COVID-19 Coronavirus

Coronavirus test kits from the U.S. govt have begun arriving at residents' homes. The Biden administration said it would send 500M rapid tests to Americans this month via the U.S. Postal Service after #OmicronVariant strained access to in-person testing https://t.co/eAIvr6g0h8

— delthia ricks 🔬 (@DelthiaRicks) January 23, 2022

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WHO chief says world at 'critical juncture' in COVID pandemic https://t.co/WACbxdKOUC pic.twitter.com/Q7C4MDayYU

— Reuters (@Reuters) January 24, 2022

Chinese authorities have lifted a monthlong pandemic lockdown on the northern city of Xi’an and its 13 million residents. Access to the city had been suspended Dec. 22 following an outbreak attributed to the delta variant of the coronavirus. https://t.co/Vov8kNP0YK

— The Associated Press (@AP) January 24, 2022

Beijing 2022 organisers ease COVID-19 curbs for Games-related personnel https://t.co/gVzbH0NLAS pic.twitter.com/Y9UYM14vKI

— Reuters (@Reuters) January 24, 2022

… The International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced the changes on Monday, which included easing the threshold for being designated positive for COVID-19 from PCR tests and reducing to seven days from 14 days the period for which a person is deemed a close contact.

The changes, which take effect immediately and apply retrospectively, “have been developed in order to further adapt to the reality of the current environment and support the Games participants”, the IOC said in a statement…

Organisers also began reporting data on positive COVID-19 tests among Games-related personnel, with 177 confirmed cases found among 3,115 international arrivals from Jan. 4 to Jan. 23, just one of which was among an athlete or support staffer, according to Beijing 2022 data released Sunday and Monday.

China’s strict COVID-19 protocols have led some team officials to express fear of athletes, including those who have recovered from coronavirus, being blocked from participating.

The changes mean that now only participants whose PCR results show a Cycle Threshold (CT) of less than 35 will be considered positive. Previously, the more sensitive CT of 40 was the threshold for designating those positive, the Games’ medical chief, Brian McCloskey, said on Sunday…

Some Hong Kong civil servants to work from home as COVID spreads https://t.co/V5laPY4JIA pic.twitter.com/gtPH3iYzhx

— Reuters (@Reuters) January 24, 2022

India's Omicron wave may intensify in coming weeks -experts https://t.co/mf9SFbpXE9 pic.twitter.com/2QMDIn4sF6

— Reuters (@Reuters) January 24, 2022

… India reported 306,064 new infections over the last 24 hours, the health ministry said, about an 8% decline from the average daily cases reported in the last four days. Deaths were 439, the lowest in five days.

But weekly positivity rates have risen to 17.03% in the week to Jan. 24, from about 0.63% Dec. 27, led by the highly-transmissible Omicron variant.

“Omicron is now in community transmission in India and has become dominant in multiple metros,” a report by the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG) said on Jan. 10 in a report released on Sunday.

Most cases of the Omicron variant have been mild, the advisory group said, although hospitalisations and cases in intensive care were increasing…

India’s tally of overall infections reached 39.54 million, the second-highest globally behind the United States. The country has seen 489,848 people die of the virus.

#Omicron: Fast-rising cases have Japan scrambling to provide boosters. As recently as November, it seemed Japan had beaten back Covid. Daily case counts dropped to almost zero. Masked/vaccinated people went about life w/o pandemic concerns. Now it's back https://t.co/wSyjhunGS3 pic.twitter.com/BF6csPUi8T

— delthia ricks 🔬 (@DelthiaRicks) January 23, 2022

Pakistan has introduced a series of tough new coronavirus restrictions — including barring anyone not fully vaccinated from entering mosques — after recording the country’s highest known daily number of new cases since the pandemic began. https://t.co/v3ykFB0Efu

— The New York Times (@nytimes) January 23, 2022

German Covid protests turn nasty in row over rules and vaccinations https://t.co/9QEGtg3aQG

— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) January 24, 2022

Canadian hospitals strain as Omicron hits health workers https://t.co/8K8oiG4uzD pic.twitter.com/awdv9SKdQL

— Reuters (@Reuters) January 24, 2022

Truckers fighting government vaccine mandate march to Canadian capital https://t.co/lqggWaoJNd pic.twitter.com/wCGoTlCNoY

— Reuters (@Reuters) January 24, 2022

‘March’:

A convoy of truckers started their march from Vancouver on Sunday to the Canadian capital city of Ottawa protesting the government’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate for truckers, which the industry says would create driver shortages and fuel inflation.

Truckers under the banner Freedom Convoy 2022 had raised C$2.7 million ($2.2 million) by Sunday through a gofundme campaign to fight the mandate. The funds raised would be used to help with the costs of fuel, food and lodgings, the gofundme page said. The convoy is expected to reach Ottawa on Jan. 29…

Canada imposed the vaccine mandate for the trucking industry from Jan. 15, under which unvaccinated Canadian truckers re-entering Canada from the United States must get tested for COVID-19 and quarantine themselves…

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has resisted industry pressure to delay the mandate since it was first announced in November.

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There's no shortage of misperceptions about Omicron. A review of the abundant new data helps clear a lot of those up https://t.co/SyCmCzkBQX pic.twitter.com/P3MTBCYzlt

— Eric Topol (@EricTopol) January 23, 2022

An #Omicron 'sub-variant' is raising new coronavirus questions. Scientists are keeping close watch on the recently discovered Omicron sub-variant, BA.2. U.K. health officials identified ~400 BA.2 cases. Detected so far in 40 countries; can spread quickly https://t.co/2LRrTMly6n pic.twitter.com/z2uSHzX9N7

— delthia ricks 🔬 (@DelthiaRicks) January 23, 2022

Laurie Garrett expects the worst, but then LG *always* expects the worst:

A traveler from India came down with #COVID19 in Guangzhou, China just after Christmas — China CDC genomic analysis revealed it was BA.2 and, "compared with the Wuhan reference sequence, the strain displayed 67 nucleotide variation sites." https://t.co/XNHnGzuwRC

— Laurie Garrett (@Laurie_Garrett) January 23, 2022

Counter-thread:

Guys, BA.2 isn’t new. It’s been around since last year. It’s a sub-lineage to BA.1. They’re both still Omicron. It isn’t expected to be any more severe or expected to cause another wave. It might just eventually replace BA.1. End of the day, still Omicron. Let’s not lose focus.

— Chise 🧬🧫🦠💉 (@sailorrooscout) January 21, 2022

New research shows that COVID-19 vaccines do not cause infertility – but getting #COVID19 mighthttps://t.co/XUkAqQeF60

— MicrobesInfect (@MicrobesInfect) January 23, 2022

Animals infecting humans is scary. It’s worse when we infect them back. Mink farms threaten to become a source of new coronavirus variants — and an object lesson in how ‘spillback’ can make deadly diseases even deadlier https://t.co/V9H9uFbYqg

— delthia ricks 🔬 (@DelthiaRicks) January 24, 2022

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Covid still spreading widely in Los Angeles County, though signs of decline continue. Health officials say there are encouraging signs the #Omicron wave may be past its peak https://t.co/gN4tgBcOcL

— delthia ricks 🔬 (@DelthiaRicks) January 24, 2022

There's a shrinking number of nurses in the Deep South, and they're now deep into another Covid wave. An exodus of medical workers during the pandemic has been brutal for small, nonprofit safety-net hospitals where millions of Americans seek care https://t.co/AgWZu2wUBL

— delthia ricks 🔬 (@DelthiaRicks) January 24, 2022

“It’s death all around you all the time” — In Hospital Strained by #Omicron, Weary Nurses Treat Too Many Patients. Texas hospital can’t keep up as a depleted staff works overtime and more beds are shifted to #Covid19, by @_melaevans
https://t.co/EwkGeSVuUK @WSJhealth #nursing

— André Picard (@picardonhealth) January 23, 2022

New study: “Virus spread was 62 percent higher in school districts without mask rules.” https://t.co/4d1DvtlvJh

— Shannon Watts (@shannonrwatts) January 23, 2022

… Absolutely *nothing*. But with MASSIVE resolve!

Q: The Covid test positivity rate in your state is 41 percent. What are you doing to bring that down?

KRISTI NOEM: We are doing exactly what we have been doing the last two years. pic.twitter.com/WjqvnsCkJQ

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) January 23, 2022

Dumbest people in the world: Anti-vaxxers march in Washington DC —a city that mandates Covid vaccines —to protest vaccine mandates. The gathering was a jarring spectacle: A crowd of demonstrators, many unmasked, decrying vaccine mandates as #Omicron surges https://t.co/KYeKZCwvc8

— delthia ricks 🔬 (@DelthiaRicks) January 23, 2022

Del Bigtree once again invoking the Holocaust at the antivaxx rally in D.C., using it to threaten journalists and Dr. Fauci.

"Unlike the Nuremberg Trials that only tried those doctors that destroyed the lives of those human beings, we're going to come after the press." pic.twitter.com/sH3qZNuSoE

— Ben Collins (@oneunderscore__) January 23, 2022

(Drew Sheneman via GoComics.com)

The United States is now reporting 1,853 new coronavirus deaths per day, the highest seven-day average since October 2, according to data from @CNN and Johns Hopkins University.

— Ryan Struyk (@ryanstruyk) January 21, 2022

In the U.S. more people died of Covid in the past week than died of Ebola during the whole 2014-2016 West Africa epidemic.

Maybe it’s me, but the slew of ‘the pandemic is essentially over’ articles seem a bit premature.

— Craig Spencer MD MPH (@Craig_A_Spencer) January 22, 2022

As #Omicron crests, booster shots are keeping people across the U.S. out of hospitals. Extra vaccine doses were expected to lower infection rates. But the shots also seem to be preventing severe illness caused by the new variant, according to the CDC https://t.co/GcaftZweGK

— delthia ricks 🔬 (@DelthiaRicks) January 22, 2022

Omicron won’t be the last variant nor will SARS-CoV-2 be the last novel pandemic pathogen. Seems the debate shouldn’t be whether xyz is endemic/not but rather about what investments we must mobilize now to build strong public health systems for both immediate & long-term benefit.

— Eric Reinhart (@_Eric_Reinhart) January 21, 2022

Wow – Distributing covid tests is a big deal for the Postal Service!

But they should still fire DeJoy.https://t.co/2ywtTfgexi

— Cheryl Rofer (@CherylRofer) January 21, 2022

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From a longer thread:

“Omicron continues to sweep the the world”, says @DrTedros at @WHO presser on #covid19.
“The number of deaths remains stable for the moment, but we're concerned about the impact Omicron is having on already exhausted health workers and overburdened health systems."

— Kai Kupferschmidt (@kakape) January 18, 2022

"Omicron may be less severe, on average, but the narrative that it is a mild disease is misleading, hurts the overall response and costs more lives”, says @DrTedros.

— Kai Kupferschmidt (@kakape) January 18, 2022

The first commercial airline flights in one month have taken off from Xi’an in western China as the government eased travel curbs imposed after a coronavirus outbreak ahead of next month’s Winter Olympics in Beijing. https://t.co/UdXzxeqkJV

— The Associated Press (@AP) January 22, 2022

The sweeping “zero-tolerance” strategy that China has used to keep COVID-19 case numbers low and its economy functioning may, paradoxically, make it harder for the country to exit the pandemic. https://t.co/2kP2osBcVs

— The Associated Press (@AP) January 22, 2022

Not that the rest of us are bitter…

… The communist government’s practice throughout the pandemic of trying to find and isolate every infected person has largely protected hospitals from becoming overwhelmed and staved off the deaths that have engulfed most of the world.

But the uncompromising approach also means most people in China have never been exposed to the virus. At the same time, the effectiveness of China’s most widely used vaccines has been called into question. New studies suggest they offer significantly less protection against infection from omicron, even after three doses, than people get after booster shots of the leading Western vaccines.

Together, those factors could complicate China’s effort to get past the pandemic. Experts say if the country of 1.4 billion people were to relax restrictions, it could face a surge similar to what Singapore or Australia experienced, despite a highly vaccinated population…

The world’s most populous nation was the only major economy to grow in 2020, and it accounted for a fraction of global deaths and infections.

As part of the country’s tough-minded strategy for keeping the virus at bay, residents in Chinese cities must display their infection status on a government-monitored app to enter supermarkets, offices or even the capital.

But weeks ahead of the Olympics, omicron is testing this approach with outbreaks in the southern province of Guangdong, as well as Beijing….

China relies heavily on its own Sinovac and Sinopharm vaccines, along with several others made domestically. It has not approved the Pfizer shot, even though a Chinese company bought distribution rights in 2020.

Instead, the focus is on developing China’s own mRNA vaccines, like the Pfizer and Moderna formulas. One such vaccine is in late trials.

Another option for China may be to track how the virus is evolving and put off opening its borders until it becomes even milder. But it’s anyone guess when or if that might happen…

Hong Kong health authorities warn of worsening COVID outbreak https://t.co/o03cqJrhRs pic.twitter.com/n0fX4Urwch

— Reuters (@Reuters) January 22, 2022

Taiwan on COVID alert as domestic Omicron cases spike https://t.co/Ra9541MVDB pic.twitter.com/iJQH0cPD2L

— Reuters (@Reuters) January 22, 2022

India's daily COVID cases rise by 337,704 in last 24 hours – govt https://t.co/kuib8FWW6j pic.twitter.com/uAQsFZENy4

— Reuters (@Reuters) January 22, 2022

Tokyo daily COVID-19 cases hit record for 4th straight day https://t.co/7kAzaEIlCb pic.twitter.com/ZdniEIloSV

— Reuters (@Reuters) January 22, 2022

As Japan infections surge, so does risk of pandemic fatigue https://t.co/3bPDbPkmmo pic.twitter.com/xmzoM7oMQS

— Reuters (@Reuters) January 21, 2022

Japan on Friday acted to contain a record surge in COVID-19 cases with a return to curbs that have however shown diminishing results, while a laggard vaccine booster programme leaves many people vulnerable to breakthrough infections.

The government empowered authorities in Tokyo and 12 other prefectures to implement curbs on mobility and business activity – measures that, with three prefectures already under such devolved restrictions, now cover half of Japan’s population.

The highly infectious Omicron variant has driven the current wave of cases, and nationwide infections hit an all-time high of around 46,000 on Thursday…

But studies of cell phone traffic, train usage and other mobility data suggest levels of compliance by the public have steadily decreased…

Japan has fully vaccinated almost 80% of its population, but an increasing number of them are vulnerable to breakthrough infections as they got their shots more than six months ago. A booster programme that would help immunise them against the fast-moving variant has reached less than 2%…

One doctor told Reuters there appeared to be delays in imports of vaccines for boosters, as Japan depends on overseas drugmakers for almost all of its supplies.

Another pointed to a decision to shut down mass vaccination centres after the main inoculation push last year, and the health ministry’s initial insistence on an eight-month gap between first-phase inoculations and booster shots.

Makoto Shimoaraiso, a Cabinet official guiding Japan’s pandemic response, said that delays in regulatory approvals and reopening of inoculation sites had hampered the vaccine rollout…

The country has recorded just over 2 million coronavirus cases and 18,461 deaths during the pandemic.

Tokyo’s occupancy rate of hospital beds for COVID-19 patients, rose to 31.5% on Friday. An increase to 50% would warrant escalation to a full state of emergency, officials have said…

#Omicron extends its reach to some of the planet's most remote islands. Isolated islands in the Pacific through geographic isolation and stringent policies remained mostly untouched by the pathogen —but no longer https://t.co/K47wEASyg3

— delthia ricks 🔬 (@DelthiaRicks) January 21, 2022

Poland reports new daily record of 40,876 COVID cases https://t.co/tMZ4SVZV82 pic.twitter.com/3w7vhfQByv

— Reuters (@Reuters) January 22, 2022

… Authorities have said the latest wave of the pandemic will drive case numbers to levels not yet seen in Poland, with estimates of the peak ranging from 60,000 to as many as 140,000 daily infections.

Health Minister Adam Niedzielski said on Twitter that the number of tests being conducted had grown steadily over the past week, with some 151,000 test results, including 100,000 PCRs, reported on Saturday.

Poland, a country of around 38 million, has one of the world’s highest COVID-19 death rates per capita and its vaccination rate is below the European Union average. It has so far reported 4,484,095 COVID-19 cases and 103,819 deaths…

Latin America and Asia are the latest nations to face an omicron surge. In Costa Rica, election officials are encouraging those with the coronavirus to skip voting. Beijing is locking down some communities as the country awaits the start of the Olympics. https://t.co/McWIhjOsZ6

— The Associated Press (@AP) January 21, 2022

The world-famous Carnival festivities in Rio de Janeiro will be held in late April rather than the final weekend of February, as coronavirus cases spike in Brazil. https://t.co/oF2cZf8ryl

— The Associated Press (@AP) January 22, 2022

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The FDA has expanded the use of remdesivir to patients who are not hospitalized. The infused antiviral, which has been widely used for hospitalized Covid patients, is now approved for high-risk patients who aren't sick enough to be hospitalized https://t.co/LwLaQVMBaO

— delthia ricks 🔬 (@DelthiaRicks) January 22, 2022

Bad ‘infection prevention’ techniques:

I'm telling you. Vitamin C and D "MEGADOSING" is causing so many stones right now. I'm tired. Everyone stop it!

— Ashley Winter MD || Urologist (@AshleyGWinter) January 21, 2022

COVID-19 vaccines may, in rare cases, have long-lasting side effects that resemble Long Covid. Researchers are "tiptoeing' around it; patients feel ignored by the medical community. Important story by @jcouzin and @GretchenVogel1https://t.co/vcd66fMWxn

— Martin Enserink (@martinenserink) January 21, 2022

… The research was small in scale and drew no conclusions about whether or how vaccines may have caused rare, lasting health problems. The patients had “temporal associations” between vaccination and their faltering health, says Avindra Nath, clinical director at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), who has been leading the NIH efforts. But “an etiological association? I don’t know.” In other words, he does not know whether vaccination directly caused the subsequent health problems.

NIH’s communications with patients faded by late 2021, though Nath says the work continues behind the scenes. The pullback caused bewilderment and dismay among patients who spoke with Science, who said the NIH researchers were the only ones helping them. Now, a small number of other researchers worldwide is beginning to study whether the biology of Long Covid, itself still poorly understood, overlaps with the mysterious mechanisms driving certain postvaccine side effects…

How frequently side effects like Dressen’s occur is unclear. Online communities can include many thousands of participants, but no one is publicly tracking these cases, which are variable and difficult to diagnose or even categorize. The symptoms also include fatigue, severe headaches, nerve pain, blood pressure swings, and short-term memory problems. Nath is convinced they are “extremely rare.”

Long Covid, in contrast, affects anywhere from about 5% to 30% of those infected by SARS-CoV-2. Researchers are making tentative progress with several ideas about the underlying biology. Some studies suggest the virus may in certain cases linger in tissues and cause ongoing damage. Other evidence indicates aftereffects of the original infection might play a role even after the body clears the virus.

For example, evidence from animal studies supports the idea that antibodies targeting the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein—the same protein that many vaccines use to trigger a protective immune response—might cause collateral damage, notes Harald Prüss, a neurologist at the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) and the Charité University Hospital in Berlin. In 2020, while hunting for antibody therapies for COVID-19, he and his colleagues discovered that of 18 antibodies they identified with potent effects against SARS-CoV-2, four also targeted healthy tissues in mice—a sign they could trigger autoimmune problems…

Breakthrough infections can spur strong antibody responses, according to new research reported in the journal Cell https://t.co/L0NLI03gnm via @medical_xpress

— delthia ricks 🔬 (@DelthiaRicks) January 22, 2022

From @CDCgov death rates for #COVID19 variants vs vaccination:
“Incidence & Death Rates Among Unvaccinated & Fully Vaccinated Adults w/and W/out Booster Doses During Periods of #Delta & #Omicron Variant Emergence — April 4–December 25, 2021”https://t.co/U5Jy3Dfv41 pic.twitter.com/DsTfuwCRMo

— Laurie Garrett (@Laurie_Garrett) January 21, 2022

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Maybe in this 3rd year of the pandemic we'll finally learn what "endemic" means. https://t.co/9o6ywF38Ng

— Zoé (@ztsamudzi) January 21, 2022

Endemicity is not just about constancy and pervasiveness: it is also about predictability, manageability, relative stability.

We're logging like a million daily infections and the capacity of our medical system is being strained. That's not what this is.

— Zoé (@ztsamudzi) January 21, 2022

"Everyone is sick at the same time" isn't an endemic, it's a fucking emergency

— Zoé (@ztsamudzi) January 21, 2022

🚨I've had a frankly worrying number of messages from people who think the answer to the hospital crisis is simple: deny care to unvaccinated people.

I talked to ethicists and health-care workers about why this is a terrible, unconscionable idea. 1/https://t.co/Qo9dqvuPwV

— Ed Yong (@edyong209) January 20, 2022

The principle is really simple: "Everyone has an equal claim to relief from suffering, no matter what they’ve done or haven’t done." The medical system shouldn't be a means of punishing people for social choices. 3/ https://t.co/Qo9dqvuPwV pic.twitter.com/bRzjVgSOpa

— Ed Yong (@edyong209) January 20, 2022

Also, a person’s choices are always constrained by their circumstances. Access still matters. Unvaxxed people are disproportionately poor, rural, and uninsured. To a degree, medical care is *already* denied to them. 4/

And while unvaccinated people make up the bulk of hospitalized COVID patients, they are also far from the only reason that hospitals are now struggling. 5/

Many health-care workers have been harassed & threatened on the false grounds that they’re already withholding care (by not prescribing ineffective drugs). No one I talked to would countenance that. They’re still doing their jobs, in awful conditions. 6/

One of the most persistent misconceptions about the pandemic is that it’s a crisis of personal irresponsibility rather than political inaction. The instinct to punish individuals instead of holding leaders accountable is another manifestation of that 7/

And finally, I will note that there is a surprisingly large number of people who will casually state that unvaccinated folks should be left to die, and yet are incensed about being blocked on Twitter.

Obligatory response for this hashtag. #UNMASKOURCHILDREN pic.twitter.com/aI1dOBLTLe

— Scale of Judgment (@ScaleoJudgement) January 20, 2022

I'm late to see this 🧵, sorry.
The calculations of the percentage of people in the US who have & will be infected in this wave are staggering.
The final tweet in this thread gives me pause. Is Omicron a foreshadowing of Covid season once it becomes endemic? https://t.co/yAOkk4hIzn

— Helen Branswell (@HelenBranswell) January 20, 2022

There may be a longer tail of circulation after the peak (as seen in South Africa), but a rough expectation would have an equivalent number of cases in the next 4 weeks on the other side of the peak. This would suggest 36-46% of the US infected by Omicron by mid-Feb. 7/9

— Trevor Bedford (@trvrb) January 20, 2022

My big question now is to what extent will Omicron-like emergence events characterize "endemic" circulation of SARS-CoV-2? Given it occurred once, having it occur again would not be at all surprising, but I don't know whether to expect this every year or every ten. 9/9

— Trevor Bedford (@trvrb) January 20, 2022

I stand in solidarity with our nurses. They’re the true heroes at the bedside.

This @nytopinion video explains why nursing is in crisis. Patient ratios were unsustainable pre-pandemic. Covid and the ‘business of medicine’ has only made their jobs harder. pic.twitter.com/DSSISsFRRL

— Craig Spencer MD MPH (@Craig_A_Spencer) January 20, 2022

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China daily local confirmed COVID cases fall to nearly two-month low https://t.co/c3EyUHeoT7 pic.twitter.com/BL3AaTJaCD

— Reuters (@Reuters) January 21, 2022

China is limiting the torch relay for the Winter Olympics to only three days amid coronavirus worries. Officials say the flame will be displayed only in enclosed venues that are deemed “safe and controllable." https://t.co/7bHRlTznb7

— The Associated Press (@AP) January 21, 2022

Hong Kong warns people to stop trying to prevent COVID hamster cull https://t.co/37a8NJKvf3 pic.twitter.com/PSXO5uQXI6

— Reuters (@Reuters) January 21, 2022

Indian capital to lift weekend curfew as COVID cases fall – source https://t.co/hRYxmwagcQ pic.twitter.com/aDtbj5D03k

— Reuters (@Reuters) January 21, 2022

Pakistan records most daily COVID cases since pandemic began https://t.co/PyGA6Rgrpa pic.twitter.com/opZdAQq7Ln

— Reuters (@Reuters) January 21, 2022

Restaurants and bars will close early in Tokyo and a dozen other areas across Japan as the country widens COVID-19 restrictions due to the omicron variant causing cases to surge to new highs in metropolitan areas. https://t.co/VzI8USSDCN

— The Associated Press (@AP) January 21, 2022

Malaysia resumes ticket sales for quarantine-free travel to Singapore https://t.co/qtcOw4XylC pic.twitter.com/ld8WUeVUWt

— Reuters (@Reuters) January 21, 2022

"We have to bring the vaccines to them."

Getting #Covid19 shots to distant places has become one of the pandemic's biggest challenges. @dreocalonzo joins a team of health workers to vaccinate those in remote islands of the Philippines https://t.co/bH64QGwNZn pic.twitter.com/WTtuqT994F

— Bloomberg Quicktake (@Quicktake) January 19, 2022

Zero-Covid island nation of Tonga fears aid could bring in virus https://t.co/r5GzvOjKr7

— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) January 20, 2022

As aid trickles into the South Pacific nation of Tonga, devastated by a volcanic eruption and tsunami, an Australian aid flight was forced to return to base due to a positive COVID-19 case onboard, a defense official said https://t.co/RlJwvzCAJ0

— Reuters (@Reuters) January 21, 2022

Russia reported its highest number of coronavirus cases in two months on Thursday, with new infections setting record highs in the two largest cities of Moscow and St. Petersburghttps://t.co/R0BqCsGRKp

— The Moscow Times (@MoscowTimes) January 20, 2022

EXPLAINER: Why global health officials are saying it's premature for some European countries such as Spain to begin making plans to treat COVID-19 as an “endemic” disease, warning that the world is nowhere close to declaring the pandemic over. https://t.co/j8XwUJQ63I

— The Associated Press (@AP) January 20, 2022

Poland reports record daily COVID cases as Omicron spreads https://t.co/Oew8rMgtbW pic.twitter.com/LM3Dhzanys

— Reuters (@Reuters) January 21, 2022

Austrian parliament approves mandatory Covid vaccination order https://t.co/y8hFzhAWsv

— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) January 21, 2022

German health min sees possible tripling of COVID infections by mid-Feb -sources https://t.co/VoNLL85ElN pic.twitter.com/1lacXqdtbp

— Reuters (@Reuters) January 21, 2022

Ireland set to rapidly drop almost all COVID-19 restrictions https://t.co/Co4Lc8hCS8 pic.twitter.com/wDMG550v48

— Reuters (@Reuters) January 21, 2022

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Very similar pattern for age 50-64
44-fold reduction of hospitalization for vaccination
Booster benefit consistent,at every time point, but gradient vs 2-shot less pronounced than age 65+ pic.twitter.com/Rzg15Ivz5r

— Eric Topol (@EricTopol) January 21, 2022

Antibodies in the blood soon after Covid onset may predict disease severity. By analyzing antibodies from study participants the day of their Covid test & 28 days later, differences were found between those who developed severe symptoms & those who didn't https://t.co/IcPvz1Ig5a

— delthia ricks 🔬 (@DelthiaRicks) January 20, 2022

In development: Scientists report progress on a potential broad-spectrum anti-coronavirus 'cocktail' therapy. Oral administration of the cocktail suppresses the viral replication cycle, reduces viral loads in the lungs & ameliorates virus-induced pneumonia https://t.co/a8a5XhR3YI pic.twitter.com/h5hwYI515E

— delthia ricks 🔬 (@DelthiaRicks) January 20, 2022

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California would allow children age 12 and up to be vaccinated without their parents’ consent, the youngest age of any state, under a state senator's proposal. Alabama allows such decisions at age 14, Oregon at 15, Rhode Island and South Carolina at 16. https://t.co/UCgq04UcAY

— The Associated Press (@AP) January 21, 2022

Neighboring states moving in opposite Omicron case spread directions
Wisconsin heading to #1
Michigan now 2nd lowest (above ME) pic.twitter.com/yKYSy65aYt

— Eric Topol (@EricTopol) January 20, 2022

This is going to be the solution to Covid lots of states choose: out of sight, out of mind. They’re going to stop testing ppl even when they’ve had close contacts with infected ppl. And some red states will almost certainly soon stop reporting Covid deaths on a regular basis. https://t.co/9V1vgR5HDR

— James Surowiecki (@JamesSurowiecki) January 20, 2022

.@Pontifex told all Catholics to get the vaccine, so idk what ReLigiOuS eXeMpTiOn you're speaking of. #bospoli https://t.co/SWGye0qwLh

— chip goines (@chipgoines) January 19, 2022

Novak Djokovic visa denied because he could have inspired anti-vax Australians, court says https://t.co/WXxEPJ89Q3

— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) January 20, 2022

An American Airlines flight to London returned to Miami less than an hour into the flight after a passenger refused to follow the federal requirement to wear a face mask, according to the airline. https://t.co/DYW7iSnhT6

— The Associated Press (@AP) January 20, 2022

“Much better days may be ahead. But as the world has learned over the past two years, only fools with short memories make promises in a pandemic.”

Wise words from ⁦@BillHanage⁩
via @NYTOpinion https://t.co/D4GwyseZSF

— Jeremy Faust MD MS (ER physician) (@jeremyfaust) January 19, 2022

If only someone could have given anyone any warning.

Oh wait, we did. @bhrenton @BillHanage @alexanderjxchen @kmpanthagani https://t.co/cjdEF8wzL5 pic.twitter.com/BKtvDTbaYF

— Jeremy Faust MD MS (ER physician) (@jeremyfaust) January 19, 2022

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Everybody knows that the #COVID19 #pandemic true toll FAR exceeds official numbers — but by how much?
MOREhttps://t.co/V5dDpJPYpt

— Laurie Garrett (@Laurie_Garrett) January 18, 2022

3/ Depending on which reckonings one accepts for #COVID19 deaths so far, here's how our #pandemic stacks up against the major #flu pandemics.
(Note: Even the highest estimates still don't put COVID on a par with 14th C #Plague or HIV/AIDS — yet.) pic.twitter.com/xdQTIS8FDt

— Laurie Garrett (@Laurie_Garrett) January 18, 2022

Like many vaccinated and boostered people, I experienced a mild infection.
Of course I wonder what the experience would have been like with no prior immunity at all.
I’m privileged. I got three doses. One third of the world population has gotten zero doses so far.

— Kai Kupferschmidt (@kakape) January 18, 2022

I have recovered and I’m happy to go back to reporting on omicron.

I hope that’s it. But as someone who is HIV-positive I have a lot of respect for the power of viruses to cause long-term troubles and we should all have some humility in the face of such a new virus.

— Kai Kupferschmidt (@kakape) January 18, 2022

Cheap version of Merck COVID pill to be made for poorer nations https://t.co/C7h2fMlAOY pic.twitter.com/cuYOlgy9HH

— Reuters (@Reuters) January 20, 2022

BRUSSELS, Jan 20 (Reuters) – A U.N.-backed agency has struck a deal for nearly 30 generic drugmakers to make low-cost versions of Merck & Co’s (MRK.N) COVID-19 pill molnupiravir for poorer nations, widening access to a drug seen as a weapon in fighting the pandemic.

The antiviral drug, which in December received emergency approval in the United States, reduces hospitalizations and deaths of high-risk patients by around 30%, according to clinical trial results.

The agreement, negotiated by the U.N.-backed Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) with Merck, allows 27 generic drugmakers from India, China and other countries in Africa, Asia and the Middle East to produce ingredients and the finished drug.

The MPP said on Thursday the deal stipulated the pill would be distributed to 105 less-developed nations…

Beijing city raises vigilance as local COVID cases tick higher before Olympics https://t.co/I4VS76lbA1 pic.twitter.com/kittSVSLbA

— Reuters (@Reuters) January 20, 2022

New Zealand's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern says tough measures, like mandatory masks and limits on public gatherings, will be taken if there is community transmission of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 https://t.co/3UqYBXnm7h pic.twitter.com/OA03tysIjX

— Reuters (@Reuters) January 20, 2022

Russia reported 33,899 new Covid-19 infections, the most in six weeks, as Omicron becomes the dominant strain of the virus in Moscowhttps://t.co/XyE0DkyZTd

— The Moscow Times (@MoscowTimes) January 19, 2022

Switzerland has begun reporting Covid deaths among three different groups of people: unvaccinated; vaccinated but not boosted; and boosted.

Look at this chart (with data via @redouad and @MaxCRoser): pic.twitter.com/psP3Tr6mK7

— David Leonhardt (@DLeonhardt) January 19, 2022

After South Africa, Denmark was one of the first countries hit by Omicron. There's little sign of any let up, except in ICU patients@OurWorldInData pic.twitter.com/MPz8sRU0AS

— Eric Topol (@EricTopol) January 19, 2022

A Czech folk singer got COVID intentionally in order to avoid vaccination and get natural immunity, thus enabling herself to attend public events.
She died last weekend. https://t.co/EEFq2s1OtK

— Slava Malamud (@SlavaMalamud) January 19, 2022

Ireland announces annual bank holiday to honour Covid victims and workers https://t.co/owbwaNIRjL

— The Guardian (@guardian) January 19, 2022

South Africa's top #COVID19 experts suspect the west is filtering out encouraging news about #Omicron from this continent, and only reacting to bad news: https://t.co/HQS2xB6ovV

— andrew harding (@AndrewWJHarding) January 20, 2022

Mask and rapid test access is a problem in Canada🇨🇦, too. https://t.co/DRwjxWaNuU

— Laurie Garrett (@Laurie_Garrett) January 19, 2022

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Parents, please take note of this important finding on 90% vaccine protection vs MIS-C below.

And good to see new data that the recovery of heart function for MIS-C is fairly rapid in most children when this dreaded outcome occurshttps://t.co/Jm6vBukm5Z https://t.co/XNJDnpALl9 pic.twitter.com/Op4ITae7dr

— Eric Topol (@EricTopol) January 19, 2022

The terrific @RebeccaDRobbins wrote about the struggle to find Covid drugs for her mother.
Game changers can only change the game if people can actually get them. https://t.co/2H9vyyXauR

— Helen Branswell (@HelenBranswell) January 19, 2022

Placebo effect's evil twin? Most side effects experienced after Covid vaccination can be blamed on the ‘nocebo’ effect. Researchers reviewed 12 randomized clinical trials of Covid shots & found the nocebo effect accounted for 76% of 'adverse reactions' https://t.co/El3USlBXtm

— delthia ricks 🔬 (@DelthiaRicks) January 19, 2022

James Palmer is not a scientist, but he is a survivor, and I think he has a good perspective on Long Covid:

Long covid is a real problem, it's also *very* hard to identify or distinguish from other issues, and some parts of it appear to be longer than regular covid but not permanent!

— James Palmer (@BeijingPalmer) January 10, 2022

I had a severe but not quite hospitalizable case of covid in March 2020; I had periods of exhaustion that lingered for far longer than the three weeks I was seriously sick, but that had largely vanished by the next year.

but it was also *extremely* difficult to tell some of that apart from the stress and exhaustion of 2020!

‘self-reported symptoms in fall 2020’ are not going to be a good indicator for ‘permanently disabled by covid.’

this is also going to take a lot of skill and sensitivity from doctors, because diagnostic criteria are going to be *really* difficult, and medical history shows how easy it is to dismiss people – especially certain groups of people – as hysteric.

the thing for docs to remember I think is that even ‘long covid’ symptoms that probably *aren’t* covid related reflect real problems for the patient!

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Not sure who needs to hear this, but most of the HCWers at my hospital who have caught COVID got it from their kids who got it from school… Yup school. While we can and do wear N95s at work, it is hard to expect people to wear them at home.

— James Heilman, MD (@WikiDocJames) January 18, 2022

GOVERNOR DEATHSANTIS WILL NOT BE IGNORED!

A Florida public health official has been "put on leave" for recommending that his staff get vaccinated. Less than half the staff was fully inoculated. Dr. Raul Pino— Florida’s top public health official in Orlando—sent the email Jan. 4 as #Omicron surged https://t.co/CpaNZerRwc

— delthia ricks 🔬 (@DelthiaRicks) January 19, 2022

Prisoners in Arkansas forced to take ivermectin — and in potentially toxic doses — without their consent ↓ https://t.co/oPRDyQSj2m pic.twitter.com/hXqF6MBLqo

— delthia ricks 🔬 (@DelthiaRicks) January 19, 2022

go get vaccinated, it's free. they give you a free vaccine card

— Gerry Doyle (@mgerrydoyle) January 20, 2022

Not that I disagree with the judge here, but isn’t this just gonna be one for excuse for the anti-vaxxers to stay stubborn?

Read U.S. District Judge Robert Scola's order canceling a trial because some jurors were unvaccinated.

"It is the Court’s belief that the vast majority of the unvaccinated adults are uninformed and irrational, or—less charitably—selfish and unpatriotic."https://t.co/xp8loebytF pic.twitter.com/Nxzzkfpqu2

— Mark Joseph Stern (@mjs_DC) January 19, 2022