Category: Covid-19

Omicron is pushing Covid-19 hospital admissions among children to record levels in the U.S. and the U.K. Doctors say the variants infectiousnessand not any increased severityis probably mostly responsible.

Throughout the pandemic, children have been much less likely than adults to suffer severe illness from Covid-19, and doctors say that this appears to be true for Omicron, too. But sky-high case numbers mean that more children are ending up in the hospital both with Covid-19 and because of the disease, underscoring how a likely milder variant can still do more damage, simply by infecting more people.

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Omicron Wave Leads to New Highs of Hospitalized Children Who Have Covid-19 - The Wall Street Journal

Confirmed cases of COVID-19 have passed 310.5 million globally, according to Johns Hopkins University. The number of confirmed deaths has now passed 5.49 million. More than 9.46 billion vaccination doses have been administered globally, according to Our World in Data.

New COVID-19 cases in Australia continue to hover around record levels, with Victoria state Premier Daniel Andrews warning of "significant pressure in our health system".

Poland's total COVID-19 death toll has passed 100,000, the country's health minister has announced.

Japan has announced its tight entry restrictions, in place to prevent the spread of the Omicron COVID-19 variant, will remain in place until the end of February.

India has reported 168,063 new COVID-19 cases - less than the previous day's figure of 179,723.

Pfizer's Chief Executive Albert Bourla said yesterday that a redesigned COVID-19 vaccine that specifically targets the Omicron variant is likely needed. The company could have one ready to launch by March, he said.

Chile has begun its roll-out of a fourth dose of COVID-19 vaccine to immunocompromised people - a first for the region.

Peru reported an all-time high of 70,000 confirmed COVID-19 infections in the first week of January, a health official said yesterday.

The number of people in hospital with COVID-19 in France rose by 767 to 22,749 on Monday, the biggest increase since April 2021.

Daily new confirmed COVID-19 cases per million people in selected countries.

Image: Our World in Data

The COVID Response Alliance for Social Entrepreneurship is a coalition of 85 global leaders, hosted by the World Economic Forum. Its mission: Join hands in support of social entrepreneurs everywhere as vital first responders to the pandemic and as pioneers of a green, inclusive economic reality.

Its COVID Social Enterprise Action Agenda, outlines 25 concrete recommendations for key stakeholder groups, including funders and philanthropists, investors, government institutions, support organizations, and corporations. In January of 2021, its members launched its 2021 Roadmap through which its members will roll out an ambitious set of 21 action projects in 10 areas of work. Including corporate access and policy change in support of a social economy.

For more information see the Alliance website or its impact story here.

The United States reported a record 1.35 million new COVID-19 cases yesterday, according to a Reuters tally, the highest daily total for any country since the start of the pandemic.

The previous record was 1.03 million, reported in the US on 3 January. A large number of cases are reported each Monday as many states do not report over the weekend. The seven-day average for new cases has now tripled in two weeks to over 700,000.

The number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients has also hit an all-time high in the US.

T cells created by the body to ward off the common cold can actually help protect against the virus that causes COVID-19 - and could aid in future vaccine development.

Scientists at Imperial College London found the presence of T cells at the time of exposure to SARS-CoV-2 can influence whether someone becomes infected.

Dr Rhia Kundu, from Imperials National Heart & Lung Institute, says: Being exposed to the SARS-CoV-2 virus doesnt always result in infection, and weve been keen to understand why. We found that high levels of pre-existing T cells, created by the body when infected with other human coronaviruses like the common cold, can protect against COVID-19 infection."

However, Dr Kundu warned people should still get their booster: "While this is an important discovery, it is only one form of protection, and I would stress that no one should rely on this alone. Instead, the best way to protect yourself against COVID-19 is to be fully vaccinated, including getting your booster dose.

Previous research looked at whether other T cells induced by other coronaviruses, including the common cold, could recognize SARS-CoV-2.

T cells are white blood cells that are a vital part of the body's immune response to disease and they play different roles.

"They can act as 'killer cells', attacking cells which have been infected with a virus or another kind of pathogen, or they can act as 'helper cells' by supporting B cells to produce antibodies," says Imperial's Professor Rosemary Boyton.

The latest findings could provide a blueprint for a second-generation, universal vaccine that could prevent infection from current and future SARS-CoV-2 variants, including Omicron.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and not the World Economic Forum.

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COVID-19: Top news stories about the pandemic on 11 January | World Economic Forum - World Economic Forum

2022 Olympics: COVID concerns will make winter games look different

The Winter Olympics will look different this year with strict COVID-19 guidelines in place as China battles an omicron outbreak.

Just the FAQs, USA TODAY

Coronavirus continues to ripthrough Michigan, breaking records for hospitalizations and newly confirmed cases as the extremely contagious omicron variant creates the state's worst yet surge.

"We're now at a point that we have not seen through this pandemic," Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian, the state's chief medical executive, said Tuesday, noting that the metro Detroit area is hardest hit with the highest hospitalization rate in the state from the virus.

"When we look at our percentpositivity, we are up to 33.2%. This is a number that we have not seen since the beginning of the pandemic when tests were very limited. And then, when we look at hospital capacity, we're at 21.9% of our inpatient beds filled with COVID-19 positive individuals."

It's likely to get worse before it gets better, she said. Models suggest that Michigan's omicron surge could peak in late January or early February.

"We have a choice to make: Do we want to work on bringing that peak down or do we just want to let this omicron surge explode? ... This is a very dangerous time for us and this is not what we want to see with cases exploding the way they are."

Elizabeth Hertel, director of the state health department, urged Michiganders to get coronavirus vaccines and boosters wheneligible, to upgrade to a well-fitting KN95 maskor double up on masks if a KN95 isnot available, and to follow isolation and quarantine guidelines.

"To lessen your risk of getting COVID and the potential for severe infection, to avoid disruptions to in-person learning and the economic ramifications that come with so many people getting sick and needing to stay home or quarantine, and to try to ensure that our health and hospital systems have the capacity to treat you quickly when you walk through their doors for an emergency, including non-COVID conditions, it is critical that every person in this state continues to take steps to stay safe," Hertel said Tuesday.

The surge has led many hospitals across the state topostponenon-emergency tests, procedures and surgeriesas the flood of sick peopletaxestheir ability to care for all who need help.

"We've cancelled or postponed more than 250 surgeries since this surge began in December because we've needed the hospital beds for kids and adults who are coming down with serious cases of COVID-19," Dr. David Miller, president of University of Michigan Health, said Tuesday afternoon.

"What this means is that many people are not receiving potentially life-saving care because Michigan Medicine and other hospitals are full. ... We're also greatly limited in our ability to accept patients and transfer from other hospitals across the state, again reducing access to highly specialized services available at Michigan Medicine.

"Our emergency department also continues to run at full capacity almost constantly. And this is not how we or anyone else wants to receive or deliver health care."

He urged people whose symptoms are not severe to seek treatment at urgent care centers or through their primary care doctors rather than going to hospital emergency rooms.

Mercy Health Muskegon is using a climate-controlled tent outside the west Michigan hospital to serve as a waiting room for the emergency department, which has been converted into clinical space to treat more patients.

Even as hospitals are seeing record numbers of patients, they're also grappling with medical workers who are contracting the virus. Thousands of health care workers statewide were off the job last week because they were infected or exposed to the virus.

"We've had 739 employees test positive for COVID-19 since Jan.1," Miller said of Ann Arbor-based Michigan Medicine. "We're concerned about the impacts of staffing shortages for the well-being of both our patients and our team members."

Five federalmedical relief teams have come to help hospitals in Dearborn, Wyandotte, Grand Rapids, Saginaw, and Muskegon to help manage the crush of COVID-19 patients, Hertel said, adding that the state is now distributing 200 ventilators from the National Strategic Stockpile while it also ramps up efforts to improve access to coronavirus tests.

Already some K-12 school districts are sending tests home with students, and soon, the state health department will distribute tests at public libraries.

"This surge is not likeprevious surges," Bagdasarian said."We're expecting to see many, many more cases and what we want to prevent are many, many more hospitalizations and deaths."

The majority of patients hospitalized and those being treated in intensive care units with COVID-19 are unvaccinated or have yet to get a booster dose, she said.

"The people who are sickest with COVID, the people who are in ICUs(intensive care units) and on ventilators, it's much more likely that they are either unvaccinated or unboosted," she said. "So the role of vaccines and boosters is more important than ever to keep individuals from developing those severe complications."

The seven-day average of new daily cases topped 16,000 Monday, a pandemic record. The percentage of positive tests has topped 30% since New Year's Eve, and4,674people were admitted to hospitals statewide Monday with confirmed cases of the virus, another record.Of them, 94 were children.

"Hospitalizationsof children have increasedafter last week's all time highs," Hertel said.

While the majority of children who contract the virus fully recover and don't need hospitalization, "in this current COVID surge, we are experiencing the highest number of COVID-positive admissions to the hospital and the pediatric ICU,"Dr.Lauren Yagiela, a pediatric critical care physician at Childrens Hospital of Michigan said Tuesday.

The sickest kidsgenerally are hospitalized for treatment of three COVID-19-related conditions: life-threateningpneumonia,heart inflammation known as myocarditisand for the post-COVID complication called multisystem inflammatory syndrome - children, Yagiela said.

"The children we have cared for with COVID pneumonia, COVID myocarditis and multi-system organ syndrome have often required a variety of medical treatments to help support their hearts and lungs when they are sick,"Yagiela said.

Some children are so severely ill, they need ventilators or treatment with a heart-lung bypass machine, she said.

"My greatest wish is that a child or family never needs the medical care that I provide in the pediatric ICU," Yagiela said. "Vaccinating children 5 and older will help us achieve this."

Hertel said it's vitalto keep kids in classrooms for in-person learning, despite the rapid spread of coronavirus among children and the state's population.

"If we can continue to make sure these kids are vaccinated as well as teachers, they are masking and following the protocols that have been laid out, then I think schools should safely remain in person if they can," Hertel said.

To keep schools open, the state health department recommends all K-12 schools adopt mask requirements for students and staff. Though state health leadershaven't issued a statewide school mask mandate, they updatedquarantine and isolation guidelines Monday.

Those guidelines now mirror recommendations from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention andinclude shorter quarantine and isolation periods, allowingstudents and school staff to return to classroomssooner after an exposure to a person with the virus or a positive test.

The following are details of the new recommendations for K-12 students, teachers and school staff:

If you test positive but are asymptomatic:Isolate for five days, even if you do not have symptoms and regardless of your vaccination status toseparate yourself from peoplewho are not infected.Monitor for symptoms from the day of exposure through day 10. Return to school for days six to 10 with amask.

If you are positive and symptomatic: Isolate at home for five days. If your symptoms have improved and you've been fever-free without the use of fever-reducing medications for at least 24 hours, you canreturn to school for days six to 10 with a mask.

Day 0 is day symptoms beginor daytest was takenforstudents, teachers & staff who do not have symptoms.

If you are unwilling/unable to wear a mask and test positive: Stay home for 10 days and isolate from others.

If you were exposed to a person with COVID-19:You do not need to quarantine at home if you:

However, people who were in closecontact with a person with COVID should still monitorfor symptoms and wear a mask around others for 10 days from the date of last exposure.

If symptoms develop, get tested immediately and isolate until receiving test results. If the test is positive, then follow isolation recommendations.

If symptoms do not develop, get tested at least five days after last exposed.

If possible, stay away from others in the home, especially people who are at higher risk of getting very sick from COVID-19. And for the full 10 days after last exposure, avoid people who are immunocompromised or at high risk for severe disease, including those who live in nursing homes and other high-risk settings.

If you were exposed and are not current on vaccinations and have not had a coronavirus infection in the last 90 days:Quarantine for five days, and, if possible, test on day five. Wear a mask for 10 days.

Monitor for symptoms, and if symptoms develop, get tested immediately. Isolate until receiving test results. If test is positive, then follow isolation recommendations.

If symptoms do not develop, get tested at least five days after last exposed.

If possible, stay away from others in the home, especially people who are at higher risk of getting very sick from COVID-19. And for the full 10 days after last exposure, avoid people who are immunocompromised or at high risk for severe disease, including those who live in nursing homes and other high-risk settings.

If you've been exposed to someone with the virus but are unwilling/unable to wear a mask:Quarantine for 10 days and watch for symptoms.

Another option for those who've been exposed to the virus is to called "Test to Stay," which involves testing every other day for six days following exposure and wearing a well-fittedmask around others for 10 days.

More: Outdoor tent serves as waiting room at Mercy Health Muskegon during COVID-19 surge

More: Michigan attorney general issues consumer alert for COVID-19 test scams

The shorter isolation/quarantine guidelines for K-12 schools were met with opposition from Michigan Parent Alliance for Safe Schools, a group of that has advocatedfor months for stricter pandemicregulations.

The organizers pointed to the state's own findings on the current surge and its impact on kids, along with the litany of K-12 school districts and universities that recently switched to virtual lessons.

Our state is on fire because too many of those in power have not used that power to keep us from getting to this point, said Kathleen Lucas, an Ottawa County parent, in a statement. Our children and educators and our health care workers and those who need their care are suffering needlessly due to this dereliction of duty.

The Whitmer administration has said K-12 mask requirements should be decided bylocal health departments and school districts, but confusion over seemingly threatening language in the state budget pushed at least some local authorities to rescind school maskmandates. Others have faced pushback from vocal parents and opponents of mask wearingwho dispute the widely held scientific belief that masks prevent the spread of the virus.

Stronger mitigation measures should be in place so that in-person school can be safely prioritized whenever possible. But, when too many staff are out sick it becomes impossible to keep students in an effective and safe learning environment," said Oakland County parent Nicole Kessler in a statement.

"A short-term pivot to distance learning is less disruptive than multiple substitutes in one day and last-minute cancellations.

At no point during Tuesday's news conferencedid Hertel or Bagdasarian suggest statewide pandemicregulations, such as a K-12 school mask mandate, are being considered to slow the spread of the virus.

Instead, the health leaders relied on the same rhetoric used frequently in recent months by Gov. GretchenWhitmer's administration: asking people to use the tools available to slow the spread of COVID-19.

During a December media roundtable, Whitmer ridiculed the idea that politics or fear are driving her pandemic decisions. She said it was "total baloney" that an alleged kidnapping plot made her decide against future pandemic mandates the health department issued sweeping rules in 2020 after indictments were announced and added she's not making any of her decisions based on political fallout.

More: Michigan's top doctor talks COVID-19 disruptions, mask mandates, quarantine controversy

More: 'We are really at a breaking point,' Beaumont Health doctor says of COVID-19 surge

She also again suggested restrictions won't be effective in slowing the spread of COVID-19.

"Using blunt tools like closing sectors of our economy I really, there's no evidence that that is going to dramatically change the decision of this small but still serious group of people that have not yet been vaccinated. That's who's filling up our hospitals. That's who continues to be a host to a virus that will continue to mutate. And that's where our focus has to be getting people vaccinated and boosted," Whitmer said.

With such high transmission levels, it has been "challenging" for public health departments to contact every person who tests positive or who may have been exposed,said Lynn Sutfin, a spokesperson for the state health department.

So public health departments are instead targeting the most vulnerable populations for contact tracing and outbreak identification. That includes people who live inlong-term care facilities and nursing homes, group homes, jails and prisons, shelters and dormitories as well as schoolchildren.

The state health department plans a public education campaign related to help people understand the guidelines for isolation and quarantine so they know what to do if they are exposed, when they should seek testing, and when to seek medical care/therapeutics.

Since the pandemic began, there have been more than1.68 million confirmed cases of the virus in Michigan and27,878 deaths.

Eleven hospitals were at 100% capacity Monday with both COVID-19 patients and people with other medical conditions. They were:Ascension Borgess, Ascension St. Mary's, Beaumont Troy, Beaumont Trenton, Beaumont Wayne, Bronson South Haven, Holland Community Hospital, Promedica Coldwater, Sparrow, St. Joseph Mercy Hospital and Sturgis Hospital.

And additional 18 more were at 90% capacity or higher.

Staff writer Christina Hall contributed to this story.

Contact Kristen Shamus: kshamus@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @kristenshamus.

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Michigan warns of unprecedented COVID-19 surge, urges vaccines and boosters - Detroit Free Press

Like those in other public-facing jobs, Transportation Security Administration (TSA) workers have been testing positive for Covid-19 in record numbers. (Photo by Scott Olson)

The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is reporting3,694employees with active Covid-19 infections,according to agency data, roughly 7% of the agencys screeners. For context, the week before the omicron variant was first identified in the United States, there were 275 positive Covid-19 cases among the TSAs ranks.

Like others who work in public-facing jobs, TSA employees have been testing positive for the coronavirus in record-breaking numbers. The skyrocketing of cases at the agency is an 1,243% increase since Thanksgiving.

Over the past two weeks, TSA officers at 202 U.S. airports have tested positive for Covid-19. The list includes all of the 20 busiest hub airports in the country and comprises 46% of federalized airports.

TSA employees who test positive for Covid-19 may not return to the workplace until at least 10 calendar days have passed since taking the test or experiencing symptoms. To date, the thousands of impacted screeners on leave due to Covid-19 have caused minimal disruption to airport queues across the country, according to the agency.

So far, the sole exception is Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX), where the TSA has temporarily consolidated security checkpoints in Terminal 4, beginning last Friday. Wait times for non-PreCheck passengers could be up to 30 minutes and passengers should plan their arrivals accordingly, said R. Carter Langston, a TSA spokesperson, via email. We urge travelers to be patient as they head to PHX airport and go through security. Current security wait times are available onskyharbor.comor travelers can check the wait times on the flight information screens in the airport terminals.

More airports may be affected as the number of positive cases among TSA screeners continues to rise. We are monitoring others because communities and transportation systems have been hard hit by increasing Covid infections, said Langston.

November 22, 2021 was the deadline by which all federal employees must either be vaccinated against Covid-19 or get a religious or medical exemption, perPresident Joe Bidens vaccine mandate.

Over 96% of TSA employees are currently fully vaccinated, a statistic that has likely saved many from serious illness and hospitalization. The chief objective remains full compliance with the vaccination requirement and a workforce protected against hospitalization and death from Covid-19, Langston said.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, TSA has cumulatively had16,883federal employees test positive for Covid-19. Thirty-fourTSA employees and two screening contractors have died after contracting the virus.

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3,700 TSA Screeners Have Active Covid-19 Infections, A 1,243% Jump Since Thanksgiving - Forbes

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Surging Covid-19 Puts an End to Projected Return-to-Office Dates - The Wall Street Journal

(SACRAMENTO)

A new international study offers a clearer picture of the impact of COVID-19 infection and the risk of severe outcomes on young people around the world.

The study was co-led by a team of researchers from UC Davis Health, University of Calgarys Cumming School of Medicine and Ann & Robert H. Lurie Childrens Hospital of Chicago. It followed more than 10,300 children at 41 emergency departments in 10 countries, including the United States and Canada.

Researchers tracked more than 3,200 of those children who tested positive for COVID-19. Approximately three percent (107 total) of those diagnosed with COVID-19 experienced severe outcomes within two weeks of their visit to an emergency department. In addition, 23 percent (735 total), were hospitalized for treatment. Severe outcomes included cardiac or cardiovascular complications, such as myocarditis (inflammation of the heart), as well as neurologic, respiratory, or infectious problems. Four children died.

The study identified patients older than five years of age, having a pre-existing chronic illness, a previous episode of pneumonia, and presenting to the hospital four to seven days after symptom onset were at higher risk for severe outcomes.

The results of our study show that risk factors such as age, underlying chronic illness, and symptom duration were important risk factors for severe outcomes," said Nathan Kuppermann, chair of the Department of Emergency Medicine and co-lead of the study. "

Researchers found children not admitted to the hospital at an initial emergency department visit rarely deteriorated significantly after the first visit.

Fortunately, the risk of developing severe disease in children with COVID-19 discharged from the emergency department is very low, said study co-lead Todd Florin, director of research in emergency medicine at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Childrens Hospital of Chicago and associate professor of pediatrics at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. Our findings can provide reassurance to parents and clinicians for children well enough to be managed in the community, while also providing important insights on which children may be at particular risk for severe outcomes."

Although asthma has previously been suggested as a risk factor for severe outcome, this study was not able to confirm a link. It also did not find that very young infants were at a higher risk for severe outcomes.

With emergency departments across the world seeing an influx of patients due to the COVID-19 pandemic and stressing capacity, this study will help address the surge by providing an estimate of the risk among pediatric COVID-19 patients screened in emergency departments, said Kuppermann. It will help emergency physicians triage pediatric patients more efficiently by knowing who has risk factors for severe outcomes and focus advanced level care to those who do.

The study occurred within the Pediatric Emergency Research Network, a global consortium of the world's major pediatric emergency care research networks. It received support from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Alberta Innovates, Alberta Health Services and the University of Calgary. It also received COVID grant funding from the University of California Davis, Cincinnati Childrens Hospital Medical Center and Ann and Robert H. Lurie Childrens Hospital of Chicago.

There are no specific evidence-based treatments and therapies for children at this time and detailed research data describing outcomes in young people with COVID-19 has been lacking, so this study offers important insights that we believe will be helpful into front-line care providers treating children with COVID-19, added study co-lead Stephen Freedman, pediatrician and professor at University of Calgarys Cumming School of Medicine.

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International study identifies predictors of severe outcomes in children with COVID-19 - UC Davis Health

Meta, the parent company of Facebook, will require staffers to have received a COVID-19 booster shot to be able to work from its US offices, as reported by The Wall Street Journal. Meta had already said that US office employees would have to be vaccinated against COVID-19 when they returned to the office, but beginning March 28th, theyll also need proof of a booster vaccine, Meta spokesperson Tracy Clayton confirmed to The Verge. The company is also delaying its full office reopening until March 28th, pushing back a return that had been previously set for the end of this month.

Not all Meta employees will have to return to the office on March 28th. Those who want to come back can defer their return by three to five months, a policy that was first announced in December. The company is also letting staffers request to work remotely full time. Employees will now have until March 14th to decide if they want to come back to the office, defer their return, or request full time remote work, Clayton said.

The changes are being announced as COVID-19 case counts are surging across the US, forcing companies and organizations to shift their plans for in-person gatherings. The rising cases caused many companies to pull their physical presences from this years CES, and the conference itself was closed a day early. Last week, both the Grammy Awards and the Sundance Film Festival announced changes; the Grammys have been postponed due in part to concerns about the omicron variant, while Sundance canceled the in-person programming for its 2022 event.

Other big tech companies have also recently shifted their office reopening plans. Apple indefinitely delayed its return to work in December, pushing back a previously-set February 1st reopening. Google had planned to keep in-office work voluntary until today, January 10th, but the company pushed that back in December, saying it would wait until 2022 to make more return to office plans. Microsoft gave up predicting an office reopening date in September, and Amazon announced in October that it would let individual teams decide when they would return to offices.

Read more here:

Meta will require employees to have a COVID-19 booster to return to the office - The Verge

Key messages:

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In September 2021, WHO established the Technical Advisory Group on COVID-19 Vaccine Composition (TAG-CO-VAC). This multidisciplinary group of 18 experts reviews and assesses the public health implications of emerging VOCs on the performance of COVID-19 vaccines and provides recommendations on COVID-19 vaccine composition.[1] The work of this group complements that of the Technical Advisory Group on SARS-CoV-2 Virus Evolution (TAG-VE), the Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization (SAGE) and its Working Group on COVID-19 Vaccines, and the working groups of the WHO R&D Blueprint for Epidemics.

Since its emergence, the SARS-CoV-2 virus has continued to evolve and WHO has designated five variants as SARS-CoV-2 Variants of Concern (VOC) to date namely Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta and Omicron due to their impact on transmission, disease severity, or capacity for immune escape. While the Omicron variant is spreading rapidly across the world, the evolution of SARS-CoV-2 is expected to continue and Omicron is unlikely to be the last VOC.

The TAG-CO-VAC is developing a framework to analyze the evidence on emerging VOCs in the context of criteria that would trigger a recommendation to change COVID-19 vaccine strain composition and will advise WHO on updated vaccine compositions, as required. This framework considers the global spread and transmissibility, clinical severity, genetic, antigenic and phenotypic characteristics of the VOC, including capacity for immune escape and assessments of vaccine effectiveness.[2]

Since the WHO classified the Omicron variant as a VOC on 26 November 2021, the TAG-CO-VAC has met regularly to review the evidence on the characteristics of the Omicron variant. This statement reflects the current understanding of the implications of the emergence of the Omicron variant on current COVID-19 vaccines and provides the TAG-CO-VACs current perspective on vaccine options for the future.

Global public health goals of COVID-19 vaccines

With available COVID-19 vaccines, the current focus remains on reducing severe disease and death, as well as protecting health systems. Vaccines that have received WHO Emergency Use Listing, across several vaccine platforms, provide a high level of protection against severe disease and death caused by VOCs. For the Omicron variant, the mutational profile and preliminary data indicate that vaccine effectiveness will be reduced against symptomatic disease caused by the Omicron variant, but protection against severe disease is more likely to be preserved. However, more data on vaccine effectiveness, particularly against hospitalization, severe disease, and death are needed, including for each vaccine platform and for various vaccine dosing and product regimens.

In alignment with SAGE and its Working Group on COVID-19 Vaccines, the TAG-CO-VAC therefore supports urgent and broad access to current COVID-19 vaccines for priority populations worldwide to provide protection against severe disease and death globally and, in the longer term, to mitigate the emergence and impact of new VOCs by reducing the burden of infection. In practical terms, while some countries may recommend booster doses of vaccine, the immediate priority for the world is accelerating access to the primary vaccination, particularly for groups at greater risk of developing severe disease.[3]

With near- and medium-term supply of the available vaccines, the need for equity in access to vaccines across countries to achieve global public health goals, programmatic considerations including vaccine demand, and evolution of the virus, a vaccination strategy based on repeated booster doses of the original vaccine composition is unlikely to be appropriate or sustainable.

Composition of current and future COVID-19 vaccines

The TAG-CO-VAC considers that COVID-19 vaccines that have high impact on prevention of infection and transmission, in addition to the prevention of severe disease and death, are needed and should be developed. Until such vaccines are available, and as the SARS-CoV-2 virus evolves, the composition of current COVID-19 vaccines may need to be updated, to ensure that COVID-19 vaccines continue to provide WHO-recommended levels of protection against infection and disease[4] by VOCs, including Omicron and future variants.

The TAG-CO-VAC will consider a change in vaccine composition:

To that aim, COVID-19 vaccines need to:

In line with this approach, there are many options to consider:

In the interim, the TAG-CO-VAC encourages COVID-19 vaccine manufacturers to generate and provide data on performance of current and Omicron-specific COVID-19 vaccines, including the breadth, magnitude, and durability of humoral and cell mediated immune responses to variants through monovalent and/or multivalent vaccines. These data will be considered in the context of the framework mentioned above to inform the TAG-CO-VAC decisions when changes to vaccine composition may be required. It would be important for vaccine manufacturers to take steps in the short-term for the development and testing of vaccines with predominant circulating variants and to share these data with the TAG-CO-VAC and other relevant WHO expert committees. Vaccine manufacturers are also encouraged to provide such data for any novel and broadly reactive SARS-CoV-2 vaccines that are developed.

The TAG-CO-VAC will continue to assess evidence on the predominant circulating VOC(s) with respect to properties of spread/transmissibility, clinical severity (virulence), genetic, antigenic and phenotypic characteristics of the VOC, including capacity for immune escape and assessments of vaccine effectiveness and impact, and information provided by manufacturers. The TAG-CO-VAC will then advise WHO on COVID-19 vaccine strain composition, which could potentially be developed either as a monovalent vaccine with the predominant circulating variant or a multivalent vaccine derived from different variants.

Addressing the challenge of continuing to ensure the production of the best possible vaccines in a timely manner requires a continuous exchange of information and collaboration between WHO and its expert groups, the TAG-CO-VAC, regulatory authorities, and COVID-19 vaccine manufacturers. WHO, on behalf of its Member States, is committed to facilitating this process.

This statement and its conclusions will be updated by the TAG-CO-VAC as data become available.

[1] The functions of the TAG CO VAC are to:

[2] Accounting for population demographics and prior vaccine or infection induced immunity

[4] The third version of the Target Product Profile for COVID-19 vaccines published on 29 April 2020 is currently under revision.

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Interim Statement on COVID-19 vaccines in the context of the circulation of the Omicron SARS-CoV-2 Variant from the WHO Technical Advisory Group on...

I think were all going to get it. Its just a matter of time.

How many times have you heard a friend or family member say that in the last few weeks? The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has relaxed its isolation guidelines. Is it any wonder that some people appear to be letting their guard down, and dining out in crowded restaurants as a highly contagious variant blazes its way through schools, social venues and households?

So what if you have tested positive for omicron, the highly transmissible variant of COVID-19, the disease caused by SARS-CoV-2. Now, what? Can you go about your business in the knowledge that you have the COVID-19 antibodies and youre less likely to test positive for the coronavirus again anytime soon? Should you be as afraid of omicron as, say, delta? Some people are taking unnecessary risks.

Have you heard of omicron parties where people get together with others who are infected with omicron in order to get the milder infection? asks Dr. Gregory Poland, who studies the immunogenetics of vaccine response at the Mayo Clinic. Were experiencing what were experiencing because of virus behavior and human behavior. Human behavior is the only thing we can control, and weve ceded that.

Thank God omicron is a less severe illness.

Epidemiologists are weighing the significance of the latest omicron wave, the publics response to it, and wondering how if at all it could change the course of the pandemic. Theyre breathing a sigh of relief that the omicron variant appears to be less severe, but beyond that the world is once again playing Russian Roulette with a virus that is finding new ways to survive.

Aaron Glatt, chair of the Department of Medicine at Mount Sinai South Nassau, is more optimistic than Poland. We are seeing many, many more people getting infected, but thank God omicron is a less severe illness. Were seeing less hospitalizations, less ICU admissions, less intubations and less death. Thats as a proportion of new cases, now a daily average of 737,415, up 203% over two weeks.

Omicron may be proving less severe than delta, but its rapid infection rate is still creating a high number of very sick Americans. The high rate of contagion has also led to a 36% increase in deaths over the last two weeks to a daily average of 1,653 fatalities. The hospitalization rate has risen 83% over the last two weeks to reach a daily average of 135,559, per to the New York Times daily tracker.

Another worry: While children still have the lowest rate of hospitalization of any group, pediatric hospitalizations are at the highest rate compared to any prior point in the pandemic, Rochelle Walensky, director of the CDC, said. Sadly, we are seeing the rates of hospitalizations increasing for children zero to four, children who are not yet currently eligible for COVID 19 vaccination.

Public-health advisers obviously advise against throwing caution to the wind, and going out and mixing socially with other people indoors with no masks and little social distancing and not only because of the impact people taking time off work would have on the economy. Ideally, the less potential for omicron to spread, the less likely there will be for new strains to pop up, Glatt told MarketWatch.

Among the latest variants discovered was IHU in France, which is thought to have come from Cameroon. It has not been marked as a variant of interest, variant of concern or variant of consequence by the World Health Organization. But it is a portentous sign that the world is a far from the end of the pandemic. We long ago gave up the opportunity to eradicate this, Poland told MarketWatch.

First, some potential good news. Research led by Alex Sigal, a researcher at the Africa Health Research Institute and associate professor at University of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa, found that omicron infection enhances neutralizing immunity against the Delta variant. The study was a small project with just over a dozen patients. It was published last month, and has not yet been peer-reviewed.

We long ago gave up the opportunity to eradicate this.

The increase in delta variant neutralization in those infected with omicron may result in a reduced ability of delta to re-infect them, the research suggested. Along with emerging data indicating that omicron, at this time in the pandemic, is less pathogenic than delta, such an outcome may have positive implications in terms of decreasing the COVID-19 burden of severe disease.

If omicron does prove to be less pathogenic, then this may show that the course of the pandemic has shifted, Sigal said in a statement. Omicron will take over, at least for now, and we may have less disruption of our lives. However, thats a big if and perhaps an even bigger maybe, infectious disease doctors contend. It does not preclude more variants finding their way across the world.

Now, the bad news. The spread of the virus opens up the possibility of more variants, and in this viral game of whack-a-mole the next one may be worse than the last. It has more of a chance of doing so in the unvaccinated, the immunocompromised, the elderly and other vulnerable populations. Given its transmissibility, we have been very fortunate that omicron wasnt more deadly.

Paul Sax, clinical director of the Division of Infectious Diseases at Brigham and Womens Hospital, wrote on Twitter TWTR, +1.73% that vaccination helped enormously: It boggles the mind to contemplate what would have happened if omicron had encountered a completely immunologically naive population, and efficiently replicated in the lung like other variants.

The omicron wave could provide a wall of immunity for the more vulnerable people. It certainly has the potential to infect many people and that could be a positive thing, at least they have immunity against COVID-19 or the omicron strain, Glatt said. That could theoretically bring us closer to herd immunity, and get around those who are not vaccinated.

Thats only a theory, and a tough one to prove at that. Herd immunity the idea that once a high proportion of a population has contracted or been vaccinated against a disease, the likelihood of others in the population being infected is drastically reduced remains tantalizingly out of reach even with 62% of the U.S. population fully vaccinated.

Heres one take on increasing a societys immunity, if not reaching herd immunity: Takeshi Arashiro, an infectious disease researcher at Japans National Institute of Infectious Diseases in Tokyo, and his fellow researchers, published a study that has not yet been peer-reviewed suggesting that countries that saw infections from other variants may have been spared the worst of the omicron wave in 2022.

Its not clear how long you are protected from getting sick again.

Theres a catch. A key tenet of achieving herd-immunity is the separation of those at a lower risk of dying from the higher-risk group people over 70 and with pre-existing conditions. As the lower-risk group contracts the virus, immunity spreads in the so-called herd, lowering the risk for those in the higher-risk group. The real world is notoriously unpredictable, and not a neat laboratory setting.

Ultimately, asymptomatic spreading is another Achilles heel and complicates any herd-immunity strategy where infected people are kept separate from the more vulnerable. The latter group, in reality, cannot remain house bound and without contact with anyone who is not considered vulnerable for months possibly years or however long it takes to reach the critical herd-immunity level.

And it would take 70% of the population or over 200 million people to recover from the virus, according to the Mayo Clinic. This number of infections could lead to serious complications and millions of deaths, especially among older people and those who have existing health conditions, the Mayo Clinic wrote. The health care system could quickly become overwhelmed.

As WHO points out, nor does herd immunity by infection account for the possibility of reinfection with the omicron or delta variants and, as mentioned, the emergence of new, unknown variants. Its not clear how long you are protected from getting sick again after recovering from COVID-19, the Mayo Clinic says. Even if you have antibodies, you could get COVID-19 again.

Read next: COVID-19 vs. the flu. If you test negative on an antigen test, dont assume its a common cold or influenza. Heres why

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In the 2020 election cycle, many campaigns in Texas went fully virtual as the coronavirus pandemic, then a new and uncertain threat, bore down on the state. They held virtual rallies, phone banks and fundraisers, trading in clipboards and walking shoes for webcams and microphones.

As the weeks went on, though, Republicans resumed in-person campaigning and managed to stave off a massive Democratic offensive in November. Democrats later admitted that their decision to suspend door-knocking and other in-person activities hurt them.

Now, nearly two years later and with a new COVID-19 variant surging across the state, Democrats appear set on avoiding the same mistake. Few, if any, Democratic campaigns have gone fully virtual, and many are pressing forward with in-person campaigning while taking some precautions.

Like everyone else across the globe, we are keeping a close eye on the Covid-19 Omicron Variant and assessing the risks associated with this surge, Texas Democratic Party spokesperson Angelica Luna Kaufman said in a statement. However, there is a lot at stake this midterm election and in-person campaigning will be a critical component to engaging voters and winning these races.

She emphasized the country is not in the same situation as we were in 2020. Vaccines are widely available, and people are well-practiced in how to stay safe in public.

Still, the omicron variant looms large, and the campaign trail has not been immune to it. Some forums are still being held virtually, and candidates, staffers and volunteers are having to deal with the logistical challenges that come when one of them tests positive amid the fast-spreading variant.

Since the arrival of the omicron variant late last year, Texas has seen an unprecedented surge in daily caseloads, as well as the positivity rate, or the ratio of cases to tests. Hospitalizations are well on their way to previous peaks.

All the while, Texas lags behind most other states in its vaccination rate, with 57% of people fully vaccinated as of Sunday.

Democrats continue to argue they are the more responsible party when it comes to public health. They say Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, needs to give local officials more independence to fight the pandemic, though he has ignored the demands for months, holding firm on his executive orders prohibiting mask and vaccine mandates. He is especially unlikely to change his mind as he approaches a contested GOP primary for reelection in which his pandemic management has been a top issue.

Of course, virtually nothing has changed on the campaign trail for Abbott and other Republicans in the primary, whose campaign stops look much like they did prior to the pandemic.

Democrats most celebrated candidate this cycle, gubernatorial contender Beto ORourke, has been regularly campaigning in person since launching his bid in November. He has been holding larger events outside, and his campaign asks attendees to wear masks and encourages them to be vaccinated. The campaign has made rapid testing available to attendees at some events.

Speaking with Texans one-on-one is at the heart of our campaign, ORourkes campaign manager, Nick Rathod, said in a statement. After holding 70 events in 30 cities during the first weeks of our campaign, we remain committed to meeting Texans where they are and will continue to closely follow public health guidelines.

ORourkes first campaign event since omicron began surging in Texas was Saturday in El Paso. Attendees were told masks are strongly encouraged regardless of vaccination status and that they would be provided for those who need them. On event sign-up pages, attendees were also told that by attending, you understand and accept the risks associated with COVID-19.

ORourkes campaign is already block walking, though those who volunteer to do so have to sign a COVID-19 Block Walk Safety Agreement Form. Among other things, the form requires volunteers to wear masks when not eating or drinking and maintain their distance from voters at all times possible.

ORourke was among the Democrats who lamented the partys refusal to campaign in person ahead of the 2020 election. He had been deeply involved in the fight for the Texas House majority through his Powered by People group, which shifted virtually all its activities online because of the pandemic. Writing to supporters days after Republicans swept Texas in the election, ORourke said one of the lessons was nothing beats talking to voters eyeball to eyeball and that there is a safe way to do this, even in a pandemic.

A state Democratic Party autopsy that came out months later also cited the lack of in-person-campaigning as a top factor, saying it hurt our ground game.

Kendall Scudder, a Democratic state House candidate who had called for reform at the state party after the disappointing 2020 election, said COVID-19 was a real problem for Democrats to navigate back then, but we started using it as an excuse to not have to campaign, and we are not going to do that again.

Scudder has been campaigning in person for an open seat in the Dallas area, with some precautions. He said his campaign has trained canvassers by telling them, You knock, you step about 10 feet back, if you can get off their porch, get off their porch.

I think people are receptive to it, that youre giving them space but youre also working your butt off, Scudder said. For Democrats, he added, Priority No. 1 is safety. We are not interested in getting people sick. But priority No. 2 is making sure that Democrats are actually winning elections so we can make meaningful change so we can try to eradicate coronavirus.

The pandemic changed the 2020 election beyond just forcing campaigns to reconsider in-person activities. Abbott postponed the May primary runoffs to July and extended the early voting period for the November election. Those decisions by Abbott, which he issued through executive order, drew pushback from some in his own party, who claimed including in unsuccessful lawsuits that he overstepped his authority.

In any case, this years March 1 contests are very unlikely to see such tweaks due to the pandemic, especially with the deadline for overseas ballots to go out coming up in a matter of days. An Abbott spokesperson, Renae Eze, said in a statement for this story that there are no plans to make further changes for the March primaries.

In the meantime, Democratic candidates in some of the states most closely watched races are leaving little doubt about their commitment to in-person campaigning.

Ruben Ramirez is running for the 15th Congressional District, an open seat anchored in the Rio Grande Valley that is expected to be the most competitive congressional race during the general election in Texas. He said in a statement he knows his community expects you to show up to earn its vote.

Im excited to continue campaigning in person, knocking doors, and holding events with my neighbors in South Texas from now until November, Ramirez said.

At a minimum, candidates are showing a flexibility about campaigning that reflects the reality of the long-running pandemic. Kaufman, the spokesperson for the state Democratic Party, said Democrats are actively campaigning both virtually and in person and we feel we can keep people healthy while getting them to the polls.

From the beginning, we were very clear about the fact that we were campaigning during an ongoing pandemic, said Regina Monge, the campaign manager for Jessica Cisneros, who is challenging U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo, in the primary again. We are monitoring the situation closely. No matter how the methods of campaigning change as we learn more from the CDC [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention], our priority will be reaching voters where they are while keeping our community safe.

Cisneros spent three days touring the district in person after Christmas, as the omicron surge was taking off. She had been slated to visit 15 cities.

Over the last weekend, the first one since the New Year holiday, candidates social media accounts were filled with images of them campaigning in person. Some of the pictures resembled the pre-pandemic campaign trail.

James Burnett, a candidate for a new Texas House district in suburban Houston, was out block walking and getting a grateful reception, according to a Facebook post showing the candidate meeting with voters while wearing a mask.

Looking forward to seeing you at your door! Burnett wrote.

Disclosure: Facebook has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune's journalism. Find a complete list of them here.

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COVID-19 kept Texas Democrats off the campaign trail in 2020. Not this time. - The Texas Tribune