Massive increase in cases as we expected
US cases and deaths data
https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#trends_dailycases
Colorado
https://covid19.colorado.gov/data
California
https://covid19.ca.gov/state-dashboard/#todays-update
Florida
http://ww11.doh.state.fl.us/comm/_partners/covid19_report_archive/covid19-data/covid19_data_latest.pdf
New York
https://coronavirus.health.ny.gov/covid-19-data-new-york
Illinois
https://dph.illinois.gov/covid19/data.html
https://health.ny.gov/press/releases/2021/docs/2021-12-24_health_advisory.pdf
UK data
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-omicron-daily-overview
https://covid.joinzoe.com/data#levels-over-time
https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-59862568
Zoe
https://covid.joinzoe.com/post/cases-set-to-break-200k
https://covid.joinzoe.com
SA hospital data
https://www.nicd.ac.za/diseases-a-z-index/disease-index-covid-19/surveillance-reports/daily-hospital-surveillance-datcov-report/
https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/south-africa/
Schools go back
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2022/jan/04/uk-covid-coronavirus-live-news-omicron-may-have-plateaued-amongst-under-50s-in-london-top-scientist-says
Omicron did not establish in schools pre-holiday
Pathogenicity of omicron
No infection, no vaccine
One third drop in risk of hospital admission
Two thirds drop in the risk of dying from Omicron
Australia
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-01-04/nsw-records-highest-hospitalisation-and-covid-cases/100736056
NSW, cases, + 23,131
Positivity, 27.24%
Hospitalised + 140 = 1,344
ICU, + 10 = 105
Ventilated = 27
COVID positive patients admitted to ICU since December 16, delta = 72%
Of those patients, 62% not vaccinated or only one dose
Regional Victoria
It is like our government has thrown its arms in the air
But now it is ridiculous how far the polar opposite we have gone, it is night and day!!!
Now we have a wildfire of COVID here in the Alpine Shire.
Very limited testing, delays on PCR results
Rapid Antigen tests, SOLD OUT !!! can’t get them
A close contact definition, same house, more than 4 hours
I could go on for several paragraphs with further details on how crazy it seems to have become down here in Australia
in the coming weeks I would think we will see an explosion in cases here Victoria & especially Melbourne
Darcy in Victoria
SA, J and J works
Vaccine effectiveness against hospital admission in South African health care workers who received a homologous booster of Ad26.COV2 during an Omicron COVID19 wave
https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.12.28.21268436v1.full.pdf
Ad26.COV.2 vaccine
N = 477, 234 HCWs
6-9 months after first dose
N = 69,092 HCW (evaluated)
VE for hospitalisation (post boost)
Compared to unvaccinated individuals
0-13 days, 63%
14-27 days, 84%
1-2 months, 85%
JCVI, Sir Andrew Pollard,
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2022/01/03/fourth-covid-jab-cant-vaccinate-planet-every-six-months-says/
Fourth jabs should not be offered until there is more evidence
Giving boosters to people every six months not sustainable
At some point, society has to open up.
When we do open, there will be a period with a bump in infections, which is why winter is probably not the best time.
But that’s a decision for the policy makers, not the scientists.
Our approach has to switch,
to rely on the vaccines and the boosters.
The greatest risk is still the unvaccinated.
The worst is absolutely behind us.
We just need to get through the winter.
Misinformation (AZ)
One year ago
Some European leaders
(France and Germany, efficacy on the over-65s, risk of blood clots)
highly likely to have cost lives in Africa
Misinformation risks people’s lives.
It’s highly likely that people became seriously ill and died because of vaccine misinformation
Let’s just say that comments made in mainland Europe affected people in Africa
Source