USA's 5th wave underway
Delta surges again as health experts urge boosters now as CDC forecast predicts the tally will go over 820,000 Americans dead from COVID-19 by January 1.
The bottom line up top: While concerns about omicron grow, the delta variant of COVID-19 is surging in the USA and around the world as holiday travel, gatherings and relaxed precautions create favorable conditions for infections. The number of new cases has nearly doubled in less than two months. Welcome to the Fifth Wave.
What to do about it:
Get your booster shot. Or get your initial vaccination if you haven’t yet, then get your booster within a 2-6 months.
Wear good masks if you are among strangers, especially indoors. Keep the mask on when traveling as much as you possibly can.
Consider using at-home antigen tests before going in to a multigenerational family or other event and after returning from travel. This CDC page explains when and how to use them.
If you have been exposed to someone who has COVID-19, check your local health department for testing info and specific guidelines on how to keep yourself and others safe.
Pfizer released data indicating that its COVID-19 vaccine works very well against the omicron variant among individuals who received the first two shots plus a booster. Without the booster, the protection is weak.
An Israeli study finds that people who received three doses of the Pfizer vaccine had a 90% lower risk of death than those who were vaccinated but did not get a booster, a study in the New England Journal of Medicine reports.
The FDA Thursday authorized Pfizer boosters for 16 and 17 year olds, and the CDC gave its go-ahead to start administering the shots later in the day.
The rate of COVID-19 found in Boston area wastewater samples have reached their previous high levels, indicating that a major surge is underway. Based on earlier studies indicating that traces of virus show up in waste water before people start filling hospitals, wastewater testing has been a key part of COVID-19 surveillance since earlier this year. Here’s a report from NPR that explains how waste water testing protects public health.
Michigan and Minnesota are among states grappling with COVID-19 surges. One hospital in Michigan says younger unvaccinated individuals are the ones being admitted and dying from COVID-19 now.
Europe’s chief vaccine regulator suggested that the mRNA vaccines against COVID-19 likely will soon be considered three-dose products, meaning that “full vaccination” requires the first two shots plus another one after several months. He also said that the latest data on delta and omicron variants strongly indicates the need for boosters now — even if it’s less than six months since the last shot. The official also said an omicron-specific booster could be authorized within three to four months.
Another anti-science politician has died of COVID-19, this time, in Michigan.