Scientists begin to predict omicron will peak in the US in the coming weeks, but hospitalizations remain at record highs

“It’s going to come down as fast as it has gone up,” Ali Mokdad, professor of health metrics science at the University of Washington in Seattle, told the AP.

The World Health Organization said on Wednesday that studies continue to report that omicron is less deadly than previous variants of the coronavirus, even though it is highly infectious and has led to cases of COVID-19 in people. who are fully vaccinated and have been boosted, or have been infected in the past.

In his weekly epidemiological update, the agency cited studies from Denmark, South Africa, the United States and Qatar, all of which found it to be less likely to cause serious illness and death than previous variants. None of the studies have yet been peer reviewed.

But to illustrate how quickly it is spreading, the WHO also said there were 15 million new cases of COVID in the week through January 9 globally, a large increase from the previous week. . The death toll, however, was stable at 43,000.

All regions reported higher weekly cases, except for the African region, where cases decreased by 11%. Europe remained the most affected region per 100,000 inhabitants, followed by the Americas.

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The average seven-day hospitalizations in the United States stood at 140,641 on Tuesday, according to a New York Times tracker, up 84% from two weeks ago. Cases are on average 761,122 per day, up 185% from two weeks ago. And deaths, which delay cases and hospitalizations, also climb to 1,736, up 40% from two weeks ago.

With many people using rapid home tests, not all new cases are on record, but experts say the greatest risk is that hospitals will be overcrowded and overwhelm healthcare workers.

“There are still a lot of people who will be infected when we go down the slope in the back,” Lauren Ancel Meyers, director of the University of Texas COVID-19 Modeling Consortium, told the AP. The university predicts that the reported cases will peak within the week.

The University of Washington’s own highly influential model predicts that the number of daily reported cases in the United States will reach 1.2 million by January 19 and then drop sharply “simply because everyone who might be infected will be infected. “, According to Mokdad.

According to the university’s complex calculations, the actual number of new daily infections in the United States – an estimate that includes people who have never been tested – has already peaked, reaching 6 million on January 6, a- he declared.

“I think it’s hard to deal with what’s really going on right now which is that most people are going to get COVID,” said Janet Woodcock, acting commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration , during a press conference. Senate hearing Tuesday during which Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and CDC director Rochelle Walensky also testified.

See: Anthony Fauci Calls GOP Senator a ‘Fool’ in Stormy Hearing, Says He Receives Death Threats

Other COVID-19 news to know

• UK Prime Minister Boris Johnsons apologized for attending a garden party during the UK coronavirus shutdown in 2020, saying there were things the government ‘didn’t quite get’, the AP reported. Johnson is facing anger from the public and politicians after claiming he and his staff flouted pandemic restrictions by socializing during his ban. Some in his Conservative Party say he should step down if he fails to quell the fury. Johnson first admitted on Wednesday that he was at the May 2020 garden party in his Downing Street office, although he said he considered it a professional event.

• Biden administration increases federal support for COVID-19 testing for schools in a bid to keep them open in the middle the surge of omicron, the AP reported separately. The White House announced on Wednesday that the administration is making a dedicated stream of 5 million rapid tests and 5 million laboratory PCR tests available to schools starting this month to alleviate supply shortages and promote reopening in safe schools. This is in addition to more than $ 10 billion spent on school-based testing authorized in COVID-19 relief law and about $ 130 billion in this law to keep children in school.

• The White House appealed to Tom Inglesby, the former director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, to lead the government’s COVID-19 testing initiative, said press secretary Jen Psaki.

See also: Doctors reveal best face masks to protect children from omicron coronavirus variant

• Germany, Austria and Saudi Arabia on Wednesday counted a record number of COVID-19 cases in a single day, according to media reports. Germany has counted 80,430 new coronavirus infections, surpassing the previous record of 76,000 set on November 26. Reuters reported. Austria counted over 17,000 cases for the first time at 17,006, data from the interior and health ministries showed. The previous peak was 15,809 on November 19. Saudi Arabia’s Day Countdown passed 5,000 for the first time.

• Russian President Vladimir Putin said his country has two weeks to prepare for a wave of omicron infections, AFP reported. Russia has lifted almost all restrictions aimed at limiting cases, even as cases increase and it remains the most affected country in Europe in terms of virus-related deaths. “We see what is happening in the world,” the Russian leader said at a meeting of ministers on Wednesday. “We have at least a few weeks to prepare. “

Here’s what the numbers say

The global tally of confirmed COVID-19 cases rose to 314.8 million on Wednesday, according to data aggregated by Johns Hopkins University. The death toll has exceeded 5.5 million.

The United States leads the world with 62.6 million cases and 843,426 deaths.

the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention vaccine tracking shows that approximately 208 million people living in the United States are fully vaccinated, or 62.6% of the total population.

Some 76 million people have received a booster, or 36.7% of those fully vaccinated.