Category: Corona Virus

Fauci: Covid may not end, hopes to find normalcy

White House officials say hopefully we will get to where COVID-19 is acceptable and "it doesn't disrupt our capability to function in society in a relatively normal way." (Jan. 26)

AP

To keep up with our comprehensive COVID-19 coverage in Florida, sign up for our free weekday newsletter, Coronavirus Watch.

From No. 37 ... to No. 37.

Florida spent a nerve-wracking six weeks on a Top 10 list of states where coronavirus was spreading the fastest. From late December to mid-January, the state saw a spike in COVID-19 cases brought on by the more infectious, but less severe omicron variant. Last week the state was barely in the Top 40.

How are we doing this week?

Florida reported far fewer coronavirus cases in the week ending Sunday, adding 197,768 new cases. That's down 30% from the previous week's tally of 282,520 new cases of the virus that causes COVID-19.

Florida ranked 37th among the states where coronavirus was spreading the fastest on a per-person basis, a USA TODAY Network analysis of Johns Hopkins University data shows.

COVID and omicron variant in Florida: What to know if you're exposed or test positive for coronavirus

Do at-home COVID tests still work if they get cold? What if they freeze in my mailbox?

In the latest week coronavirus cases in the United States decreased 30.3% from the week before, with 3,451,287 cases reported. With 6.45% of the country's population, Florida had 5.73% of the country's cases in the last week. Across the country, 10 states had more cases in the latest week than they did in the week before.

Here's a snapshot of the previous seven weeks (click on the hyperlinks to read those COVID-19 reports):

In the week ending Jan. 23, Florida ranked No. 37 in the nation when the state department of health added 282,520 cases. That figure was down 30.9% from the previous week's tally.

In the week ending Jan. 16, Florida was knocked out of the Top 10 list, ranking at No. 11, and reporting 408,841 cases, a 3.4% dip from the week before.

In the week ending Jan. 9, Florida ranked fifth, reporting 423,150 cases, a 40% rise from the week before.

In the week ending Jan. 2, the state ranked fourth when Florida Department of Health reported 302,179 cases, a 142% rise from the week before.

In the week ending Dec. 26, the state ranked ninth, reporting 124,865 cases, a 332.9% rise from the week before that.

In the week ending Dec. 19, the state had reported 28,841 cases of the virus that causes COVID-19, a 142% increase from mid-December.

It should be noted that while Florida ranks 37 on a list where coronavirus spreads the fastest and health officials have said COVID cases are falling here, the state still is reporting more than 100,000 new cases a week, compared with almost 29,000 cases in the week ending Dec. 19.

Long COVID: Why aren't my symptoms going away? Why did they come back? Am I a long-hauler?

Do COVID-19 boosters protect against omicron? Where and when can I get a booster in Florida?

Palm Beach County reported 8,711 cases and 51 deaths in the latest week. A week earlier, it had reported 15,075 cases and 27 deaths. Throughout the pandemic it has reported 350,714 cases and 4,407 deaths.

Martin County reported 1,097 cases and nine deaths in the latest week. A week earlier, it had reported 1,358 cases and eight deaths. Throughout the pandemic it has reported 29,796 cases and 541 deaths.

Okeechobee County reported 403 cases and zero deaths in the latest week. A week earlier, it had reported 588 cases and one death. Throughout the pandemic it has reported 10,157 cases and 164 deaths.

Across Florida, cases fell in 58 counties, with the best declines in Miami-Dade County, with 23,019 cases from 46,959 a week earlier; in Broward County, with 11,917 cases from 23,063; and in Palm Beach County, with 8,711 cases from 15,075.

>> See how your community has fared with recent coronavirus cases

Florida ranked 19th among states in share of people receiving at least one shot, with 77.2% of its residents at least partially vaccinated. The national rate is 75.3%, a USA TODAY analysis of CDC data shows. The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, which are the most used in the United States, require two doses administered a few weeks apart.

In the week ending Sunday, Florida reported administering another 254,074 vaccine doses, including 70,765 first doses. In the previous week, the state administered 390,947 vaccine doses, including 226,645 first doses. In all, Florida reported it has administered 35,340,821 total doses.

Within Florida, the worst weekly outbreaks on a per-person basis were in:

Taylor County with 2,717 cases per 100,000 per week

Madison County with 2,487 cases

Baker County with 1,862 cases

The Centers for Disease Control says high levels of community transmission begin at 100 cases per 100,000 per week.

Is it the flu, a cold, or the omicron variant? How to know, and when to get tested for COVID

Adding the most new cases overall were:

Miami-Dade Countywith 23,019 cases

Hillsborough Countywith 13,524 cases

Orange Countywith 12,455 cases

Weekly case counts rose in nine counties from the previous week. The worst increases from the prior week's pace were in Taylor, Franklin and Madison counties.

In Florida, 1,192 people were reported dead of COVID-19 in the week ending Sunday, Jan. 30. In the week before that, 605 people were reported dead.Johns Hopkins University data shows64,955 people have died from the disease since the pandemic began. In the U.S., 884,260 people have died.

A total of 5,522,206 people in Florida have tested positive for the coronavirus since the pandemic began, Johns Hopkins University data shows. In the United States, 74,333,001 people have tested positive.

>> Track coronavirus cases across the United States

USA TODAY analyzed federal hospital data as of Sunday, Jan. 30.

Likely COVID patients admitted in the state:

Last week: 12,792

The week before that: 14,710

Four weeks ago: 10,854

Likely COVID patients admitted in the nation:

Last week: 170,411

The week before that: 183,931

Four weeks ago: 147,900

Hospitals in 13 states reported more COVID-19 patients than a week earlier, while hospitals in 15 states had more COVID-19 patients in intensive-care beds. Hospitals in 18 states admitted more COVID-19 patients in the latest week than a week prior, the USA TODAY analysis of U.S. Health and Human Services data shows.

Vaccination is the best way to protect yourself and reduce the impact of COVID in your communities.

The same precautions still apply:

wash your hands

social distance

wash your hands frequently or use hand sanitizer to prevent the spread of germs

avoid crowds in which you are unsure of vaccination status

Please consider subscribing to a USA TODAY Network-Florida newspaper atoffers.usatodaynetwork.com/network-regional-florida.

The USA TODAY Network is publishing localized versions of this story on its news sites across the country, generated with data from Johns Hopkins University and the Centers for Disease Control. If you have questions about the data or the story, contact Mike Stucka atmstucka@gannett.com. Follow Mike on Twitter at @mikestucka.

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COVID: Florida reports 197,768 cases and 1,192 deaths in a week, still on list where virus spreads fastest - Palm Beach Post

ROME The entire family is vaccinated, even the relatives, and all abide by masking requirements and respect Italys tough coronavirus restrictions. They are also all over the place in how they are living their lives.

Mariagiovanna Togna is willing to accompany her children to outdoor play dates after school. But her husband, more anxious by nature, is still wearing rubber gloves, wiping down groceries and turning away visitors. One of her sisters in Rome is more laid back and goes to yoga class and to work, and her 15-year-old daughter had a birthday party indoors. Her brother, in the northern region of Trento, who finally agreed to get vaccinated, she said, to keep going out to bars, recently vacationed along the Amalfi Coast. But when Christmas vacation rolled around, their parents, in their 70s, asked him to stay in a bed-and-breakfast.

Everyone who went home to Benevento had to take a rapid test, including another sister, who depends on their mother for babysitting. Even though the government shot down the efforts in the Campania Region, where she lives, to delay in-person school, she prefers to keep her child out of nursery school.

We are all vaccinated, many with the third dose already, we all have a civic sense about being careful for ourselves and for others, she said. But we have different styles of life.

As the Omicron variant of the coronavirus personally touches or swirls around so many individuals, vaccinated and largely protected families are strained by varying comfort levels. It is much the same the world over, especially where significant portions of the population have been vaccinated, like Italy, which now has one of the highest rates in the world.

Initially slammed by the virus, Italy today holds the promise of a near future where the schism in society is no longer between the vaccinated and the unvaccinated, or the socially responsible and the scofflaws, but between the risk takers and the risk averse.

For many with booster shots, life has become a constant negotiation between those who want to resume dining in restaurants, those still reluctant to accept deliveries and those who just want to get the virus already and get their mandatory quarantines over with.

For many vaccinated families, the recent holiday season and New Years celebrations hammered those variations home, as teenagers stumbled in after parties to take a swab test and reunite with shut-in uncles petrified of the virus, or grandparents unsure just how protected their booster shots left them. In Italy, where generations of families often see one another, and frequently live together, navigating the vagaries of Omicron decorum is a constant exercise.

In my world, there are no no-vax, said Giuseppe Cavallone, 73, who walked in the Villa Doria Pamphili park in Rome with his wife. But that did not mean they lived carefree. They had given up on going to the movies, in part because of the discomfort of wearing a mask for three straight hours, and had abandoned their annual travel to Paris and London. But their son, also fully vaccinated, was less cautious, flying to Patagonia for vacation.

The young feel much more free, said Mr. Cavallones wife, Maria Teresa Pucciano, 74. She added that they recently went to a wedding, but a friend of theirs stayed outside in the cold the whole time.

An increasing number of people who have received a third vaccine dose have, emboldened by the apparent light symptoms of Omicron for the vaccinated, entered a bring-it-on phase of the pandemic. Some are trying to time their resulting quarantines to a social and school calendar, or to have infections coincide with those of friends. Others are instead still coming to terms with a virus that is seemingly everywhere, and forcing themselves to adjust their comfort levels and do more, to be more social, to even dine inside an actual restaurant.

On a recent Sunday at the Il Cortile restaurant in Rome, where the front door bore a large reminder that all diners needed to present a health pass and its proof of vaccination, Isabella Carletti, 65, got up from lunch with her husband and walked outside.

Jan. 31, 2022, 9:57 p.m. ET

I felt uncomfortable in there, I wanted to get some air, she said. We usually book outside, but we couldnt find a table.

She lit a cigarette and suggested the smoke was less dangerous than the air inside. But then she went back in.

In Italy, more than 80 percent of the population, including children, has had two doses of the vaccine. That number is expected to tick up as 90 percent of the population, including many children who only recently became eligible for vaccination, already has one dose.

The Italian government has gradually tightened the screws on the unvaccinated, and on Tuesday, new restrictions will come into force requiring vaccination for people 50 and over.

Most of the problems we are facing today depend on the fact that there are unvaccinated people, Prime Minister Mario Draghi said. He added that unvaccinated people have a much higher chance of developing the disease and severe forms of the disease and were putting hospitals under pressure.

To force vaccinations, the health care system will forward the names of the unvaccinated people over 50 to tax authorities so they can be fined. But the real deterrent remains the isolation from public life, with everything from entering a cafe to taking a public bus or going to work banned for the unvaccinated.

Since the government announced its plans, around 600,000 people a day, about 1 percent of the population, have received a dose of a vaccine, including the now 45 percent of Italians who are receiving their third dose. But among them are also about 60,000 to 90,000 people who are receiving their first dose. Many are probably children, but the government is also confident the new rules are motivating more people over 50, who are more vulnerable, to be vaccinated. There are still an estimated 10 percent of Italians who are unvaccinated, many in their 40s and 50s.

Advocates for a speedier vaccination campaign would like the government to mandate the vaccine to people 40 and up, as about 15 percent of 40-year-olds remain unvaccinated. But the current delicate political moment in the wake of a destabilizing election for president has put that off for now. In any case, the government is pleased with the progress.

Maria Claudia Di Paolo, 71, and her husband, Natale Santucci, also 71, said they, too, had been encouraged by the success of Italys vaccination campaign and worried that the vaccine skeptics were getting too much attention. The couple, who contracted Covid last year after having friends over for dinner, decided recently to have their first nonrelated guest over for a meal.

Then the guest, a doctor like Mr. Santucci, called to say that one of his patients had tested positive, but he himself had tested negative and could still come.

We said, Better to wait, said Mr. Santucci, who added that the couple had moved their weekend family lunches to an outside table at a local restaurant. But they did celebrate Christmas together at home with their children and grandchildren, spaced apart at a big table, avoiding hugs and kisses and feeling out everyones comfort level. There is a great variability inside the vaccinated families, he said.

Ms. Togna said that she felt isolated and at wits end. Seeing so many people around her infected, quarantined and then going on with life, she said, had encouraged her to try to move ever so slightly off the extremely cautious end of the spectrum. But it was hard.

On one side, I think I have to change my behavior, and drag my whole family along, but it will be very difficult, she said. Even if its endemic, there is always the risk.

Gaia Pianigiani contributed reporting.

Read more:

Covids New Divide: Risk Takers vs. the Risk Averse - The New York Times

WA travel applications 'streaming in': Commissioner(ABC News: Herlyn Kaur)

WA policehave urged more than 24,000 people stuck outside of Western Australia to resubmit their G2G applications to re-enter the state ahead of an expansion of the travel exemption rules.

Several callers to ABC Radio Perth this morning said their G2G applications were now suddenly being approved after being repeatedly rejected.

Western Australia currently classifies every other state and territory as an "extreme" COVID risk,meaningexemptions to enter are limited to specific Commonwealth and state employees and 'specialist functions'only.

It has left hundreds of people locked out of WA despitemany having family or other close links to the state.

But the exemption rules are set tochange on February 5, the original date for the nowindefinitely delayed border opening.

The list of exemptions will expand to include returning West Australians with strong recent connections or direct family connections in WA, those returning on compassionate grounds, such as funerals and palliative care, and for urgent or essential medical treatment.

Police Commissioner Chris Dawson said 24,237 people had been asked to re-submit their G2G applications.

"And as I say, we've already had 10,000 already apply and they're streaming in at the moment," Mr Dawson said.

"And over the next week, we'll do this as efficiently as we can."

Lyndal Malarkeyis currently in Melbourne and has been trying to get home to Perth for more than a year.

She said her mother had cancer last year and she was desperate to get back in, but her applications were knocked back 10 times.

This morning it was approved.

"I got on straight away this morning as soon as they updated the system, put in my G2G, as all my family live in Perth and we're relocating and it got approved," she told ABC Radio Perth.

"So, I'm over the moon.

"I was shocked and thrilled to get such a fast response."

Ms Malarkey and other people whose G2G passes were approved wouldstill be required to isolate for 14 days on arrival.

They must alsobe triple vaccinated or have had a double dose if not eligible for the booster, unless they have amedical exemption.

They will also have to show proof of a negative rapid antigenor PCR test within 24 hours of departure.

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COVID live updates: All the coronavirus news you need in the one place - ABC News

DC Health released updated coronavirus isolation and quarantine guidelines Monday night, calling for a negative test before ending isolation and detailing what it means to be up-to-date with COVID-19 vaccinations in a school setting.

DC Health released updated coronavirus isolation and quarantine guidelines Monday night, calling for a negative test before ending isolation and detailing what it means to be up-to-date with COVID-19 vaccinations in a school setting.

The changes, which city officials alluded to in a call with council members last week, are in some ways stricter than the guidelines that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended.

In its instructions for people who test positive for the coronavirus, DC Health says the minimum isolation period is five full days. Unlike the CDC, though, DC Health says a five-day isolation period can be used if a negative antigen test is completed toward the end of the five-day period, and the patient is fever-free for at least 24 hours without the use of fever-lowering medications, such as Tylenol or ibuprofen. If those conditions are met, isolation can be ended on day 6, the city says.

The CDC doesnt call for a negative antigen test to end isolation, but the updated D.C. guidelines call for the negative test result and states the person who tests positive to wear a well-fitting mask around others through day 10 because a negative COVID-19 antigen test does not guarantee that you are not infectious to others, so continuing to wear a mask is essential.

People with severe or critical COVID-19 or who are immunocompromised should isolate for at least 10 days, DC Health said.

The updated DC Health guidance also calls for a five-day isolation period and negative test for people who test positive without symptoms.

Fully vaccinated people, which the CDC considers anyone who has received two shots, dont need to quarantine if exposed unless they develop symptoms.

The updated DC Health policies also include new guidelines for schools.

In a school setting, according to city guidelines, anyone 18 and older is considered up to date on vaccinations if they have received a booster shot. D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser previously required all adults working in schools to be vaccinated unless a medical or religious exemption is granted.

For students ages 5-17, fully vaccinated still means completing a primary two-dose vaccine series.

In school settings, independent of vaccination status, the minimum isolation period is seven days, DC Health said.

The updated guidelines also include information for implementing test-to-stay programs, the practice that allows unvaccinated students who are exposed to the virus to remain in class if they get tested regularly and remain negative. D.C. Public Schools recently launched a test-to-stay pilot program for pre-K students, and the practice is being used in some Fairfax County, Virginia, schools.

In order to be eligible to participate in a D.C. test-to-stay program, exposure must have occurred at school and involved two people who were properly masked. Students and staff participating in test-to-stay programs, DC Health said, should to be tested at minimum two times in the seven-day period after their last exposure, including: immediately (defined as within 24 hours of their exposure notification) and again five to seven days after exposure.

A source familiar with the school systems testing programs said the Office of the State Superintendent of Education typically reviews DC Health guidance before making its recommendations for local education agencies.

All of the new guidance is available online.

More Coronavirus News

Looking for more information? D.C., Maryland and Virginia are each releasing more data every day. Visit their official sites here: Virginia | Maryland | D.C.

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DC Health updates coronavirus guidance to include negative test result before ending isolation - WTOP

Britains Foreign Secretary Liz Truss tested positive for coronavirus Monday evening just hours before a planned trip to Ukraine.

Thankfully Ive had my three jabs and will be working from home while I isolate, Truss said on Twitter.

Truss had been due to travel to the eastern European country Tuesday for talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, amid mounting tensions over Russias military build-up at the border. Prime Minister Boris Johnson is still due to make the trip.

Truss is the second U.K. cabinet minister to contract coronavirus in a matter of days after the Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi confirmed he had tested positive Sunday.

Earlier Monday the foreign secretary addressed the House of Commons, announcing a toughened sanctions scheme aimed at hitting Russian individuals and businesses if Moscow goes ahead with an invasion of Ukraine. She also sat three seats along from Johnson without a mask while he answered questions about the civil servant Sue Grays report on the partygate scandal.

According to Sky News, Truss also attended a meeting of the 1922 committee of backbench Tory MPs on Monday evening, along with Johnson and several other cabinet ministers.

Read more:

UK's Liz Truss tests positive for coronavirus on eve of Ukraine visit - POLITICO Europe

(WXYZ) The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services announced 250,000 free COVID-19 tests are available for 50,000 households in some areas of metro Detroit.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and the MDHHS announced a partnership with The Rockefeller Foundation for the free tests.

They are available to households in eligible ZIP codes in Berrien, Genesee, Kent, Macomb, Muskegon, Oakland, Saginaw and Wayne counties, as well as the City of Detroit. Households are eligible to order one test kit from the Project Act website.

Each kit contains five tests and should arrive in Amazon packaging within one to two weeks of ordering. Additional test availability is anticipated in the future.

"Testing is an important tool to limit the spread of the virus and at-home tests allow individuals to very quickly determine if they are positive for the virus and take actions to isolate and seek treatment if needed. I urge Michiganders to order their tests today in addition to getting the safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine and their booster dose when eligible, as the vaccine is our best defense against the virus, MDHHS Director Elizabeth Hertel said in a statement. We are grateful for this partnership with The Rockefeller Foundation that will put more tests into the hands of Michiganders most in need as we continue battling COVID-19.

Additional Coronavirus information and resources:

View a global coronavirus tracker with data from Johns Hopkins University.

See complete coverage on our Coronavirus Continuing Coverage page.

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50K free COVID-19 test kits available for certain areas of Michigan; here's how to order - WXYZ

New Yorks unequal recovery

In New York City, the Omicron wave is making the citys already lopsided recovery even more so.

Office workers were sent home again, reversing steady increases in subway ridership and hurting small businesses in central business districts. After border restrictions were lifted in November, overseas travelers were expected to give a boost to the hospitality industry, but hotel occupancy rates plummeted.

Even as the Omicron surge is subsiding, its effects linger. Service-sector employees worked fewer hours per week in December 2021, on average, than in December 2020. Working hours dropped even more in the first two weeks of January.

For a look at the recovery, I spoke to my colleague Nicole Hong, who covers New Yorks economy.

What does the recovery look like now?

Its been very uneven, and some of the metrics can feel contradictory.

For people who had jobs where they could work from home, and for people who had investments in the stock market, 2021 was a year when overall personal income in New York City actually went up. The real estate market is red hot right now. Rents and home sale prices are soaring from the lows that they hit earlier on in the pandemic. So for part of the city, people feel like things are back to normal and thriving and booming.

But New York City relies disproportionately on tourism and on office buildings, and we have hundreds of thousands of jobs in that ecosystem: everything from the shoeshine guy in Midtown, to the tour bus driver, to all the different restaurants and cafes and bars that serve tourists and office workers and commuters. As a result, at the start of the pandemic, New York had a bigger loss of jobs than pretty much any major American city, and it has taken longer to come back.

How is Covid affecting those workers?

With each new variant, and each new wave that causes things to slow down or shut down again, its disproportionately affecting people who have to show up in person to get paid. If white-collar workers are unable to go to the office because of a new variant, they can still work from home and get a paycheck. But for the restaurant that has to temporarily shut down because theres an Omicron outbreak, those waiters and dishwashers are typically not getting paid during that period.

The leisure and hospitality industries, which employ large numbers of lower-wage workers, have been especially slow to come back. I recently spoke to a tour guide who made a lot of money in 2019 because it was the best year for tourism in New York Citys history. Now, hes booking only a couple private tours a week.

What does the future look like?

The Independent Budget Office reported that New York City is not expected to recoup all the jobs it lost during the pandemic until late 2025, while the national economy is projected to surpass prepandemic employment this year. But its really hard to make an economic prediction this year for New York because we dont know yet the full impact of Omicron.

The future of our central business district is a huge uncertainty. So much of the citys economy is tied up in these office buildings from their underlying value, which feeds the citys property tax base, to pulling in commuters, which is essential to ridership on the commuter rails and subways. That unknown is huge, and well have to wait until the spring to see what the return-to-office situation is.

What are the ramifications of an inequitable recovery?

Its bad for economic growth when so many New Yorkers are unable to find a good-paying job, afford rent or access the kinds of opportunities that can pull them out of poverty. Its destabilizing, and it feeds into the broader conversation that city officials are having right now around how to deal with the overlapping crises of homelessness, mental health and substance abuse.

Italy has one of the highest vaccination rates in the world more than 80 percent of the population, including children, has had two doses.

The countrys high uptake holds the potential for a near future where the schism in society is no longer between the vaccinated and the unvaccinated, but between those who are comfortable taking risks in their daily lives and those who are not.

An increasing number of boosted people are entering a bring-it-on phase of the pandemic. Some are trying to time their resulting quarantines to a social and school calendar, or to have infections coincide with those of friends. Others are still coming to terms with a seemingly omnipresent virus, and forcing themselves to adjust their comfort levels and to be more social even to dine inside a restaurant.

Mariagiovanna Togna, for example, is willing to accompany her children to outdoor play dates. Her husband is still wearing rubber gloves and wiping down groceries. One of her sisters in Rome goes to yoga class and work. Her brother finally agreed to get vaccinated, she said, to keep going to bars, and he recently vacationed along the Amalfi Coast. But during Christmas vacation, their parents, in their 70s, asked him to stay in a bed-and-breakfast.

We are all vaccinated, many with the third dose already. We all have a civic sense about being careful for ourselves and for others, Togna said. But we have different styles of life.

I'm in my 70s, triple vaxed and done! I live alone and am more worried about my mental health than virus. Yesterday I took a Zumba class, no mask, and tonight Im meeting friends indoors for drinks. We are exhausted seniors and cant isolate and worry anymore.

Laurie, New York City

Let us know how youre dealing with the pandemic. Send us a response here, and we may feature it in an upcoming newsletter.

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Email your thoughts to briefing@nytimes.com.

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Coronavirus Briefing: N.Y.C.s Lopsided Recovery - The New York Times

The vaccine sceptic and anti-lockdown campaigner Laurence Fox has said he has coronavirus.

The actor, who finished sixth in last years London mayoral elections, tweeted a picture on Sunday of a positive lateral flow test.

Above it, he wrote: In other news, felt shivery and crap yesterday. Turns out I have been visited by Lord Covid at last and have the Omnicold (if the LFT is to be believed!) On the #Ivermectin, saline nasal rinse, quercetin, paracetamol and ibruprofen. More man flu than Wu-flu at the moment.

Ivermectin is an anti-parasitic treatment used mainly on animals but which is approved in different doses to treat some parasitic worms in humans. It has not been proved to be effective at preventing or treating Covid, but has been promoted by vaccine-sceptic public figures such as the comedian and podcast host Joe Rogan, who said he used the drug to treat himself when he became sick with Covid, and the Fox News host Tucker Carlson.

Foxs tweet came four days after he posted a picture of himself wearing a T-shirt with a slogan saying, No vaccine needed, I have an immune system. In another tweet posted on Sunday, he said he was on day two of the virus.

After a number of people commented in response to Foxs tweet asking where he had got the ivermectin and why he was taking it, he responded by saying: Not only do you only have to sign a form saying you feel well to get into Mexico, but you can also buy drugs like Ivermectin over the counter that the vaccinaholics dont want you to get hold of here. Im so happy to be joining the natural immunity club. Going to have a nap.

Launching his mayoral campaign last year, Fox said he would not get the Covid jab until after 2023, by which time he claimed all the tests needed to convince him of its safety would be completed.

He has also cast doubt on the UKs death toll from the pandemic, claiming that some doctors were seeking to add non-Covid deaths including that of his mother in 2020 to the official tally to support the governments fear-based narrative.

And Fox has questioned the scientific basis of long Covid, which the Office for National Statistics estimates is affecting 1.3 million people, or 2% of the population, in the UK, based on people self-reporting symptoms that last more than a month after a Covid infection.

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Laurence Fox says he has coronavirus and is taking ivermectin - The Guardian

The omicron variant of Covid-19 was discovered less than three months ago, but it rocketed case numbers to record highs. Yet almost as rapidly as they rose, new infections plummeted in countries like the United Kingdom, South Africa, and now the United States.

Omicron caused some of the pandemics tallest, sharpest spikes in Covid-19 infections as it overtook previous variants like delta, but several waves triggered by earlier variants followed a remarkably similar pattern. Almost as steeply as cases rose, they fell.

Why did this happen? Why didnt omicron cases rise and fall slowly or level out at a high or moderate level?

I think you may get different answers from different experts, said Eleanor Murray, an epidemiologist at Boston University, in an email. This isnt just a curiosity: Researchers are trying to tease out the reasons in the hope of flattening peaks in the future.

Understanding why cases are rising and falling is crucial for figuring out what kinds of public health strategies are working. Its also important for anticipating what comes next and how to deploy resources like medical workers, hospital beds, vaccines, and treatments.

The Covid-19 spikes were seeing are not just an intrinsic fact of nature. Theyre partly a consequence of how we respond or dont to changes in the virus and in our society. And as steep spikes are eventually replaced by shallower slopes, they will also reveal when the acute Covid-19 pandemic has ebbed and given way to an endemic disease.

The omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, appeared at just the right time to cause a huge infection spike. It took root in the Northern Hemisphere as holiday travel picked up and cooler temperatures pushed people indoors, helping it travel long distances and spread locally through person-to-person contact.

Omicron also had the right mix of traits to catch fire. The omicron variant contains mutations that allow it to better evade immune protection while spreading faster than any prior known variant. Even people vaccinated against Covid-19 began getting infected in large numbers as protection from their initial doses started to waver, though most experienced mild symptoms. All these factors together led to lots of infections happening very quickly.

It has infected everybody that could be infected out and about and that means automatically it will run out of people to infect and start coming down as fast as it went up, said Ali Mokdad, an epidemiologist at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington.

While omicron has been the most extreme example of this phenomenon, earlier variants also caused sharp spikes and declines. South Africa, for instance, saw distinct peaks associated with different variants. Most of these peculiar stalagmites in South Africa were symmetrical except for the delta wave last summer, which saw a brief resurgence on its way down.

[T]he shape of a spike then decline is what we generally expect in a single population, said Justin Lessler, a professor of epidemiology at the University of North Carolina School of Public Health, in an email.

A key variable is the basic reproductive number of the virus, or R0, which is the average number of people that one infected individual tends to infect. If that number is above one, the epidemic grows exponentially; if it is below one, it declines exponentially, Lessler said.

As more people get infected with a coronavirus variant, there are fewer people left to infect. When the basic reproductive number falls below one, new infections reach their peak and then decline. To plateau, the rate of new infections has to stabilize somewhere near one, but that would require an unusual set of conditions, according to Lessler.

The idea that disease outbreaks are generally symmetrical is an old one. William Farr observed in the 1840s that smallpox epidemics followed a mathematical pattern, though his formula, known as Farrs law, resulted in a bell-shaped curve. But diseases rarely follow such neat curves.

That has been generally discredited as a law since it doesnt allow for things like changes in susceptibility due to different levels of immunity/immune waning, movement in and out of populations, and changes to risk and exposure behaviors, said Murray.

Thats been evident during the Covid-19 pandemic. Some countries like South Korea saw more gentle hills as different variants took root, while others like Brazil experienced asymmetrical, jagged peaks throughout the pandemic. Some of that is due to delays in identifying and reporting cases. In some places, variants like delta and omicron overlapped. At the country level, case curves can change shape as the pandemic spreads over time from urban to rural areas or can peak at different times depending on the region.

Then one has to account for public health interventions. Vaccines offer significant immune protection (and recovery from Covid-19 can be protective too). Measures like wearing face masks, limiting public gatherings, more rigorous testing, and boosting vaccination efforts also assist in flattening the curve and help waves to crest. People also change their behavior in response to rising infections. In the US, surges in vaccination and testing followed spikes in cases.

That increase in testing and implementation of public health interventions helps us not only reduce transmission, but also more accurately and timely identify dips in cases, said Saskia Popescu, an infectious disease epidemiologist at George Mason University, in an email. These are also good examples of how effective the vaccines have been and our ability to rapidly respond to spikes and novel variants.

So both the shape and the size of an infection spike can be altered with public health tactics. Over time, as immunity builds up in the population, experts expect to stop seeing tall, sharp spikes in Covid-19 cases. The virus probably wont go away entirely, but case counts could form seasonal waves as new variants arise, immunity wanes, and exposure opportunities increase, according to Mokdad.

Covid-19 cases spurred by omicron appear to have peaked already in the US, but the health care system is still facing a stressful time ahead.

When an outbreak peaks in a given community, 50 percent of the infections have occurred and now another 50 will happen as we come down, Mokdad said. So we still have a couple of weeks ahead of us that are dangerous in the United States. ... A small fraction of them are going to the hospitals, but a small fraction of a huge number is a lot.

If public health measures like masking and social distancing are relaxed too soon, cases can bounce back up on their way down. The UK, for instance, reopened schools and relaxed Covid-19 rules before the omicron wave flattened out. Then infections stopped dropping.

The same thing could happen to other countries. That sharp decline will slow down at one point, then it goes back [down] sharply again, Mokdad said. Thats what we are noticing globally.

Even after the omicron wave recedes, the US will still have to contend with people who remain unvaccinated against Covid-19, both inside the country and around the world. And the virus is always changing: Omicron now has a subvariant called BA.2 that is gaining some ground, though its not yet clear what it means for the pandemic overall.

The more the virus spreads, the more likely it is to mutate in dangerous ways. As the current variants have shown, they can quickly spread around the world, regardless of where they originate.

The recurring spikes of Covid-19 cases, fueled in part by variants, should inspire us to redouble our efforts at controlling the disease, especially with vaccines. Were still struggling to avoid these peaks as vigilant infection prevention efforts and global vaccine equity have been a challenge, said Popescu.

A more robust global vaccination effort, coupled with better disease surveillance to catch variants before they spell trouble, could prevent the next wave and finally start to bring the pandemic under control.

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Omicron surge: Why Covid-19 cases often spike sharply and fall rapidly - Vox.com

On the cusp of the third year of the COVID-19 pandemic, the United States is battling back the biggest surge of the virus yet with the omicron variant.

Cases, even while receding in some places, are near record levels. And daily deaths, while lower than the peak of last winter, are still averaging more than 2,000 nationwide.

Despite pitched battles over masks and vaccines, life appears somewhat normal in many respects -- kids are going to school, people are going into work and large indoor gatherings and events are being held.

So, while it may be hard to imagine, many experts suggest 2022 could be the year COVID becomes an endemic disease, meaning it is always circulating within the population but at low rates or causing just seasonal outbreaks.

During a press conference Wednesday, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious diseases expert, said the U.S. can get "sufficient control" over COVID-19 so it "does not disrupt us in society, does not dominate our lives, not prevent us [from doing] the things that we generally do under normal existence."

This is because the virus will start running out of people to infect as people become immune and follow mitigation measures such as mask-wearing and testing if they have symptoms.

"We have the tools with vaccines, with boosts, with masks, with tests and with antivirals," Fauci said.

As an endemic disease, COVID-19 would shift from becoming a global health emergency to a virus that the world learns to live with.

Travelers walk past a sign offering free COVID-19 vaccinations and booster shots at a pop-up clinic in the international arrivals area of Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles, Calif., Dec. 22, 2021.

Public health experts say many societal changes are needed for a time when the virus circulates but is not as disruptive, such as targeted testing, more vaccination, better treatments and allowances for staying home when you're sick.

"We really need to be shifting our thinking to how do we live with this virus rather than can we make it completely go away," Dr. Timothy Brewer, a professor of epidemiology at UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, told ABC News. "So I think we need to sort of move into the mode of minimizing the impact of the virus as much as possible in terms of health, economic and social disruption -- recognizing this virus is going to be there."

People who are sick will be advised to stay home or wear masks in public

When the virus does become endemic, experts say people will be advised not go into school or work while sick and instead stay home, unlike before the pandemic.

If you have to leave the house, it could remain common to wear a mask on public transit or in indoor spaces.

"It will become a culture of if you're sick you stay home," Dr. Wafaa El-Sadr, a professor of epidemiology and medicine at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, told ABC News. "Don't come to work, don't go to school, don't send your kids to school. There will be more of an appreciation of the collective responsibility that we have for each other."

Currently, federal law does not require employers to provide paid sick leave to employees although some states, such as California, New York and Washington, have laws requiring it.

Antivirals may become more common in doctor's offices and hospitals

In addition to vaccines, some antiviral treatments, from Pfizer and Merck, have come out in the past several months, specifically for those who test positive or had symptoms recently developed.

Studies have shown that these antivirals can help prevent hospitalization, especially those who are at high risk of severe illness.

Experts stress that even after the emergency phase is over, antivirals should not be considered a substitute for vaccines, but rather an extra layer of protection, specifically for at-risk groups.

People have drinks and dine on the outdoor patio at La Boheme in West Hollywood as coronavirus surges on July 8, 2020, in Los Angeles, Calif.

"The distribution of antivirals is really important in terms of making sure immunocompromised people and people with disabilities have that sort of protection," Abdulah Shihipar, a public health researcher at Brown University, told ABC News.

Brewer agrees and says he thinks the treatments for COVID-19 will be similar to those for HIV in that they will get better and better over time.

"HIV is no less pathogenic today than it was 40 years ago but the difference is we have very effective treatments, we have excellent antivirals against HIV," he said. "So I think as antivirals become available that they will play a very important role" in combating COVID-19.

Shihipar says he hopes the federal government comes up with a long-term plan for distribution whether that means a program people can sign up for to get cheap subsidized drugs, setting up at pharmacies, delivering it to rural areas and so on.

Testing will be more strategic such as just screening people with symptoms

Currently, the U.S. has a model based on two types of testing: diagnostic for symptomatic people to see if they are positive for COVID, and preventive for asymptomatic people to make sure they are not infected before participating in activities or seeing others.

But in a world in which COVID-19 is more seasonal of a virus, experts say the country will have to shift to more focused testing, particularly focusing on the symptomatic.

"Now we kind of test just to test everybody, it should be more focused," said El-Sadr. "For people who are symptomatic, if you have symptoms, it is a good idea to get tested, absolutely. So I think focusing on people who are asymptomatic will be very important."

Right now, an average of 1.7 million tests is being administered per day in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Experts say that, during peaks, a minimum of 2 million is needed to keep up with demand. Supplies have been short in some cases as manufacturers ramp up production of at-home tests and omicron redefines infection levels in the country.

El-Sadr also says testing can be used for specific high-risk activities such as eating indoors with family members who are unvaccinated or having a social gathering with someone who is immunosuppressed as opposed to generally for indoor gatherings.

"We have to think of what is the strategic use of testing," El-Sadr added.

Medical personnel from Riverside (CA) University Health Systems hospitals administer a COVID-19 test at drive-through testing site in the parking lot of Diamond Stadium, March 22, 2020 in Lake Elsinore, Calif.

Brewer believes testing programs currently in place at schools, such as students testing before returning and then undergoing weekly testing, won't work in the long run.

"It's logistically and financially too cumbersome and expensive and slow," he said. "Given that we know up to 40% or more of people can be asymptomatic when infected and we know asymptomatic people can spread disease, we just kind of need to operate under the assumption that anyone is potentially infected and do things like hand hygiene and vaccination rather than relying on a testing strategy."

Improved ventilation standards in workplaces and schools could be implemented

Experts say that improving indoor air quality will be one of the most important tasks, specifically as states begin to roll back mandates and mitigation measures.

Making sure indoor air is being recirculated will lower rates of cases and prevent outbreaks.

Shihipar says the Occupational Safety and Health Administration had standards for health care settings (which have since expired) that need to be expanded to all workplaces.

"We need to change the way we deal with indoor air, like how do we properly ventilate these spaces -- not just for COVID but for flu and all these other diseases," he said. "How do we make the air cleaner so that the disease spreads less?"

He continued, "We need emergency temporary workplace standards from OSHA. One for all workers would actually regulate employers to make their workplaces safe in terms of ventilation, in terms of capacity."

Shihipar added that he'd like to see the government giving each teacher a certain number of portable air filters for their rooms and the governments and setting up clear standards of air regulation for school districts.

Students pass a beach ball to the next person on the list during roll call on the first day of class at Laguna Niguel Elementary School in Laguna Niguel, Calif. on Aug. 17, 2021.

We may need annual COVID vaccines

Experts have suggested that annual COVID-19 vaccines, just like the flu shot, could become a reality in a world where the virus is endemic to keep antibody levels high.

They could even be adapted to combat variants just the flu shot is manufactured to combat which strains researchers think will be the most dominant.

Brewer said it will depend on two factors: how long immunity lasts after vaccination and how much the virus changes.

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Experts say the COVID-19 emergency could end this year. What would it look like? - ABC News