Ethiotime1
Find an updated count of COVID-19 cases in California and by county on our tracker here.
Latest Updates
High flu activity reports in 44 states
Pfizer asks FDA to clear new bivalent shot for children under 5
China eases anti-covid measures following protests
Military to keep COVID vaccine mandate
A year later, omicron surges still worry experts
COVID-19 By The Numbers
Friday, December 9
12:05 p.m.: High flu activity reports in 44 states
The U.S. flu season keeps getting worse. Health officials say 7.5% of outpatient medical visits last week were due to flu-like illnesses.
According to the Associated Press, that’s as high as the peak of the 2017-18 flu season and higher than any season since.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released its latest flu update. It says 44 states reported high or very high flu activity recently.
The measure of traffic in doctor’s offices is based on reports of symptoms like coughs and sore throats, not on lab-confirmed diagnoses, so it may include other respiratory illnesses.
That makes it hard to compare to flu seasons from before the COVID-19 pandemic. Other years also didn’t have this year’s unusually strong wave of RSV, or respiratory syncytial virus, a common cause of cold-like symptoms that can be serious for infants and the elderly.
That may not bode well for the near future. It’s likely there was more spread of respiratory viruses during Thanksgiving gatherings and at crowded airports.
Thursday, December 8
11:45 a.m.: Pfizer asks FDA to clear new bivalent shot for children under 5
Pfizer is asking U.S. regulators to authorize its updated COVID-19 vaccine for children under the age of 5.
The youngest children are already supposed to get three extra-small doses of the original vaccine as their primary series — this would be just to update the formula.
Few of the nation’s youngest children have gotten their COVID-19 vaccinations since the shots were OK’d in June. As reported by the Associated Press, just 2% of tots under 2 and about 4% of 2- 4-year-olds have gotten their primary doses so far.
Pfizer and its partner BioNTech said that if the Food and Drug Administration agrees, the updated vaccine would be used for the third shot in the series.
The FDA has already cleared the bivalent COVID-19 vaccines for everyone 5 and older.
Wednesday, December 7
11:55 a.m.: China eases anti-covid measures following protests
China has rolled back rules on isolating people with COVID-19 and dropped virus test requirements for some public places.
That is a dramatic change to a strategy that confined millions of people to their homes and sparked protests and demands for President Xi Jinping to resign, as reported by the Associated Press.
The move adds to earlier easing that fueled hopes Beijing was scrapping its “zero COVID” strategy. Experts warn that restrictions can’t be lifted completely until at least mid-2023 because millions of elderly people still must be vaccinated and the health care system strengthened.
China is the last major country still trying to stamp out transmission of the virus while many nations switch to trying to live with it.
Tuesday, December 6
12:28 p.m.: Military to keep COVID vaccine mandate
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is making clear he wants to keep the military’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate in place to protect the health of U.S. troops as Republican governors and lawmakers press to rescind it.
According to the Associated Press, this past week, more than 20 Republican governors wrote to President Joe Biden asking that the administration remove the mandate.
They argue it has hurt the U.S. National Guard’s ability to recruit troops. Congress may consider legislation this coming week to end the mandate as a requirement to gather enough support to pass this year’s defense budget, which is already two months late.
Austin says the mandate has kept the forces healthy.
Monday, December 5
11:56 a.m.: A year later, omicron surges still worry experts
The omicron variant is driving U.S. COVID-19 case counts higher in many places just in time for the holiday season. The ever-morphing mutant began its assault on humanity a year ago.
According to the Associated Press, experts soon expect a wave to wash over the U.S. Cases nationally now average around 39,300 a day, though that’s believed to be an undercount.
Hospitalizations are at about 28,000 a day, and deaths about 340 a day. Yet, a fifth of the population hasn’t been vaccinated.
Most eligible Americans haven’t gotten the latest boosters, and many have stopped wearing masks. Meanwhile, the mutating virus keeps finding ways to avoid defeat.
The omicron variant arrived in the U.S. just after Thanksgiving last year and caused the pandemic’s biggest wave of cases. Since then, it has spawned a large extended family of sub-variants, such as those most common in the U.S. now — BQ.1, BQ1.1 and BA.5.
They edged out competitors by getting better at evading immunity from vaccines and previous illnesses — and sickening millions.
Friday, December 2
11:39 a.m.: Northgate Boulevard gets $2 million to support business recovery due to COVID-19 pandemic
The Sacramento City Council has approved allocating $2 million to help boost small businesses along Northgate Boulevard, which is a historically underserved area of the city.
The money is intended to help restaurants and shops recover after the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Northgate has really had almost no investment at all for the last 24 years, so this is incredibly significant of what can be achieved with an infusion of money like this,” City Council member Jeff Harris said.
The money comes from the city’s allocation of federal American Rescue Plan funds approved by Congress last year.
Among other things, it’ll help pay for business consulting, lease assistance and training on financial planning. It’ll also be used to help businesses make the upgrade from gas to electric equipment.
“It’s about bolstering the business community on the corridor. It’s about supporting small businesses and bringing them back to life after the ravages of the pandemic,” Harris said.
Thursday, December 1
11:56 a.m.: A record 40 million children missed out on measles vaccine dose last year
The World Health Organization and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say measles immunization has dropped significantly since the coronavirus pandemic began, as reported by the Associated Press.
This means that there’s a record high of nearly 40 million children globally who missed a vaccine dose last year.
In a report issued Wednesday, WHO and the CDC said there were about 9 million measles infections and 128,99 deaths worldwide last year.
Scientists estimate that at least 95% of a population needs to be immunized to protect against epidemics — the WHO and the CDC reported that only about 81% of children receive their first dose of measles vaccine, while 71% get their second dose, marking the lowest global coverage rates of the first measles dose since 2008.
The WHO and CDC said continued drops in vaccination, weak disease surveillance, and delayed response plans due to COVID-19, in addition to ongoing outbreaks in more than 20 countries, mean that “measles is an imminent threat in every region of the world.”
Find older coronavirus updates on our previous blog page here.
Follow us for more stories like this
CapRadio provides a trusted source of news because of you. As a nonprofit organization, donations from people like you sustain the journalism that allows us to discover stories that are important to our audience. If you believe in what we do and support our mission, please donate today.
GIPHY App Key not set. Please check settings