New York City hospitals say they are treating an increasing number of COVID-19 patients, but are ready for any potential surges.
At Northwell Health, the state’s largest healthcare provider, 399 COVID-19 patients were being treated in its hospitals Friday, compared to 900 at the same point last year, said Dr. John D’Angelo, chief of integrated operations and senior vice president of emergency medicine.
D’Angelo said 25 percent of those hospitalized with COVID-19 were vaccinated, but had other risk factors that made them sicker.
“The unvaccinated group — it’s not sparing anybody. It’s all age groups — some with risks some without,” he said.
Despite fewer COVID-19 patients, there were still 3,500 people hospitalized in Northwell facilities on Friday, the same as at this time last year. But now there are more patients with other illnesses like the flu or pneumonia, D’Angelo said.
New York State saw a record-shattering 21,000-plus new coronavirus infections over a 24-hour period this week.Xinhua News Agency via Getty Ima
“All the other viruses stayed at home last year,” he said. “And everything is back in full force right now.”
Still, D’Angelo said, Northwell had enough supplies and space to accommodate a potential COVID-19 influx although staffing could be challenging. He said the system had a pool of nurses to move around where they are needed.
Northwell recently sent nurses upstate to help at overwhelmed hospitals.
Physical and occupational therapists bring individual bags of PPE before entering the room of a COVID-19 patient in 2020. Getty Images / John MooreHealthcare workers transport a patient from an ambulance to Maimonides Medical Center.AFP via Getty Images / Angela Weiss
Statewide, there were 3,839 people hospitalized with COVID-19 Thursday with 1,000 of those patients in New York City facilities, according to state figures.
New York City’s public hospital system insisted it was “better prepared than ever.” The public Elmhurst Hospital was overwhelmed at the start of the pandemic in March 2020.
“COVID cases are nowhere near the records we set in the first wave of the pandemic, and we can seamlessly monitor capacity across facilities and adjust as needed,” said Christopher Miller, a spokesman for NYC Health + Hospitals.
A spokesman for New York-Presbyterian said it had experienced a slow but steady increase in the number of COVID-related cases in the last week but that “all of our hospitals continue to operate normally.”
The current flu vaccines appear to be a bad match for the dominant strain so far this influenza season, new research suggests, leading experts to warn that the United States could be in for a bad flu season, on top of what’s already shaping up to be another devastating surge of Covid cases.
Before each flu season, scientists must predict which strains will be the most common, and design a flu shot to match these predictions. This year’s flu shot includes four strains.
But one, a version of the H3N2 strain of influenza, is turning out to be a bad match for the version of H3N2, called 2a2, that’s in wide circulation in the U.S., according to a study from Scott Hensley, a professor of microbiology at the University of Pennsylvania. Hensley’s study was posted Wednesday to a preprint server, meaning it has not yet been peer-reviewed.
So far this season, the H3N2 strain makes up for at least 99 percent of all flu cases in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, though the agency does not specify how many of those cases are caused by the 2a2 version of the strain.
The presence of the 2a2 version means the vaccine may not protect as well against infection, because it’s not the version included in the vaccine, Hensley said.
The flu shot is never a perfect match for the influenza viruses that end up in wide circulation, but even so, the vaccine still reduces a person’s risk of severe illness from the flu.
“Influenza vaccination is the best protection against severe disease and illness,” he said. “Even in these years of mismatch, we see high effectiveness against hospitalizations and severe disease.”
Still, the mismatch Hensley has observed so far is striking. The last time there was a mismatch this significant was during the 2014-15 flu season, he said. Even so, the vaccine prevented nearly 40,000 hospitalizations and almost 4,000 deaths from the flu that season, the CDC estimates.
Flu experts have warned that the nation could be at risk for a severe flu season this year after flu cases reached an all-time low last year, when large swaths of the country were shut down because of the pandemic. And the mismatch could exacerbate the situation.
“Once this fire gets started, it may spread out of control,” Hensley said.
Health officials are already seeing flu outbreaks. In November, the CDC said it was investigating an outbreak of influenza at the University of Michigan, where at least 528 students have tested positive for the flu since Oct. 6.
Dr. Mark Roberts, director of the Public Health Dynamics Laboratory at the University of Pittsburgh, said the data in the new preprint “is certainly consistent with what I know from the rest of the world right now.”
The potential, he said, for a “really large influenza season this year is real.”
“So much of the immunity that you get in a population comes from the people who had influenza the year before,” said Roberts, who was not involved with Hensley’s research. “There could be substantially bigger epidemics this year, especially if the strain that appears is different than the strains we’ve seen.”
Still, with the rise of the omicron variant, there’s still a chance the U.S. could have a modest flu season this year, he said. That’s because alarm over the variant could cause more of the public to go back to social distancing and mask wearing.
“That’s all better for the flu, too,” he said.
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Akshay Syal, M.D., is a medical fellow with the NBC News Health and Medical Unit. Follow him on Twitter @AkshaySyal
Berkeley Lovelace Jr. is a health and medical news reporter for NBC News.
When the U.S. made COVID-19 vaccines available for all adults in the spring, Americans, including government officials, hailed the development as a turning point in the pandemic.
President BidenJoe BidenSenate confirms Rahm Emanuel to be ambassador to Japan NY governor plans to add booster shot to definition of ‘fully vaccinated’ Photos of the Week: Tornado aftermath, Medal of Honor and soaring superheroes MORE himself echoed the optimism that the U.S. may be turning a corner.
“Today we’re closer than ever to declaring our independence from a deadly virus. That’s not to say the battle against COVID-19 is over. We’ve got a lot more work to do,” he said in July.
“It no longer paralyzes our nation, and it is within our power to make sure it never does again,” he added.
But fast-forward to December, and pandemic history appears to be repeating itself.
In the course of just a few weeks this month, the omicron variant and a steep rise in U.S. cases have triggered COVID-19 restrictions reminiscent of the early part of the outbreak.
Professional sports leagues have begun postponing games, some schools have started transitioning to remote learning and city officials have acknowledged they were reconsidering implementing prior coronavirus protocols such as mask mandates.
The current situation in the U.S. has also promoted concern from health experts.
“You know, I’m extraordinarily worried,” Lawrence Gostin, faculty director of the O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law and professor of global health law at Georgetown University Law Center and a contributor to The Hill, said in an interview.
“I’ve always thought that there would be surges and waves but the overall arc would be toward containing the virus and getting back to normal. And now that omicron is here, I’m not sure about that,” Gostin said. “And I think for the foreseeable future, we’re going to have a fairly rough ride with the variant.”
The omicron variant, first detected in South Africa, has spread across the United States since the first case was reported earlier this month.
Scientists are racing to learn more about the new variant, which some health officials say is anticipated to be the dominant strain in the United States in a matter of weeks.
A study,still under peer review, from researchers from the University of Hong Kong’s LKS Faculty of Medicine suggests that while the omicron variant can infect 70 times more quickly in humans than previous strains, “the Omicron infection in the lung is significantly lower than the original SARS-CoV-2, which may be an indicator of lower disease severity.”
Pfizer, BioNTech and Israeli researchers have said that Pfizer’s booster appears to provide good protection against the omicron variant.
Gostin said that “there’s no question” the boosters would be helpful in combating the variant. However, it’s a question of how protective the boosters would be against infections and hospitalizations and how long that protection would last.
“Because a lot of the studies of the boosters have been, you know, in the first few weeks after the booster is given and whether that third shot immunity will wane is an open question,” Gostin said. “But our experience is that it will wane … and we don’t know how long, so we’re just really heading into a concerning unknown here.”
These developments have Americans scratching their heads over whether the U.S. might see a return to the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Already, some families have canceled holiday gatherings, students have transitioned to remote learning, entertainment venues have shut down and city officials are grappling with how to approach mitigation of the new outbreak.
Prince George’s County, Md., public schools announced Friday that they would temporarily return to virtual learning amid a surge of coronavirus cases.
“The increased positivity rates have significantly challenged the ability to … [teach in person], causing anxiety among many school communities and disruption to the school day,” Prince George’s County CEO Monica Goldson said.
Holiday shows have also been canceled amid a surge of the virus.
In New York City, “The Christmas Spectacular Starring the Radio City Rockettes” has canceled all of its upcoming performances due to coronavirus cases among the crew.
Jay Varma, a top public health adviser to Mayor Bill de BlasioBill de BlasioNYC announces new measures as cases spike: ‘We’ve never seen this before’ Anti-vaccine protesters arrested in New York during organized ‘sit-in’ at Cheesecake Factory, Applebee’s Metropolitan Opera requiring boosters for employees, audiences MORE (D), said earlier this week that “we’ve never seen this before in #NYC”amid daily cases doubling in just three days.
De Blasio also unveiled a six-pronged approach to combating the spread of the new variant, including investing in K-95 masks and distributing rapid home tests.
Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel BowserMuriel BowserDC reports second consecutive day of record-breaking coronavirus cases DC mayor considering reinstating mask mandate amid record COVID-19 cases Greene, GOP colleagues call for firing of DC Corrections official who ‘despises’ Trump and supporters MORE (D) announced this week that she was considering reinstating an indoor mask mandate just a few weeks after the requirement was lifted in the nation’s capital.
On Friday, the District reported its second day of record-breaking new coronavirus cases.
“I think that we should absolutely try to mitigate the spread as much as we can through indoor masking mandates, vaccination mandates, social distancing and ventilation. But in my view, I think there’s such enormous pandemic fatigue that people are not going to tolerate in America, you know, closures of schools or lockdowns,” Gostin said.
Gostin added that the lack of knowledge about the new variant means that Americans should act preemptively, assuming that the threat is serious.
“We really don’t know if it’s less serious. There’s no good data to suggest that it’s less serious, so I think we should act as if it has the same progression to serious disease and hospitalizations as … other former variants did, including delta,” Gostin said. “If it turns out to be significantly less serious, we’ll still see our hospitals filling up to capacity because of the sheer numbers, even if it’s just a smaller rate.”
But some areas of the U.S. have already started to feel the effects.
States in the Midwest have seen a rise in COVID-19 hospitalizations over the past few weeks, with hospital systems’ intensive care units reaching capacity.
Wisconsin last week reported that 96 percent of the ICU beds in the Badger State were occupied. And the state’s governor, Tony EversTony EversWisconsin Democrat attorney general says he won’t enforce potential abortion bans Supreme Court denies appeal by Wisconsin conservative think tank over press access It’s more than midterms next year: State fights that matter MORE (D), called for 100 FEMA workers to assist health care workers. Sixty National Guardsmen have been called up to serve as nursing assistants.
Michigan has also been battered by a wave of COVID-19 infections and on Monday was one of 14 states that reported that their overall inpatient bed capacity had reached 80 percent.
Indiana’s largest hospital system also requested help from the National Guard last week for most of its locations due to COVID-19 hospitalizations.
Gostin said that officials should hesitate before considering reimplementing lockdowns or other harsh measures. He noted that the country should instead focus on getting as many Americans fully boosted as possible and making Pfizer’s antiviral drug, Paxlovid, available.
Experts are concerned, however, that the supplies of Paxlovid — which still awaits emergency use approval from the Food and Drug Administration — will not be able to keep up with demand amid high numbers of COVID-19 cases.
In addition, vaccine hesitancy remains among a good portion of the American public, and the Biden administration has battled several legal challenges its vaccine mandates for businesses, federal employees and health care workers.
“Right now, we do need to get a very, you know, much higher percentage of our population vaccinated and boosted because, ultimately, living with the virus — yes — we are going to need to live with the virus,” Gostin acknowledged. “But when we live with the virus, we have to live with it so that it’s not making us sick. That’s the really important part.”
The variant is expected to become the “dominant strain” in the coming weeks, CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said on Friday.
And after nearly two years of a pandemic that has caused more than 800,000 deaths in the US and overloaded hospitals, the omens aren’t favorable for the next few months, according to experts.
“Even if (Omicron) is less virulent than earlier strains, if we have a point where we’re seeing a half-million cases a day or more, we are going to swamp our hospitals — even with a relatively low rate of hospitalization,” said CNN medical analyst Jonathan Reiner, a professor of medicine and surgery at George Washington School of Medicine & Health Sciences. “When you have that kind of denominator, our hospitals will be completely underwater as they are in some parts of the country,” he said.
Dr. Francis Collins, the director of the National Institutes of Health, said it’s too soon to assume Omicron will cause milder disease.
“It’s clear that Omicron is an extremely contagious variant, that it doubles every two to four days,” Collins told CNN’s Anderson Cooper.
Collins said people can limit the consequences of the variant with vaccines, especially with boosters.
Data from two weeks of South African cases appeared to indicate Omicron was milder in severity. The CDC said last week that it looked at 43 cases and most of those people had mild symptoms. Most were vaccinated, with about a third of the total group boosted.
But, UK epidemiologists said this week they found no evidence that Omicron is causing milder disease there, although the Imperial College London team also said there was not much data to go on yet.
“We still don’t really know — and there’s some controversy about this — whether Omicron causes the same kind of severity of disease or whether it’s a somewhat milder form of the illness,” Collins said.
With a more infectious variant, even if it’s milder, it could still send more people to hospitals.
“The problem, of course, is if this is so infectious — and we might see hundreds of thousands of cases every day, maybe even a million cases in a day from Omicron — even if it’s a little less severe, you are going to have a lot of people in the hospital and our hospitals are already really stretched with Delta, especially in the northern part of the country,” Collins said.
Overall, the US on Friday was averaging 121,707 new Covid-19 cases each day, according to data collected by Johns Hopkins University. Fourteen states saw an uptick of at least 10% in cases over the past week compared to the previous week, the data shows.
Hospitals are already feeling the impact
About 68,900 Americans are hospitalized with Covid-19, according to data from the US Department of Health and Human Services. More than 20% of all ICU beds in use are occupied with Covid-19 patients, the data shows.
California health officials said Friday they were seeing hospitalization numbers begin to trend upward, stressing the need for vaccinations and booster vaccines. In New York, officials said they’re seeing the highest hospitalization rate they’ve recorded in months, with Gov. Kathy Hochul noting that the staff shortages will weigh into potential new restrictions.
On Thursday, New York state had the highest single-day count of new cases with 21,027, according to data released Friday.
Dr. Marc Gorelick, who heads Children’s Minnesota hospital, said the facility is already struggling to cope with the numbers.
“When you’re on top of a surge where you’re already at 90%, 95% capacity, those extra … preventable Covid patients coming in are the thing that pushes the system to the brink. And that’s what we’re seeing here in Minnesota,” Gorelick told CNN’s Kate Bolduan on Friday.
It got so bad that hospital leaders in Minnesota took out a full-page newspaper ad this week to say they were overwhelmed by the pandemic.
“It feels like you are drinking from a fire hose with no way to control that flow,” Dr. John Hick, an emergency physician at Hennepin Healthcare in Minnesota, told reporters Tuesday. “I have been practicing for 25 years in the emergency department, and every shift I am working these days is like the worst shift in my career.”
In Oregon, officials forecast a grim early 2022.
“We can expect a surge in Oregon hospitalizations by mid-January, with infections that begin sooner than that,” said Dr. Peter Graven, a data scientist for Oregon Health and Science University. “Combined with its heightened transmissibility, we expect Omicron will generate a large increase in the number of Oregonians that will become severely ill and likely need a hospital.”
Restrictions are making a swift return in some states
The US has fully vaccinated just over 61% of its total population, with about 29% receiving a booster dose, according to the latest CDC data.
And as Omicron’s spreads, some officials have moved to reinstate restrictions.
In Maryland, Prince George’s County Public Schools will shift to remote learning beginning December 20 through January 18 due to “the stark rise in COVID-19 cases throughout (their) school system,” according to a Friday statement from the school district’s Chief Executive Officer Monica Goldson.
The University of Maryland canceled its winter commencement ceremonies, noting that all social gatherings on campus where mask wearing could not be strictly enforced should follow suit. Final exams will be conducted in person, but students and faculty will be required to wear a university-provided KN95-rated mask, it said.
Michigan State University and New York’s Hofstra University both said Friday that students and staff will be required to have booster shots for start of the spring semesters.
In Hawaii, a ceremony that was slated to celebrate the end of the state’s National Guard’s Joint Task Force on Covid-19 was canceled, and the governor’s office said the task force is being reestablished due to Omicron.
CNN’s Maggie Fox, Deidre McPhillips, Amy Simonson, Leslie Holland, Evan Simko-Bednarski, Laura Studley, Taylor Romine, Kristina Sgueglia, Artemis Moshtaghian and Andy Rose contributed to this report.
With COVID-19 cases doubling since last week, and up by 50% since Thanksgiving, King County health leaders warn that the omicron variant is taking hold.
Omicron likely to drive up King County COVID cases ‘suddenly and rapidly’ in next week
Doctors are expecting exponential omicron growth for at least the next couple of weeks in the Seattle area and across King County.
Fred Hutchinson’s Dr. Trevor Bedford said omicron could soon outpace delta cases.
“We’ve been looking and seeing these very rapid and two to three day doubling times of omicron cases throughout South Africa, U.K., Germany, Denmark, U.S.,” he said.
King County Health Officer Dr. Jeff Duchin expressed similar concerns.
“The omicron outbreak we’ve been talking about is no longer theoretical. It’s real, it’s here, and it’s moving fast,” he noted in a Friday media briefing.
Snohomish and Skagit Counties reported their first cases of omicron this week. Whatcom, King, Pierce, and Thurston counties have also confirmed the variant.
That said, Duchin added that we can all take steps to reduce our personal risk and the risk to others.
Thankfully, among younger and vaccinated people, most reported omicron cases have been mild, as has been the case for delta. The severity of infection in older adults is not yet known, but Duchin expects it to be more severe than in younger people.
“Even if only a small proportion of cases are severe, when so many people are infected in such a short timeframe, it can lead to a very large number needing hospital care at once, overloading our already stressed health care system,” he said.
Dr. Duchin says the best thing to do to protect yourself and others is to get vaccinated and boosted if you haven’t already, even if you’ve previously had COVID-19.
“But vaccination alone will not be enough to limit the rapid spread of omicron that’s underway,” he said. “Vaccination needs to be layered in combination with other strategies that we know work to reduce the risk to individuals and to our community.”
“If there’s anything that we can do to improve our COVID prevention measures at home, at work, or in the community, this is the time to do it,” he added.
Duchin says we should take steps to improve ventilation in any setting, and continue to wear masks in public settings and indoors, especially at schools, workplaces, and any upcoming holiday gatherings.
“People need to use some judgment here. We’re asking folks to avoid crowded, indoor spaces, particularly if they can’t mask,” Duchin said, but there are no added restrictions the county is enacting at this point, though he admits “we’re not closing the door” on the possibility of additional measures.
Washington health care workers pitching lawmakers for help
“Today’s news is not what any of us want to hear after two long and exhausting years of COVID-19,” Duchin acknowledged Friday. “Despite all we’ve been through, omicron is throwing a new challenge at us at a most inconvenient time.”
KIRO Newsradio’s Nicole Jennings contributed to this report.
A person gets tested for Covid-19 at a mobile testing site in Times Square on December 17, in New York. (Yuki Iwamura/AP)
New York state reported its highest single-day Covid-19 case count on Friday with 21,027 positive cases, according to available state data.
Before this new record, the state had reported 19,942 positive Covid-19 cases on Jan. 14, according to the data.
However, Covid-19-related hospitalizations remain comparatively low.
On Friday, the state reported 3,839 Covid-19 related hospitalizations, as compared to 8,088 Covid-19 related hospitalizations reported on Jan. 14, according to Covid-19 hospitalization data. At its peak in mid-April 2020, New York’s hospitalization rate for Covid-19 nearly reached 19,000.
New York Covid-19 data also revealed that positive Covid-19 cases in the state jumped 154% in less than a week.
On Friday, the state reported 21,027 positive Covid-19 cases, one and a half times the number of positive Covid-19 cases reported on Tuesday — which was 8,266 positive Covid-19 cases.
“We must not make light of the winter surge that we are facing, and we should continue to encourage everyone we know to get vaccinated, get the booster and wear a mask,” New York Gov. Hochul said Thursday in a news release.
The data revelations come as New York City reported its positivity rate from PCR tests doubled over a four-day period. The NYC health commissioner sid cases have tripled in the past month.
COVID-19 cases continued to spike in Maine, as the state reported 1,080 new cases Saturday and 11 additional deaths.
The Maine death toll now numbers 1,441 since the pandemic began.
Doctors expect Maine’s historic case surge to continue, and even pick up speed, with the more contagious omicron variant now in Maine. On Friday, Maine reported its first cases of omicron in five samples from Penobscot County following a genomic sequencing of positive test results reported to the Maine Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Statewide, the Maine CDC reported Saturday that 381 people are hospitalized with COVID-19. Of those patients, 115 are in critical care units, 68 are on ventilators.
One year ago, on Dec. 18, 2020, the state reported 191 people hospitalized with COVID-19, 46 in critical care and 17 on ventilators. At that time, Maine had a daily new case count of 590, about half of what the new case count has been in recent days.
Experts believe that the omicron variant may cause less severe illness than the delta variant that has filled Maine hospitals and overwhelmed health care workers. But, they caution that while omicron may cause less severe symptoms in most people, it spreads more easily and will make some very ill, adding to the burden hospitals already face.
Getting a booster shot is key to protecting against the new variant, as well as social distancing and wearing masks in public, doctors say.
The arrival of omicron is unwelcome but not unexpected, Gov. Janet Mills said Friday. “We knew it was only a matter of time before we detected the presence of omicron here in Maine,” she said in a press release. “The takeaway for Maine people should be this: get vaccinated now and wear a mask when you’re indoors in public. Whether it’s your first shot or your third shot, getting vaccinated can protect your health, keep you from getting seriously sick, and even save your life,” Mills said.
Dr. Ashish Jha, an infectious disease expert with the Brown University School of Public Health, said in a series of tweets Friday that people should expect a “disruptive” January and to avoid holiday parties and other large gatherings. “We should expect a large wave of infections in January,” Jha tweeted.
In addition to scheduled vaccinations at Maine pharmacies, a number of booster clinics are popping up, Maine’s Dr. Shah tweeted Saturday. They include a vaccination clinic for adults and children ages 5 and up from 2-4 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 19, at the Yarmouth High School gym. Moderna, Pfizer, J & J will be available. The clinic is offered by the Yarmouth Community Coronavirus Taskforce and community pharmacies.
On Monday walk-in vaccinations will be given at a “healthy for the holidays” booster clinic at the MaineHealth office, 110 Free St., Portland, from 8:30-5. On Tuesday appointment vaccinations will be given at the same location from 8:30-5. To register, go to vaccine.mainehealth.org.
Vaccinations are also available in Sanford at the York County Vaccination Center, 1364 Main St. For more information call 207-324-1578.
On Saturday John Hopkin’s COVID-19 web page reported that in the last 28 days there have been 34,397 deaths from the virus in the United States, bringing the country’s death toll to more than 800,000.
That is significantly higher than the United States military members who died in both World War I and World War II. According to the Department of Defense, 521,915 service men and women died in both of those wars.
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Toy Fund co-founder’s public service still inspires
DETROIT – Michigan reported 12,649 new cases of COVID-19 and 254 virus-related deaths Friday — an average of 6,325 cases over a two-day period.
Of the 254 deaths announced Friday, 159 were identified during a review of records.
Wednesday’s update brings the total number of confirmed COVID cases in Michigan to 1,420,838, including 25,824 deaths. These numbers are up from 1,408,189 cases and 25,570 deaths, as of Wednesday.
Testing has increased to around 50,000 diagnostic tests reported per day on average, with the 7-day positive rate at 16.53% as of Friday — a decrease from last week. Hospitalizations have been steadily increasing for several weeks and are at the highest point of the pandemic.
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The state’s 7-day moving average for daily cases was 5,788 on Friday. The 7-day death average was 108 on Friday. The state’s fatality rate is 1.8%. The state also reports “active cases,” which were listed at 248,500 on Friday.
Michigan has reported more than 10.8 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine administered as of Friday, with 67.9% of 16+ residents having received at least one dose, while 62.4% of 16+ residents are considered fully vaccinated.
Across Michigan’s entire population, 62.6% have received at last one COVID vaccine dose.
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According to Johns Hopkins University, more than 50 million cases have been reported in the U.S., with more than 804,900 deaths reported from the virus. Globally, more than 8.6 billion vaccine doses have been administered, including more than 487 million doses in the U.S. alone.
Worldwide, more than 273 million people have been confirmed infected and more than 5.3 million have died, according to Johns Hopkins University. The true numbers are certainly much higher, because of limited testing, different ways nations count the dead and deliberate under-reporting by some governments.
Coronavirus headlines:
COVID cases and deaths trends by Michigan county
VIEW: Tracking coronavirus cases, outbreaks in Michigan schools
Officials provided an update on Michigan’s COVID-19 situation Friday after the first case of the omicron variant was identified in the state.
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Elizabeth Hertel, the director of the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, as well as MDHHS chief medical executive Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian, spoke during the briefing.
They were joined by Dr. Michael Tsimis, MD, a maternal-fetal medicine physician with Spectrum Health, and Dr. Paolo Marciano, MD, PhD, the chief medical officer for Beaumont Hospital in Dearborn.
Read and watch here.
Michigan COVID-19 hospitalizations for adults, kids at all-time high
The number of patients in Michigan hospitals for COVID-19 has surpassed the spring wave and has reached a new record high, according to new data.
MDHHS updated its hospitalization data on Monday after a five-day break for the holiday, showing 4,386 in hospitals statewide with confirmed or suspected COVID-19.
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7 takeaways from expert’s Metro Detroit COVID update: ‘I consider this our 4th surge’
A Beaumont Health expert provided a concerning update about COVID and hospital trends in Metro Detroit, calling this the “fourth surge” and sharing three reasons why he believes numbers are once again on the rise.
Nick Gilpin, an infectious disease physician and the medical director of infection prevention for Beaumont Health, held a virtual briefing on Nov. 11 to discuss what he’s seeing in Metro Detroit.
Learn more right here.
Where to find COVID-19 vaccines for kids
Parents are looking for where to get their younger kids a COVID-19 vaccine after the CDC gave its final green light for Pfizer adolescent doses in kids aged 5-11.
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Doses should be available at your local pharmacies, doctor’s offices, hospitals and clinics now or very soon. Like COVID-19 vaccines for adults, they are free.
EXPLAINER: What to know about vaccines for kids aged 5-11
We’re tracking any information we get on available clinics and doses for kids 5-11 in the live updates blog here.
Data shows Michigan schools without mask mandates saw 62% more coronavirus spread
As the number of COVID cases continue to surge in Michigan, new data reveals that mask mandates in school appear to be working to slow the spread of the virus.
It is one of the most, if not the most, divisive issue inside the pandemic — mask mandates, especially in schools. Anger and frustrations has boiled over inside, outside and at board meetings. But new data is supporting the use of masks in schools.
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See the data here.
Michigan adopts new definition of school COVID outbreak, raising threshold
Michigan health officials are adopting a new definition of COVID-19 school outbreaks that lifts the threshold from two cases to three associated with a school.
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) gets such a definition from the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists — view that here. The new definition changes the threshold to at least three cases within a group, up from two.
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Read more here.
Flu expected to circulate more this year due to fewer COVID precautions
While coronavirus pandemic precautions helped keep the flu away last year, experts are worried that we won’t be so lucky this year.
Precautions and restrictions designed to prevent the spread of COVID-19 actually also helped prevent the spread of the flu, a respiratory illness caused by influenza viruses, during the 2020 flu season. This time last year, health experts were concerned that the U.S. would experience a “twindemic” with COVID and the flu, but that didn’t happen, likely due to a combination of mask wearing, social distancing, most schools being closed and overall reduced travel.
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But this year, many of those precautions and restrictions are no longer in effect, and the flu is expected to circulate more widely.
Learn more here.
Detroit opens scheduling for third dose of COVID vaccinations
Detroit has opened up scheduling for residents with compromised immune systems to receive a third dose of the COVID-19 vaccination.
Residents must have been fully vaccinated for at least six months and have compromised immune systems to schedule an appointment for a third dose.
Third doses of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccinations, which were approved by the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention, will be offered at the TCF Center drive-thru to those with an appointment.
Read more here.
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CDC recommends vaccinated people wear masks in schools, some indoor settings
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is now recommending that even vaccinated people wear masks indoors in parts of the United States where coronavirus is surging.
The CDC on Tuesday, July 27 cited new information about the ability of the delta variant to spread among vaccinated people. The CDC also recommended indoor masks for all teachers, staff, students and visitors to schools regardless of vaccination status.
The CDC said that in the United States most new infections are among unvaccinated people. But “breakthrough” infections, which generally cause milder illness, can occur in vaccinated people.
Learn more here.
Michigan COVID-19 daily reported cases since Nov. 15:
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Nov. 15 — 7,012 new cases
Nov. 16 — 7,281 new cases
Nov. 17 — 7,280 new cases
Nov. 18 — 8,990 new cases
Nov. 19 — 8,990 new cases
Nov. 20 — 5,669 new cases
Nov. 21 — 5,669 new cases
Nov. 22 — 5,670 new cases
Nov. 23 — 8,502 new cases
Nov. 24 — 8,501 new cases
Nov. 25 — 5,065 new cases
Nov. 26 — 5,066 new cases
Nov. 27 — 5,066 new cases
Nov. 28 — 5,066 new cases
Nov. 29 — 5,066 new cases
Nov. 30 — 8,265 new cases
Dec. 1 — 8,265 new cases
Dec. 2 — 9,221 new cases
Dec. 3 — 9,222 new cases
Dec. 4 — 5,530 new cases
Dec. 5 — 5,530 new cases
Dec. 6 — 5,530 new cases
Dec. 7 — 7,693 new cases
Dec. 8 — 7,692 new cases
Dec. 9 — 5,891 new cases
Dec. 10 — 5,892 new cases
Dec. 11 — 5,381 new cases
Dec. 12 — 5,381 new cases
Dec. 13 — 5,381 new cases
Dec. 14 — 5,861 new cases
Dec. 15 — 5,861 new cases
Michigan COVID-19 daily reported deaths since Nov. 15:
Nov. 15 — 32 new deaths
Nov. 16 — 121 new deaths
Nov. 17 — 121 new deaths
Nov. 18 — 64 new deaths
Nov. 19 — 64 new deaths (71 from past two days from vital records)
Nov. 20 — 27 new deaths
Nov. 21 — 28 new deaths
Nov. 22 — 28 new deaths (32 from past three days from vital records)
Nov. 23 — 140 new deaths
Nov. 24 — 140 new deaths (143 from past two days from vital records)
Nov. 25 — 28 new deaths
Nov. 26 — 28 new deaths
Nov. 27 — 28 new deaths
Nov. 28 — 28 new deaths
Nov. 29 — 27 new deaths (57 from past five days from vital records)
Nov. 30 — 179 deaths
Dec. 1 — 179 deaths (160 from past two days from vital records)
Dec. 2 — 138 new deaths
Dec. 3 — 139 new deaths (169 from past two days from vital records)
Dec. 4 — 42 new deaths
Dec. 5 — 42 new deaths
Dec. 6 — 43 new deaths (47 from past three days from vital records)
Dec. 7 — 175 new deaths
Dec. 8 — 175 new deaths (185 from past two days from vital records)
Dec. 9 — 117 new deaths
Dec. 10 — 118 new deaths (151 from past two days from vital records)
Dec. 11 — 53 new deaths
Dec. 12 — 53 new deaths
Dec. 13 — 54 new deaths (36 from past two days from vital records)
Dec. 14 — 165 new deaths
Dec. 15 — 165 new deaths ( 230 from past two days from vital records)
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Men make up a disproportionately large share of U.S. COVID-19 deaths, accounting for 54.4 percent of fatal virus cases, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data.
The sex split is even starker in New York City, where men make of 57.5 percent of COVID-19 deaths, according the city Department of Health.
This despite men comprising only 49.3 percent of the U.S. population and just 47.7 percent of national COVID-19 cases, according to the CDC.
Some experts attribute the trend to men’s generally less healthy lifestyles and hesitancy to seek medical care.
“It’s most likely a reflection of lifestyle factors, such as smoking and drinking,” said Dr. Jessica Justman, a professor of epidemiology at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health. And “women are far more likely to go in for doctor’s appointments than men are.”
Dr. Jessica Justman, a professor of epidemiology at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, said that men’s susceptibility to the virus is likely due to lifestyle factors.REUTERS
She added, “I have a hunch that women are more likely to present with COVID symptoms at an earlier stage than men do.”
That is, if a man with COVID waits until it’s very serious, then goes into the emergency room, he’s “less likely” to survive than had he sought care sooner.
Other contributing factors to higher male mortality could include women’s relatively higher rate of vaccination, Justman said. According to CDC data, 62.9 percent of American women are fully-vaccinated, versus 58.7 percent of men.
Another factor could be women’s slightly higher rate of vaccination.Bloomberg via Getty ImagesWhen in doubt, said Dr. Justman, ‘Seek the vaccine, seek the test, seek medical care.’AFP via Getty Images
There are also possible “biologic reasons” women have died at a lower rate from COVID-19, including hormonal differences and men having a larger number of the “receptors” that the coronavirus binds to, she said.
The trend is mirrored in the United Kingdom, where men are 24 percent more likely to die than women from the virus, adjusted for age, according to the Sunday Times of London.
Justman’s message to men: “When in doubt, seek the vaccine, seek the test, seek the medical care.”
Kentucky and Maine said Friday that the states had detected their first cases of the omicron variant of the coronavirus.
The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention said that Bar Harbor’s Jackson Laboratory had conducted genomic sequencing to confirm the variant in five samples from Penobscot County.
COVID-19 OMICRON AND DELTA VARIANTS BRING US A DOUBLE SURGE
Democratic Gov. Janet Mills called the news “unwelcome but not unexpected” and encouraged residents to take precautions.
“While we are still learning about this new variant, the take-away for Maine people should be this: get vaccinated now and wear a mask when you’re indoors in public,” she said.
Kentucky’s Republican Gov. Andy Beshear said Friday that that state had also confirmed its first omicron case.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear speaks as he attends a briefing from local leaders on the storm damage from tornadoes and extreme weather with President Joe Biden at Mayfield Graves County Airport in Mayfield, Ky., Wednesday, Dec. 15, 2021. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
“As expected, Kentucky has confirmed its first case of the omicron variant,” Beshear wrote in a tweet.
Last week, the leader said cases of COVID-19 were going up in the southeastern state, pointing to the delta variant.
COVID-19 PANDEMIC DEATH TOLL TOPS 800,000 IN U.S.
Maine is also in the midst of a surge of COVID-19 cases, with its seven-day rolling average of daily new cases rising from 423 on Dec. 1 to 1,048 on Dec. 15, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
So far, the variant has been detected in more than 40 states.
People stand in front of Radio City Music Hall after cancellations of The Rockettes performance due to COVID-19 cases on Friday, Dec. 17, 2021, in New York. New York City had been mostly spared the worst of the big surge in COVID-19 cases that has taken place across the northeastern and midwestern U.S. since Thanksgiving, but the situation has been changing rapidly in recent days. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
In response, hospitals in Kansas and Missouri are delaying surgeries and turning away transfers, events are being canceled and schools are switching to remote formats.
U.S. public health officials called for the millions of Americans who remain unvaccinated to get shots – though the Biden administration resisted tightening restrictions.
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“For the unvaccinated, you’re looking at a winter of severe illness and death, for yourselves, your families, and the hospitals you may soon overwhelm,” White House coronavirus response coordinator Jeff Zients said at a Friday briefing.
Although much remains unknown about the “variant of concern,” including its severity and ability to evade immune protection and vaccines, experts warn that it appears more transmissible than the delta variant.
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