    May be decades before all this becomes clear.

  25. 25.

    Matt McIrvin

    December 14, 2021 at 9:53 am

    @smith: That’s a pattern that’s shown up in media coverage since the beginning of the pandemic. The early reports concentrated on the still-true fact that COVID is much worse in the elderly, then there were reports out of Europe of younger adults filling up the hospitals, and it caused a lot of speculation about some new genetic strain that was worse for young people. But it wasn’t that at all. There were just a whole lot of young people getting infected and inevitably that brought up the number who were in the hospital. Also, they weren’t vacating the beds by dying, at least not in as large numbers.

  26. 26.

    New Deal democrat

    December 14, 2021 at 9:53 am

    @Matt McIrvin: OK, look at his raw totals (the last two graphs). As Omicron increases in the first half of November, Delta decreases from about 300 to 100 cases/day. Delta then picks up for a week, and then started to decline again. Not just as a share, but on an absolute basis.

    Also, South Africa total confirmed cases are only 3.5% of the population vs. 15% for the US; and their summer wave was about 2% vs. 4% in the US. While the SA experience is more confirmation that Delta burned through the dry tinder, it’s hard to believe that unlike the US and UK, there still wasn’t a reservoir of people still able to be infected by Delta.

    But let’s keep abreast of Bedford’s updates. The next couple of weeks should tell the tale.

  27. 27.

    Cermet

    December 14, 2021 at 9:54 am

    @lowtechcyclist: Hell no they’ll never listen; this was proven even when the orange one suggested they get vaccinated (good for him, for once) and they booed him!

  28. 28.

    smith

    December 14, 2021 at 10:00 am

    @Matt McIrvin: I think part of the difficulty in getting young people to take covid seriously is that so many regard it as an old people’s disease. In terms of death it is, but that may not be the case with long covid.

  29. 29.

    Balconesfault

    December 14, 2021 at 10:06 am

    @lowtechcyclist: a year plus ago I remember FB arguments with glib friends who insisted that hospital workers were really happy about the pandemic because they were making so much money from overtime.

    I doubt that this will change their minds.

  30. 30.

    Balconesfault

    December 14, 2021 at 10:09 am

    @smith: Blame the Atlas/Patrick axis for doing everything they could to push the ageist divide

  31. 31.

    bluefoot

    December 14, 2021 at 10:11 am

    We have a vaccine and masking mandate at work. I still have had two COVID exposures at work in the last two months, despite being in the office only 2-3 days a week. And I’m in MA. I’ve turned out to be negative both times (I credit the vaccines and universal masking, though I keep seeing masks worn improperly), but still.

  32. 32.

    Balconesfault

    December 14, 2021 at 10:12 am

    @Cermet: shoulda called JnJ the “Robert E Lee” vax.

  33. 33.

    ant

    December 14, 2021 at 11:27 am

    This is antidote, so yeah, but, anyway: Over the past two weeks, I’ve heard of 18 different people getting infected.

    This is 6 different families/infection events.

    All in the Fox river valley here in east central Wisconsin.

    This is more cases that I’ve heard about through the grape vine since this whole thing started two years ago. All in just two weeks.

     

    The vast majority are not vaccinated.

     

    An interesting point: The not vaccinated are also opposed to getting tested to confirm. They don’t do it until they are forced to in order to receive medical care.

    The case numbers are just a fraction of the real story.

    @Central Planning: Why can’t people re-evaluate their beliefs and have them change?

    Some people are more averse than others when it comes time to accept responsibility for poor choices they have made. Some people do not learn from their mistakes.

    When it comes to this, I think it boils down to how well a person can feel guilt/remorse/sorrow/regret. Some people can pass lie detector tests because they don’t feel any of that shit. Others can feel it, but the brain connection has atrophied, and weakened over the years from them ignoring it, or because they were not parented in such a way to pay attention to it when they were young. Perhaps there are environmental factors at play, like lead poisoning, or just culture.

     

     

  34. 34.

    Anoniminous

    December 14, 2021 at 11:52 am

    @Central Planning:

    How ignorant stupid people process new information: They Don’t.

  35. 35.

    Anoniminous

    December 14, 2021 at 12:00 pm

    @debbie:

    Omicron* has 30+ mutations.  Many of those are in the areas of where the spike protein latch to the ACE2 cell receptor.  Once attached the receptor draws the virus inside the cell.  While children have a hype-active immune system Omicron seems to get around that by being able to invade more cells more quickly thus swamping the immune system.

    I write “seems” because there’s a whole bunch we don’t know about Omicron.

    Having read the thread: and as others have pointed out the kiddies have only started being vaccinated.

    * B.1.1.529 if you’re keeping lineage information

  36. 36.

    dave319

    December 14, 2021 at 12:03 pm

    @lowtechcyclist: Sadly, shit’s bad broke here in the U.S. of Ass. 

  37. 37.

    tomtofa

    December 14, 2021 at 12:07 pm

    We just got back from being abroad for 2 months. Hungary, Iceland, Malta. Traveling back and forth within those countries meant tests, passenger locator forms, not just vaccination certificates but ones validated through an app that verified them through the CDC. We came back here through Newark and then San Francisco – no checks or examination of forms at either airport. The last form in Europe was an attestation of tests, vaccinations, etc. “You will be required to show this upon returning to the United States”. Yeah, not so much = no one asked for it anywhere…

  38. 38.

    NotMax

    December 14, 2021 at 1:34 pm

    (Passed out before the thread appeared, so late posting this.)

    FYI.

    A Navy commander has been fired from his job as the executive officer of a warship because he refused to get a COVID-19 vaccine as required and refused to be tested for the virus, Navy officials said Friday.

    Cmdr. Lucian Kins was relieved of his duties Friday as second in command of the USS Winston Churchill, a destroyer, by Navy Capt. Ken Anderson, commander of Naval Surface Squadron 14. Officials said Kins was the first naval officer to be fired as a result of a vaccine refusal. Source

    Also,

    The Air Force has discharged 27 people for refusing to get the COVID-19 vaccine, making them what officials believe are the first service members to be removed for disobeying the mandate to get the shots.

    The Air Force gave its forces until Nov. 2 to get the vaccine, and thousands have either refused or sought an exemption. Air Force spokeswoman Ann Stefanek said Monday that these are the first airmen to be administratively discharged for reasons involving the vaccine. Source

  39. 39.

    Geoduck

    December 14, 2021 at 2:28 pm

    @ant: Lie detector tests are garbage, and whether a person can or cannot fake their way through one is pretty meaningless.

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