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Even with data showing Covid-19 vaccines’ reduced effectiveness against the Omicron variant, it’s important for people to get vaccinated, said Heather Scobie, a member of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Enhanced Surveillance Epidemiology Task Force Covid-19 Emergency Response.
The Delta variant has been dominant in the US since August, causing up to 99% of Covid-19 cases, and is now causing 96.7% of cases, Scobie said.
She added that the CDC is closely monitoring real-world vaccine effectiveness and watching breakthrough infections. The CDC is also watching the effects the Omicron variant is having on various populations.
To date, 37 states have reported Omicron cases. Of the 43 cases that the CDC has full details on, 33% had an international travel history. Nearly 80% were fully vaccinated, and 32% had a booster dose, though some of them had gotten the booster within 14 days of symptom onset. Fourteen percent had previous infections.
Scientists are still looking at how effective Covid-19 treatments are against Omicron, but “some treatments are still likely to be excellent,” she said.
To slow the spread of the variant, Scobie said that in addition to vaccination and boosters, there should be an increased use of masking, an effort to improve ventilation, wider and more frequent testing, and more adherence to guidance on quarantine and isolation when exposed to, or sick with, Covid-19.
“This is a changing landscape, and CDC will communicate properly about emerging evidence,” Scobie said.
The G7 on Thursday called the Omicron coronavirus variant “the biggest current threat to global public health,” according to a statement from G7 health ministers.
“Ministers reiterated their continuous support for COVAX, their commitment to the global effort on vaccine rollout and their support for accelerated development of vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics in pandemics,” the statement said.
A spokesperson for the United Kingdom’s Department of Health and Social Care added, “Ministers shared their concerns over the rise in Omicron cases around the world and discussed how to combat the new variant, stressing the importance of co-operating closely to monitor the situation, share data and increase vaccinations to provide as much protection as possible.”
The UK currently holds the presidency for the G7 countries and held its final health ministers meeting on Thursday.
President Biden said he wanted to send a “direct message” to the American people that while the Covid-19 variant Omicron has “not spread as fast” because of steps the administration has taken, Americans still need to get their boosters and first shots of the Covid-19 vaccine, warning the unvaccinated are “looking at a winter of severe illness and death.”
Biden also called on individuals to get vaccinated to support the economic recovery.
“We’re gonna protect our economic recovery. If we do this we’re gonna keep schools and businesses open if we do this and I want to see everyone around enjoy that. I want to see them enjoy the fact that they’re able to be in school, that businesses are open and the holidays are coming,” the President said.
Vaccine advisers to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention voted 15-0 Thursday to change recommendations to make clear that the Covid-19 vaccines made by Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech were preferred over Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine.
The CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices endorsed the updated recommendation after hearing new data indicating that a rare blood clotting syndrome is more common among people who recently got a Johnson & Johnson vaccine than previously believed. The CDC has logged 54 cases in the US of thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome, or TTS, in the US since the vaccine became available. Nine people have died: seven women and two men.
ACIP members considered the new data and weighed it against numerous studies showing that Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine is less effective than the Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines in preventing infection. They also discussed the risks of completely removing J&J’s vaccine as an option, as well as the potential confusion and mistrust that might be caused by changing recommendations about the vaccine.
“We will absolutely emphasize how important education around the risk of these events is,” the CDC’s Dr. Sara Oliver told the meeting.
Earlier this week: The US Food and Drug Administration strengthened language in the fact sheet that goes along with the Janssen vaccine, saying it should not be given to anyone with a history of TTS.
If people take appropriate measures to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, including vaccination, American businesses may not face the same closures with Omicron as they saw in 2020, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said Thursday.
“If we follow the CDC guidelines about, when you are at indoor public congregate settings, to make sure you wear a mask even if you are vaccinated, and if you are vaccinated, please get boosted when your time comes. And certainly if you’re not vaccinated, get vaccinated. If we do that, I don’t believe we’ll have to be doing any kind of shutdown with regard to businesses in your community,” he said.
“I think we could continue to go and do what we’ve done now, as long as we’re prudent about our care for things like wearing masks in appropriate settings.”
Johnson & Johnson made a strong plea Thursday to vaccine advisers who are considering limiting recommendations for use of the company’s Covid-19 vaccine in light of news that it’s more likely than previously believed to cause a rare blood clotting condition.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention presented new data showing that 54 Americans had developed a rare blood clotting condition called thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome (TTS) after getting J&J’s Janssen vaccine. Nine of the individuals died: two men and seven women.
The CDC is asking its Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices to consider whether changes are needed to recommendations about the use of the vaccine. ACIP’s working group, which weighed the benefits and risks of the vaccine, suggested a preferential recommendation advising certain groups to avoid the vaccine.
Dr. Penny Heaton, global therapeutic head for vaccines at Janssen, told the meeting that the J&J vaccine is unique.
Heaton said the J&J vaccine, which is formulated differently from Pfizer’s and Moderna’s vaccines, provides a different type of immunity that grows more slowly but lasts longer. It’s a one-dose vaccine, but the CDC now recommends that everyone who gets it receive a booster dose of any available vaccine.
“Even in the US, given its durable protection, it may be the preferred choice for people who can’t or won’t return for multiple vaccinations,” Heaton argued. She said the company has several studies under way to understand risk factors for TTS.
“While TTS continues to be a rare event, unfortunately, cases of Covid-19 are not,” she said, noting that Covid-19 carries a much higher risk of blood clots than vaccination does.
People are more likely to be vaccinated against Covid-19 if a health care provider recommends it, but most people have not received such a recommendation for vaccination from their doctor, according to a study published Thursday by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
CDC researchers analyzed responses from more than 340,000 adults who were interviewed over the phone between April and September 2021.
More than three quarters (78%) of people who said they had received a recommendation to be vaccinated from a health care provider had received at least one dose of Covid-19 vaccine, but only about 62% of people who did not receive a recommendation had been vaccinated, the study found.
In earlier interviews between April and May, only about 35% of people said that a health care provider recommended the Covid-19 vaccine to them, which rose to about 42% in later surveys between August and September. But most adults did not receive a recommendation on Covid-19 vaccination from their doctor.
Seniors were more likely than any other age group to say that a health care provider recommend vaccination to them (44%), as were people with higher education levels and higher household incomes.
“These patterns mirror known patterns in disparities in health insurance coverage, financial barriers to care, and the use of wellness visits and checkups; as a result, lower access to health care might reduce the opportunity for interactions with trusted providers,” according to the researchers.
But the study also found that provider recommendation for vaccination had the most impact among younger adults under the age of 40, along with adults living in rural areas, and those who do not have a Covid-19 vaccination requirement through work or school.
People who received a recommendation to receive the Covid-19 vaccine from their health care provider were also more likely to say that they were confident in the safety of the vaccines and that they were important to protect themselves.
The survey relied on self-reported vaccination status and other individual interpretation of questions, and may be subject to recall or misclassification bias. Also, the survey did not assess how often respondents visited health care providers, and researchers note low rates of provider recommendation for the Covid-19 vaccine could be due to limited access. Perceptions may have changed since the surveys took place, amid the Delta variant surge and emergence of the Omicron variant.
About 61% of the US population is fully vaccinated, according to the latest data from the CDC. Vaccination coverage increases by age group, ranging from 58% of adults under age 25 to more than 87% of seniors age 65 and up.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health says it has discovered the first three cases of the Omicron variant among Palestinians in the West Bank.
The three cases are spread throughout the territory – one each in Ramallah, Hebron and Tubas – and were found in people who recently returned from abroad, the ministry said.
It did not provide details of the countries from which the three had recently returned.
Health officials are trying to track people who came into contact with the three Omicron cases.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices is meeting now to discuss risks and benefits of the Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine.
According to an agenda posted online on Wednesday, the group will hear presentations about thrombosis and thrombocytopenia syndrome – known as TTS – a rare but serious type of blood clot that has been linked to the vaccine, as well as the benefits and risks assessment of the vaccine.
The CDC has said for months that the J&J vaccine’s known and potential benefits outweighed the known and potential risks. However, it says women younger than 50 years old should be aware of the rare but increased risk of TTS, which involves blood clots with low platelets. Safety monitoring has been ongoing since the adverse event was first identified in April.
The advisory committee is scheduled to meet until 4 p.m. ET Thursday. It is scheduled to vote at 2:30 p.m. ET. It’s not clear what the voting question will be.
More on the vaccine: According to data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 16 million people in the US have been vaccinated with the Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine.
J&J recipients represent 8% of the 203 million people who are fully vaccinated in the United States, and J&J doses represent about 3.5% of the 488 million doses of Covid-19 that have been administered until this date.
AstraZeneca announced Thursday that its monoclonal antibody combination, Evusheld, retains neutralizing activity against the Omicron variant for the prevention of Covid-19.
AstraZeneca referenced new preclinical data, posted Thursday to the National Institutes of Health’s OpenData Portal, showing that the measure of neutralizing potency Evusheld appears to have when tested is within the range of what is found in someone who has been previously ill with Covid-19.
“Evusheld is the first long-acting antibody to receive emergency use authorisation in the US for pre-exposure prophylaxis of Covid-19, in addition to authorisations in other countries, and we are working with regulators on applications for the use of Evusheld in treating COVID-19,” Pangalos added in the statement.
Last week, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorized Evusheld for emergency use in preventing Covid-19 in people who either cannot be vaccinated or who are unlikely to get a sufficient immune response from a vaccine. It’s not authorized for use in treating Covid-19.
The UK reported a record high of 88,376 Covid-19 cases on Thursday, the highest number of daily cases since the pandemic began.
This was up from Wednesday’s figure of 78,610 new cases, which was the previous record.
The Covid-19 situation in the UK is “very different to last year,” Prime Minister Boris Johnson stressed on Thursday, rebuffing claims that the government is stealthily imposing a lockdown on the public.
Speaking during a visit to a vaccination center in Ramsgate, England, Johnson said rather than “locking stuff down,” the UK government is asking people to “be cautious” and “think about their activities in the run-up to Christmas.”
Germany’s newly inaugurated health minister Karl Lauterbach on Thursday said that the country is racing to secure more Covid-19 vaccines to help speed up its booster campaign, which is at the center of its strategy against the new Omicron variant.
Germany will employ an ”offensive, fast booster campaign to combat the Omicron variant” to avoid overburdening its health care system, Lauterbach told reporters at a health press conference in Berlin, adding that the rapid infection rate of the Omicron Covid-19 variant in the UK is ”very worrying.”
Lauterbach also said that Germany hopes to get Covid-19 shots adopted from Pfizer/BioNTech in the first quarter of 2022.
Earlier this week, he had warned that Germany could face vaccine shortages after an inventory check found out that vaccine stock and orders will not suffice for the first quarter in 2022.
On Wednesday, Germany’s new finance minister, Christian Lindner, said the country will spend €2.2 billion ($2.48 billion) to buy 92 million jabs.
Lauterbach said that German authorities were negotiating with Romania, Bulgaria, Poland and Portugal to purchase more shots.
”It is a matter of time when the Omicron variant becomes main strain in Germany,” the head of the Robert Koch Institute, Lothar Wieler, said.
Germany currently has around 100 Omicron cases, Wieler said, adding that cases have been found in all of the country’s 16 federal states.
Though Germany has seen a slight decline in Covid-19 infections over the last few days, Wieler said the ”situation in hospitals remains tense,” and urged the German public ”to reduce contacts during Christmas to slow the spread of Omicron.”
Rhode Island is implementing a set of new mask mandates for offices and indoor spaces and is requesting FEMA assistance for hospitals as Covid-19 cases rise in the state, according to a news release from Gov. Dan McKee’s office.
Starting on Dec. 20, mask and vaccine requirements will be implemented in offices as well as indoor venues based on their capacity limit, the release said.
Office-based businesses, manufacturers and other public or private employers must require either masking or proof of vaccination.
Indoor venues, which include retail, restaurants and entertainment establishments, will require all patrons and employees be masked regardless of vaccination status if their capacity is 250 people or more, the release says. Venues under 250 people must require masking or proof of vaccination.
McKee has also sent a letter on Wednesday to FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell requesting medical personnel to assist with emergency staffing for local hospitals.
Both cases and hospitalizations have been increasing steadily since the end of October, state data shows. On Wednesday, the state reported 1,126 new positive cases reported the day prior and 280 people currently hospitalized. The new mandates come as the first Omicron coronavirus variant case was identified in the state last weekend.
A significant rise in Covid-19 cases and concerns over the fast-spreading Omicron variant is forcing at least four more colleges and universities to move the last days of the fall semester online — including final exams.
The Omicron variant of coronavirus has now been identified in at least 32 states, with experts including Dr. Anthony Fauci saying it is likely to become the dominant strain in the US. Scientists say they believe Omicron is more contagious, but so far has led to less severe illness.
Princeton University announced Wednesday it is shifting all undergraduate final exams to a remote format “so that students will be able to leave campus at their earliest convenience,” according to a post on the school’s website.
All indoor gatherings where face coverings can’t be worn also must be canceled or postponed through Jan. 7, 2022, according to Princeton’s message.
Also on Wednesday, New York University said in an email to students posted on its website that it is canceling all non-academic, non-essential gatherings because of a “considerable acceleration” in Covid-19 cases.
On Tuesday, Cornell University reported 903 cases of Covid-19 among students between Dec. 7 to 13, and a “very high percentage” of them are Omicron variant cases in fully vaccinated individuals, according to university officials.
In the email, New York University Provost Katherine Fleming said faculty were “strongly” encouraged to change final exams to remote or online formats.
The use of residence hall lounges, common and meeting spaces, in addition to athletic and recreational facilities are also suspended. NYU also announced that all students will be required to upload proof of a Covid-19 booster shot by January 18, 2022.
Middlebury College in Vermont announced this week that finals would be held remotely and all in-person indoor events are postponed or canceled after a rise in Covid-19 cases on campus.
All Middlebury College students, faculty and staff will also be required to receive a Covid-19 booster shot by Feb. 14, 2022.
Earlier this month, DePaul University in Chicago and Southern New Hampshire University announced they will start the Spring 2022 semester with two weeks of remote learning in January, in order to slow down spread of Covid-19 following the holiday break.
Danish prime minister Mette Frederiksen says new measures will have to be introduced to try and curb the spread of Covid-19 in the country.
The Danish prime minister went on to say more information would be provided as soon as it was available and called on people to get their booster shots.
“The most important thing is still getting three vaccines,” she said. “The sooner the better.”
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said on Thursday that he is certain Omicron will become the dominant coronavirus variant in the United States relatively soon.
“We’ve seen that in South Africa, we’re seeing it in the UK, and I’m absolutely certain that’s what we’re going to be seeing here relatively soon,” he said.
President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris will meet with the White House Covid-19 response team at 3 p.m. ET today on the latest developments on the variant.
The Covid-19 situation in the UK is “very different to last year,” United Kingdom Prime Minister Boris Johnson stressed on Thursday, rebuffing claims that the government is stealthily imposing a lockdown on the public.
Speaking during a visit to a vaccination center in Ramsgate, England, Johnson said that rather than “locking stuff down,” the UK government is asking people to “be cautious” and “think about their activities in the run-up to Christmas.”
Johnson insisted that the measures recently imposed in England are a “proportionate” response to UK case numbers, which reached their highest ever daily record on Wednesday.
They reflect “the balance of risk and uncertainty that we currently have about Omicron,” he added.
These measures are being combined with the acceleration of a booster program now aiming to have a third dose administered to every person over 18 in England by the end of the year.
Johnson said the speedy rollout of booster doses is the “fastest approach back to normality.”
Queen Elizabeth has canceled a pre-Christmas family lunch as a precaution because of a surge in Covid-19 cases in the UK, a source at Buckingham Palace told CNN on Thursday.
According to the source, the decision is a precautionary one as it is felt the lunch would put too many people’s Christmas arrangements at risk if it went ahead.
While there is “regret” that the lunch has been canceled, the source added, it’s believed to be “the right thing to do” for all concerned.
The decision comes after strong warnings by Britain’s Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty about the spread of the Omicron variant, calling on people to be careful as Christmas approaches.
Whitty said people should “prioritize what matters to them” when considering attending parties and other events during the Christmas season.
France is to strengthen restrictions on travelers entering the country from the United Kingdom to slow the arrival of the Omicron coronavirus variant, French government spokesperson Gabriel Attal told CNN affiliate BFMTV.
The measures aim to “slow to the maximum the arrival of Omicron,” Attal said, and tourism “will be obviously limited” from the UK.
Those arriving from the UK will need a “compelling reason” for entry into France and will also be required to present proof of a negative test taken no more than 24 hours before departure, Attal said.
France will mandate an isolation period of seven days for arrivals in a place of their choice, Attal added, although this can be lifted after 48 hours with a negative Covid-19 test.
Residents and French citizens will be exempt from providing a compelling reason for return to France, Attal said. He added that the prime minister’s office will make a formal announcement of the restrictions in the coming hours.
CNN affiliate BFMTV reported that the measures are to come into effect from Saturday.
The French prime minister’s office has also called on people traveling from France to the UK to reassess their travel plans following new border restrictions targeted at slowing the spread of the Omicron variant.
“The Government also calls on travellers who had planned to visit the United Kingdom to postpone their trip,” according to a statement from Prime Minister Jean Castex’s office on Thursday.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s vaccine advisers will meet on Thursday to revisit the benefits and risks for the Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices is scheduled to vote on the vaccine’s recommendation for use.
According to an agenda posted online on Wednesday, the group will hear presentations about thrombosis and thrombocytopenia syndrome – known as TTS – a rare but serious type of blood clot that has been linked to the vaccine, as well as the benefits and risks assessment of the vaccine.
The CDC has said for months that the J&J vaccine’s known and potential benefits outweighed the known and potential risks. However, it says, women younger than 50 years old should be aware of the rare but increased risk of TTS, which involves blood clots with low platelets. Safety monitoring has been ongoing since the adverse event was first identified in April.
The advisory committee is scheduled to meet from noon to 4 p.m. ET Thursday. It is scheduled to vote at 2:30 p.m. ET. It’s not clear what the voting question will be.
The single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine is authorized for use in people age 18 and older, and can be used as a booster shot for adults fully vaccinated with the J&J, Pfizer or Moderna vaccines.
The vaccine advisers will also hear a presentation on vaccine safety in children ages 5 to 11.
During a White House Covid-19 briefing on Wednesday, CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky did not say why the committee was meeting about the Johnson & Johnson vaccine or whether she believes the benefits of the vaccine still outweigh the risks.
A source close to the situation told CNN the CDC has been “coy” about what the vote will be about, but it may involve limiting who’s recommended to get the vaccine.
“I think a fair amount of the discussion will be about J&J — do we need to use this one at all since we have so much of the others, or, if it’s used, should it be focused on certain populations?” the source said. “J&J hasn’t lived up to its billing as one and done.”
“We could just take J&J off the table and do fine in this country,” the source said.
The source added that it’s possible the CDC could recommend against the use of Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine in women under age 50. While women 30-49 have seen the highest rates of the TTS blood clot, the source noted that it has also occurred in older women and in men.
J&J did not address the ACIP meeting in a response to CNN on Wednesday. It acknowledged that the US Food and Drug Administration updated its fact sheets for the vaccine on Tuesday to say people with a history of TTS should not get the Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen Covid-19 vaccine.
Johnson & Johnson said “the safety and well-being of the people who use our products is our number one priority” and that it “strongly support raising awareness of the signs and symptoms of this rare event.”
