Here’s What Health Workers Confront: Full ICUs, Patients Dying. And Violence.

Detroit Free Press: Michigan Doctors, Nurses Getting Hit, Spit On In COVID-19 Surge
Doctors, nurses and other hospital workers already face the deadly threat of the coronavirus daily as they report to Michigan hospitals. Now, they're facing additional threats during the state's fourth COVID-19 surge that is filling hospitals -- violence and hostility from patients and the patients' loved ones. Hospital staffers are joining the inauspicious ranks of other public-facing workers -- such as grocery store, restaurant, retail and airline employees -- who are being berated and even physically assaulted by frustrated and inconsiderate customers scoffing at and lashing out against pandemic protection rules. (Hall, 12/20)

Chicago Tribune: Hospital Beds Scarcer Than Ever During COVID-19 Pandemic
Illinois hospitals are being flooded with patients more than at any other time of the pandemic, a Tribune analysis of state data has found, with fewer beds open than during the deadliest COVID-19 surge a year earlier. State regulators say hospitals become “seriously stressed” in regions where bed availability drops below 20%. As of Thursday night, intensive care units in the region covering DuPage and Kane counties averaged 15% of their beds available, and that’s the best rate in the Chicago area. At worst, the rate was 7% for hospitals in the region covering Will and Kankakee counties. (Mahr, Schencker and Petrella, 12/17)

Philadelphia Inquirer: Full ICUs, 100 Dying A Day: The Winter Coronavirus Surge Is Straining Pa.’s Health-Care System
Hospitals across much of Pennsylvania are at capacity, health-care workers are exhausted and stretched thin, and about 100 people a day are dying from the coronavirus as the winter surge worsens. A quarter of the state had no or few ICU beds available by week’s end, and about two-thirds of counties were down to their last available hospital beds. Over the last few weeks, average new infections and hospitalizations have climbed, particularly in central and western parts of the state, making Pennsylvania among the worst-hit states this winter. (McDaniel and McCarthy, 12/18)

Axios: Ohio National Guard Dispatched To Hospitals As COVID Cases Surge
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced on Friday that he has mobilized 1,050 members of the National Guard to assist with COVID-related staffing issues in hospitals across the state. More than 4,700 people are currently hospitalized in Ohio for COVID — equating to 1 in every 5 hospital patients, according to DeWine's office. "This is the highest number of people hospitalized with COVID-19 this year, and the number of hospitalized patients is rapidly approaching an all-time high." (Chen, 12/18)

In other news about the spread of the coronavirus —

CNN: 3 Democratic Lawmakers Announce Positive Covid-19 Tests
Three Democratic members of Congress announced Sunday that they have breakthrough coronavirus infections. Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Cory Booker of New Jersey as well as Rep. Jason Crow of Colorado shared that they had tested positive for Covid-19 via tweets from their official accounts. They all reported having received Covid-19 booster shots and experiencing mild symptoms. (Clary, 12/19)

Houston Chronicle: Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner Says He Has COVID-19, Plans To Isolate
“I was not feeling well overnight and thought I was suffering from allergies or a sinus infection, so I decided to get tested before starting my daily schedule,” Turner said in a statement released by his office. The diagnosis comes as cases are again rising in the region. Average daily cases in the Texas Medical Center reached an eight-week high, officials confirmed earlier this week, tripling the daily caseload of the previous week. That has led to a renewed focus on vaccine preparedness before the Christmas travel period, including a free citywide vaccine clinic in downtown Houston on Friday, where Turner was supposed to be among the featured guests. (Begley and Bauman, 12/17)

Axios: Washington State Senator Dies Month After Revealing COVID Illness 
Washington state Sen. Doug Ericksen, a rigid conservative, died last Friday at age 52, his family confirmed in a statement Saturday. The Washington Republican's death Friday came a month after he told a local radio station that he had tested positive for coronavirus while in El Salvador, per CNN. Ericksen's cause of death has not been made public. Ericksen was elected to the state Senate after serving six terms in the state House, according to his website. (Reyes, 12/19)

The CT Mirror: A Cancer Patient Was Sent To Prison For DUI. He Died Behind Bars Of COVID.
William Lamprecht stood before the judge in a Torrington courtroom in September fearing the four months he was about to spend in prison would become a death sentence. The 62-year-old man, who had been battling an alcohol and drug addiction for years, was awaiting his fate after pleading guilty to driving under the influence of alcohol in New Milford last year. But cocaine and vodka weren’t the only things destroying his body – Lamprecht also was fighting follicular lymphoma, for which he took Truxima – a drug his doctor warned the court could cause immunosuppression. (Altimari and Lyons, 12/19)

Also —

Fox News: Move Over Superman, COVID-19 ‘Super Immunity’ Possible After Breakthrough Infections, Study Finds
Even though there’s only one Superman, "super immunity" may be possible in vaccinated patients who develop COVID-19 breakthrough infections. These patients generate antibodies that were as much as 1,000% more effective than compared to those generated two weeks after the second Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine, according to a Journal of the American Medical Association article published this week. "We have not examined the omicron variant specifically, but based on the results of this study we would anticipate that breakthrough infections from the omicron variant will generate a similarly strong immune response among vaccinated people," senior author Dr. Fikadu Tafesse noted in a press release. (Sudhakar, 12/19)

San Francisco Chronicle: Monoclonal Antibodies Can Save Lives. But Bay Area Sees Worryingly Few Takers
Most days, Total Infusion, an Oakland clinic that administers monoclonal antibody treatment to patients with COVID-19, is quiet — too quiet, says the center’s director of infusion therapy, Kee Conti. “Our chairs are empty,” Conti said. “My refrigerator is full of therapeutics, and there are patients that need them and just aren’t getting the message.” In November, Total Infusion gave monoclonal antibodies to fewer than 100 people — even though it has the capacity, staff and supply to double that. Meanwhile, more and more people across the Bay Area and state are testing positive for COVID in what looks to be a lead-up to a winter surge and are likely candidates for the treatment. (Ho, 12/18)

The Washington Post: What Home Supplies Should You Have If Someone Is Infected? 
It’s a good idea to keep some basic supplies at home if you do get a case of covid-19 that doesn’t require hospitalization. Sterling N. Ransone, a family physician in Deltaville, Va., and president of the American Academy of Family Physicians, recommends putting together a kit with a few of these key items. (12/19)

In updates on covid testing —

The CT Mirror: Sema4 Pulls Out Of COVID Testing Contract With State
Sema4, the Stamford-based laboratory ensnared in a controversy over investments made by first lady Annie Lamont’s venture capital firm, has informed public health officials and its investors that it will no longer provide COVID testing, leaving the state without one of its key partners as the demand for testing rises. Sema4 was one of four companies hired in July by the Department of Public Health to manage 23 testing sites across the state, according to DPH officials. The company notified some of its testing partners this week that it will exit the testing business by mid-January and return to its core business, which is genomic testing. (Altimari and Phillips, 12/17)

The Wall Street Journal: Covid-19 Tests Get Harder To Find As Omicron Variant Spreads 
Waiting times for Covid-19 tests are growing in parts of the U.S. as concerns over the Omicron variant, new infections and the coming holidays drive up demand. Websites for CVS Health Corp. and Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. showed some parts of the country with no available testing appointments until later next week or more than a week out. CVS said people might need to wait a couple of days to get a test appointment in places where demand is high. A Walgreens spokeswoman said availability varies by region. (Abbott and Terlep, 12/19)