Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
As Omicron Creeps Into More States, Delta Cases Are Also Rising
The Washington Post: U.S. Cases Top 100,000 Daily As Delta Remains Dominant
The United States is averaging more than 100,000 new coronavirus cases each day for the first time in two months, as the delta variant remains dominant amid fears of the new omicron variant. On Sunday, the seven-day average was more than 118,000 new cases per day, according to a Washington Post tracker. The last time it topped 100,000 was Oct. 6, when the country was averaging more than 101,000 new cases daily. (Pietsch and Timsit, 12/6)
CNBC: Covid Cases On The Rise Again, But It's Still Delta, Not Omicron, Driving The Surge
Even as more and more states report their first cases of the omicron variant, it’s still the super contagious delta variant that’s driving nearly all new Covid-19 cases in the United States.What’s more, it appears cases are once again rising after Thanksgiving. Dr. Michael Saag, an associate dean for global health at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, has seen a “notable increase” of Covid patients in need of monoclonal antibody treatments over the past 24 hours. (Edwards, 12/4)
Forbes: Omicron Detected In These 17 States — Georgia Latest To Report Case
Cases of the recently detected coronavirus variant omicron have been identified in over 40 countries and 17 states as of Sunday — numbers “likely to rise” in the United States, according to the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The state of Georgia confirmed its first omicron case in an Atlanta resident who had recently traveled from South Africa, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported Sunday. California was the first state to report a case of omicron Wednesday, and others have subsequently been found in Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Utah, Washington and Wisconsin. (Kvetenadze, 12/5)
Newsweek: Rochelle Walensky Warns That Omicron Cases 'Likely To Rise' As U.S. Still Battles Delta
Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), said Sunday that Omicron coronavirus cases are "likely to rise" as the U.S. is still working to combat a surge of infections from the Delta variant. Walensky told ABC's This Week that the CDC is still working to determine information about Omicron, but maintained that a majority of COVID-19 cases in the U.S. continue to come from the Delta variant of the virus. "We have about 90 to 100,000 cases a day right now in the United States, and 99.9 percent of them are the Delta variant. We have an issue right now with Delta. And we have so many things we can do about Delta, including getting vaccinated and getting boosted," Walenksy said Sunday. (Colarossi, 12/5)
The Wall Street Journal: Clues To Omicron Variant’s U.S. Spread Include Test Samples, Sewage
Early this year, the U.S. was publishing some 3,000 virus genome sequences a week, according to CDC data. For the week ended Nov. 20, the U.S. published more than 80,000 sequences, a jump that health authorities and experts credit to increased funding and coordination among states, researchers and federal officials. Between 5% and 10% of positive Covid-19 samples are sequenced in the U.S., according to Kelly Wroblewski, director of infectious diseases at the Association of Public Health Laboratories. “Our surveillance system is well-placed to find it,” Ms. Wroblewski said of the Omicron variant. (Abbott, 12/5)
