This live coverage has ended.For the latest coronavirus news, click here .Officials on two continents predicted that the omicron variant will infect half or more of the population in Europe and the United States, as global coronavirus infections have again hit a record .In the past week, more than 15 million cases were reported across the world.If the current trend persists, the World Health Organization said that the highly contagious variant could infect more than half of Europe’s population by March.In the United States, some officials project most people will become infected at some point.“I think it’s hard to process what’s actually happening right now,” said Janet Woodcock, acting commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, during a Senate hearing Tuesday, “which is most people are going to get covid.”Early studies suggest that the omicron variant may cause less severe illness — especially among those who are vaccinated.
Still, the United States surpassed its record for coronavirus hospitalizations , with Tuesday’s total of 145,982 people in U.S.hospitals with covid-19, which includes 4,462 children, passing the record of 142,273 set on Jan.14, 2021, during the previous peak of the pandemic in the country.Here’s what to know D.C.
Public Schools is expanding its coronavirus policies by requiring testing after scheduled school breaks, providing weekly rapid tests to some of its youngest students and implementing “test-to-stay” provisions.For the remainder of the school year, students and staff will be tested for the coronavirus before coming back to school after breaks.The additional testing, announced during a news conference Monday, follows the district’s “test-to-return” program enacted after winter break .A negative coronavirus test was required last week for all staff and students enrolled in D.C.Public Schools before returning for in-person instruction; public charter schools had the option to require it.
Advertisement Updates continue below advertisement Moderna, Pfizer vaccines the best at stopping covid deaths, Singapore data suggests Return to menu By Rachel Pannett 11:00 p.m.Link copied Link
In a real-world indicator of how coronavirus vaccines are performing, Singapore has released new figures suggesting shots produced by Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech are much more effective at preventing deaths than the Chinese-developed Sinopharm and Sinovac doses.In terms of deaths per 100,000 people, there were 11 deaths for those immunized with Sinovac and 7.8 for the Sinopharm vaccine, the state-affiliated Straits Times newspaper reported.
The rate dropped for people who received messenger RNA — or mRNA — vaccines, with 6.2 deaths for Pfizer-BioNTech and one fatality for Moderna.The discrepancy in fatalities is also notable because the majority of Singapore’s residents received mRNA shots.Sinopharm is not covered by the Southeast Asian country’s national vaccine program and can only be administered via private clinics, while Singapore only made free Sinovac shots readily available in October.
Advertisement Updates continue below advertisement Va.governor declares limited state of emergency aimed at helping hospitals Return to menu By Jenna Portnoy , Michael Brice-Saddler and Laura Vozzella 9:45 p.m.Link copied Link
Virginia Gov.Ralph Northam (D) on Monday issued a limited state of emergency for hospitals stretched dangerously thin amid historic surges in coronavirus caseloads.The provisions of the targeted 30-day state-of-emergency order will make technical changes to expand capacity and increase staffing at hospitals while they grapple with the pandemic, seasonal flu and a general increase in acuity after patients deferred care.“It has been a long 22 months for all of us,” Northam (D) said during a news conference.“It has been a roller coaster, and we are not built for this kind of uncertainty for this long.
It has been hard on everyone.”Gov.-elect Glenn Youngkin (R), who takes office Saturday, could rescind the emergency order, but Northam expects it to have his support.
Advertisement Updates continue below advertisement Federal agencies must test unvaccinated workers weekly starting in February, Biden administration says Return to menu By Eric Yoder 8:15 p.m.Link copied Link
Federal agencies must start testing unvaccinated employees at least weekly for the coronavirus by Feb.
15, the Biden administration said in new guidance issued Tuesday.The testing, which mainly affects those exempted from President Biden’s vaccination mandate for federal workers, would be required during any week in which those employees “work onsite or interact in person with members of the public as part of their job duties,” the guidance says.Agencies are also free to require more frequent testing for certain occupations or work settings, the administration says.
Advertisement Updates continue below advertisement Analysis: ‘Most people are going to get covid’: A momentous warning at a Senate hearing Return to menu By Aaron Blake 6:45 p.m.Link copied Link
One of the most indelible — and ultimately telling — moments of the early coronavirus pandemic came in late February 2020.A top official at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that the spread of the virus was “ inevitable .”“It’s not a question of if this will happen, but when this will happen, and how many people in this country will have severe illnesses,” Nancy Messonnier said.The comment caused a blowup at the White House and among top administration officials, who had to account for President Donald Trump’s consistent desire to downplay the threat during his reelection campaign.
Then-Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar would later acknowledge that Messonnier had been “right.”On Tuesday, nearly two years later, came another such plainly stated and significant warning of what lies ahead in the pandemic: for most people, an infection.
Advertisement Updates continue below advertisement Fauci heard calling senator a ‘moron’ after tense exchange Return to menu By Brittany Shammas 5:19 p.m.
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After a heated exchange during a Senate hearing on the federal government’s response to the omicron variant, the nation’s top infectious-disease expert was heard referring to a Republican senator as “a moron.”Kansas Sen.Roger Marshall, who spent much of his time criticizing health authorities who were testifying, asked Anthony S.Fauci if he would be willing to submit a financial disclosure.
Fauci responded, “I don’t understand why you’re asking me that question,” pointing out that that information has been public knowledge for more than three decades.Marshall then suggested that “Big Tech giants” were keeping it hidden and asked where it could be found.“All you have to do is ask for it,” Fauci said, appearing incredulous.“You’re so misinformed.
It’s extraordinary.”The two went back and forth, with Marshall saying there was “an appearance that maybe some shenanigans are going on,” although he “assumed that’s not the case,” and Fauci cutting in with, “Senator, what are you talking about?” and adding that he was “getting amazingly wrong information.”The chairwoman, Sen.Patty Murray (D-Wash.), intervened and moved onto another senator.That’s when Fauci was heard saying, “What a moron.Jesus Christ.”In response to Fauci’s comments, Marshall said in a statement that, “Calling me a moron during a Senate hearing may have alleviated the stress of the least-trusted bureaucrat in America, but it didn’t take away from the facts.”Fauci’s financial disclosure can be obtained through a request to the National Institutes of Health.After the exchange with Marshall, Center for Public Integrity reporter Liz Essley Whyte posted it on Twitter .Fauci also clashed with Sen.
Rand Paul (R-Ky.) , who has attacked him repeatedly in recent months, falsely claiming he is part of a conspiracy that led to the creation of the coronavirus in a Chinese lab.Others at the hearing, including Sen.Mitt Romney (R-Utah), spoke out in support of Fauci and other health officials.
Bolivia’s vice president, who has promoted traditional Indigenous treatments for covid-19 and faced criticism for delaying his vaccination, has contracted the virus for the third time, the government said Tuesday.Six Bolivian cabinet ministers also tested positive as the South American nation faces a fourth wave of the coronavirus pandemic.Vice President David Choquehuanca tested positive for the virus just days after he received his first dose of China’s Sinopharm vaccine.“We need to protect our people with the two medicines: pharmacological medicine and the natural medicine, the ancestral medicine,” he said as he was broadcast receiving his jab on national television Jan.3.He said he had already recovered from covid-19 twice — both times with traditional medicine.He had previously stirred controversy for not having been vaccinated, even as the government began requiring vaccines to enter certain public and private spaces.Choquehuanca, who is a member of the Aymara Indigenous community, told a local media outlet that he had treated the coronavirus infection by eating grass and using a natural remedy of turmeric, honey, ginger, onion and lemon.In addition to Choquehuanca, the ministers of the interior, defense, foreign relations, education, justice and planning all have tested positive for the virus, according to a statement from the president’s office.
All are in stable condition and isolating while they work remotely, the government said.Bolivia is facing an increasing number of coronavirus infections, with 8,857 new cases recorded Monday.The government began requiring vaccination cards on Jan.
1 but temporarily suspended the requirement after the demand for shots overwhelmed the health-care system.
Hours before a slew of pandemic-related executive orders were set to expire, New Jersey Gov.Phil Murphy (D) on Tuesday declared a new public health emergency — amid the state’s record number of coronavirus cases and a sharp increase in hospitalizations.“We have come so far, and we cannot stop now,” Murphy said in a video message.“Therefore, in consultation with the legislature, I have taken the necessary step of re-declaring a public health emergency to ensure we keep moving forward in our response against covid — and so we can put this virus behind us.”New Jersey’s original declaration expired in June, and state lawmakers agreed to extend 14 of Murphy’s executive orders until Jan.11 — relating to, among other things, oversight of vaccinations and testing, data collection from health-care providers, and required mask-wearing in schools and day-care facilities.All of these were set to expire at midnight.But amid the omicron-fueled spike in infections — with about 35,000 new cases per day and 10,000 hospitalizations in the past two weeks, the governor said — Murphy reactivated the public health emergency.He said the executive order “won’t have any new impact at all” on people’s day-to-day lives — explaining that it would not result in shutdowns, business restrictions or limits on gatherings.Instead, he said, the declaration will allow the state to support health-care systems, allocate testing resources and return to some semblance of normalcy.“It will mean we continue to stand on a firm base of science and facts, and not politics and conspiracies, to keep your family and your community safe by getting ahead of omicron and staying there,” he said.On Monday, Murphy said during a briefing that New Jersey is in the middle of an “omicron tsunami” — with more residents, including children, being hospitalized than at any point since April 2020.
Key update Quebec considering a monetary penalty for the unvaccinated Return to menu By Amanda Coletta 3:50 p.m.
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TORONTO — For several months, Quebec has required residents to show proof of coronavirus vaccination to enter venues such as gyms, bars and restaurants.Last week, it expanded the list of spaces to include government-run liquor and cannabis stores.Now, Premier François Legault is considering a novel way to boost vaccination numbers and slow a growth in hospitalizations that has severely strained the health-care system: a “health contribution” — or fee — imposed on unvaccinated adults.“The vaccine is the key to fight the virus,” Legault said at a news conference Tuesday.He provided few details about how his proposal would work or when it could take effect.
The premier did not specify the fee amount but said it would be “significant” and probably exceed $100.Residents who cannot get vaccinated for medical reasons would be exempt.As of Jan.7, more than 78 percent of people in hard-hit Quebec were fully vaccinated, according to data from the Public Health Agency of Canada .Provincial officials have said that although the unvaccinated make up a small percentage of the population, they are overrepresented in hospitalization figures.“Right now, these people put a very important burden on our health-care network,” Legault said.“I think it’s normal that a majority of the population is asking that there be a consequence.”He said that the province was seeking legal advice on the plan and that more information would be available in the “coming weeks.”No other Canadian province or territory has announced similar measures.
Some nations, including Greece, have slapped fines on some of the unvaccinated.
About 3,000 employees at United Airlines have tested positive for the coronavirus, another example of how quickly the omicron variant has spread through workplaces and upended the plans of even the most data-driven industries.In a memo to employees Tuesday, United CEO Scott Kirby called the past few weeks a “challenging and stressful time.”“The Omicron surge has put a strain on our operation, resulting in customer disruptions during a busy holiday season,” he wrote, also acknowledging the stress the rise in cases has put on employees and operations.Kirby cited the impact of the virus on its Newark hub, noting that on a single recent day, nearly a third of employees called out sick.The New York region was among the first spots in the United States to see a sharp uptick in coronavirus cases, largely driven by the omicron variant.
Global cases reach new pandemic high, WHO officials say Return to menu By Brittany Shammas 2:45 p.m.Link copied Link
Global coronavirus infections have again hit a record, World Health Organization officials said Tuesday, with more than 15 million cases reported in the past week.That shatters the high of 9.5 million cases set a week earlier, Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO’s technical lead on covid-19, said in a video Q&A .This week’s infection counts were so high, the organization had to adjust the scale on the graph it has used for two years to fit the new peak.“That shows you just how widespread the infection is right now,” said Mike Ryan, emergencies chief for the WHO.“And that’s in the context of very limited availability of tests.”The sharp rise in cases, seen everywhere except Africa, is believed to be driven by the omicron variant.
Omicron is probably in every country and is overtaking the delta variant, the WHO officials said, although delta is still responsible for a portion of hospitalizations.The sheer volume of cases attributable to omicron results in a higher number of hospitalizations, Van Kerkhove and Ryan said, as some of those infected become seriously ill.While noting that research suggests omicron causes less severe disease , the officials cautioned against viewing the variant as mild and urged that it be taken seriously.Those who are older, have underlying conditions or are not vaccinated are at higher risk of developing severe disease.Hospitalizations and deaths will tick up as omicron enters and circulates among those vulnerable populations.“The narrative that it’s the common cold is not true,” Van Kerkhove said.“The narrative that it is just mild is not true.
So we have to really fight against it.It’s not the time to give up.”
Key update Key coronavirus updates from around the world Return to menu By News Services and Staff Reports 2:04 p.m.Link copied Link
Here’s what to know about the top coronavirus stories around the globe.
Pfizer is racing ahead with plans to manufacture 50 million to 100 million doses of a new omicron-specific version of its coronavirus vaccine, a reflection of rising concerns that current vaccine formulations may need to be adjusted for the new threat.Pfizer also is testing hybrid combinations of vaccine to target multiple coronavirus forms, and it is testing larger doses.The omicron-specific doses will be created “at risk,” chief executive Albert Bourla said Monday, meaning that if they are not needed, Pfizer will absorb the cost.The company has climbed to the lead in global vaccine production with 3 billion doses in 2021 and is planning to produce up to 4 billion doses in 2022.If it turns out to be necessary to roll out an omicron-targeting vaccine, Pfizer will be ready, Bourla said.
Bullet
Key update Fauci lashes out at Sen.Rand Paul, accuses him of fundraising from personal attacks for ‘political gain’ Return to menu By Salvador Rizzo 12:20 p.m.Link copied Link
Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, accused Sen.Rand Paul (R-Ky.) of endangering his life with false claims.(The Washington Post) At the Senate hearing Tuesday, Fauci accused Sen.
Rand Paul (R-Ky.) of incessant and false attacks on him to raise campaign funds — attacks that Fauci said have encouraged people to make threats on his life.Fauci has drawn repeated criticism from Paul and others who question the science behind coronavirus vaccines, masks and other public health guidance and have made false claims that Fauci is part of a conspiracy that led to the creation of the novel coronavirus in a Chinese lab.After Paul confronted him at the hearing, Fauci demanded to speak uninterrupted.He called Paul’s attacks a distortion of reality.He cited the arrest of a California man in Iowa last month who police said was traveling to Washington with an AR-15 and multiple magazines of ammunition and had a “hit list” that included Fauci and several others, mostly Democratic politicians and officials.“What happens when he gets out and accuses me of things that are completely untrue?” Fauci said of Paul.
“All of a sudden that kindles the crazies out there, and I have life — threats upon my life, harassment of my family and my children with obscene phone calls because people are lying about me.“Now, you know, I guess you could say: ‘Well, that’s the way it goes.I can take the hit.’ Well, it makes a difference because as some of you may know, just about three or four weeks ago, on December 21st, a person was arrested who was on their way from Sacramento to Washington, D.C., at a speed stop in Iowa.And they asked, the police asked him where he was going, and he was going to Washington, D.C., to kill Dr.Fauci.”A police report confirms the arrest of Kuachua Brillion Xiong, 25, on Dec.21 in Iowa, with an AR-15 and multiple magazines of ammunition.Fauci said that in trying to understand why Paul is coming after him, he has gone to the senator’s website, which says “‘Fire Dr.
Fauci,’ with a little box that says contribute here.You can do five dollars.Ten dollars.Twenty dollars, a hundred dollars.“So you are making a catastrophic epidemic for your political gain,” Fauci said..