Monthly Archives: January 2022

AMSTERDAM, Jan 16 (Reuters) - Thousands of protesters packed Amsterdam's streets on Sunday in opposition to the government-imposed COVID-19 measures and vaccination campaign as virus infections hit a new record.

Authorities were granted stop and search powers at several locations across the city and scores of riot police vans patrolled neighbourhoods where the demonstrators marched with banners and yellow umbrellas.

Regular anti-coronavirus protests are held across the country and Sunday's large gathering was joined by farmers who drove to the capital and parked tractors along the central Museum Square.

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The crowd played music, chanted anti-government slogans and then marched along thoroughfares, blocking traffic.

The Netherlands had one of Europe's toughest lockdowns for a month through the end-of-year holidays.

Amid growing public opposition, Prime Minister Mark Rutte on Friday announced the reopening of stores, hairdressers and gyms, partially lifting a lockdown despite record numbers of new COVIC-19 cases. read more

Infections reached another record high above 36,000 on Sunday, data published by the Netherlands Institute for Health (RIVM) showed. The Netherlands has recorded more than 3.5 million infections and 21,000 deaths since the start of the pandemic.

Rutte's government ordered the lockdown in mid-December as a wave of the Delta variant forced the health system to cancel all but the most urgent care and it appeared rising Omicron cases would overwhelm it. read more

Non-essential stores, hairdressers, beauty salons and other service providers were allowed to reopen on Saturday under strict conditions.

Bars, restaurants and cultural venues have been instructed to remain closed until at least Jan. 25 due to uncertainty about how the Omicron wave will impact hospital capacity.

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Reporting by Piroschka van de Wouw, Writing by Anthony Deutsch, Editing by Angus MacSwan

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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Protest in Netherlands against coronavirus measures - Reuters

On the occasion of one-year anniversary of the commencement of vaccination programme in the country, Prime Minister Narendra Modi saluted "each and every individual" associated with it and said the programme added great strength to the fight against Covid-19. "Today we mark 1 year of vaccination drive. I salute each and every individual who is associated with the vaccination drive. Our vaccination programme has added great strength to the fight against Covid-19. It has led to saving lives and thus protecting livelihoods," he tweeted.

Delhi's Sarojni Nagar market wears a deserted look during the weekend curfew. (PTI)

Meanwhile, Delhi on Sunday reported 18,286 COVID-19 cases and 28 deaths, while the positivity rate dropped to 27.87 per cent from 30.64 per cent a day ago, according to health department data.

Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain sought to allay concerns over "fewer" Covid tests being conducted in the national capital, saying the diagnostic tests being conducted in the city is three times the number recommended by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).

After logging over 10,000 COVID-19 cases per day for the last 11 days, the daily tally in Mumbai dropped to 7,895 on Sunday. A total of 11 people died of the COVID-19 infection, the city civic body said in a bulletin.

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Coronavirus Omicron India LIVE: Vaccination for 12-14 age group likely from March, says top govt expert - The Indian Express

Cases, hospitalisations and deaths

If you don't see your state or territory yet, don't worry - these numbers are updated throughout the day.

NSW:17deaths and 29,504cases; 2,776people in hospital, including 203in ICUs

Victoria: Sixdeaths and22,429cases;1,229people in hospital, including 129in ICUs

Tasmania: 1,037cases; sevenpeople in hospital (being treated specifically for COVID), including one in ICU

Queensland:Seven deaths and 15,122 cases;702 people in hospital, including 47 in ICUs

Northern Territory:284 cases,39 people are in hospital, 25 are classified as acute, including onein ICU

South Australia:3,829 cases;227 people in hospital, including 26 in ICUs

ACT:One death and 1,601 cases; 52 people in hospital, including four in ICU

Western Australia: three local cases (all reported yesterday), nine overseas cases and3,728 peoplewere swabbed at testing clinics. One person is in hospital with COVID

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COVID live updates: All the coronavirus news you need in the one place - ABC News

Two startlingly different figures for what is ostensibly the same count have been released within days of each other: the government reported 150,000 Covid-19 deaths days before the UKs lead statistical agency reported a death toll of more than 175,000.

The difference between the two figures is stark but easily explained: the governments figures count only those deaths that are known to have occurred within 28 days of a positive coronavirus test. The Office for National Statistics, on the other hand, counts all deaths where the virus was mentioned on the death certificate.

But regardless of the counting method, the numbers represent individual human tragedies. So, what do we know about the 175,000 people whose deaths have been recorded to date?

The pandemic has taken the greatest toll on elderly people: across the UK since the start of the pandemic more than seven in 10 registered deaths have been among those aged 75 or older. Meanwhile, deaths among those aged 44 or younger made up under 2% of the total.

Nevertheless, the proportion of deaths made up by older people has changed over the course of the pandemic.

During the first wave, which continued for most of 2020, three-quarters of all deaths were among those aged 75+. In subsequent waves this fell, in part thanks to vaccinations, decreasing to 59% of all deaths during the period where Delta dominated.

Vaccination rates are highest among elderly people, NHS figures show.

Connected to this metric is the stark difference in the number of deaths that occurred in care homes as the pandemic progressed. In England and Wales more than 20,000 Covid deaths were registered in care homes between early March and the end of 2020, equivalent to 68 deaths per day.

The vaccine rollout, which prioritised care home residents and staff, brought these figures down dramatically. With just over 13,000 deaths registered in nursing homes in 2021, the average death toll in English and Welsh nursing homes fell to 36 deaths per day that year.

ONS analysis covering the first 10 months of 2021 shows risk of death involving Covid-19 to be 28 times higher among unvaccinated people than among the vaccinated population.

The data shows that deaths involving Covid-19 have been consistently lower for vaccinated people, which the ONS defines as people who received their vaccine at least 21 days beforehand, compared with unvaccinated people a trend apparent across all age groups.

Throughout the whole of the pandemic, gender disparities regarding coronavirus deaths have been evident. According to ONS figures regarding coronavirus deaths registered up to 31 December 2021, men made up 94,433 or 54% of total coronavirus deaths within this period, despite the fact that men make up only 49% of England and Wales population.

The theories as why this is include differences in lockdown behaviour between the sexes, men being more likely to drink, smoke and experience obesity; and differing immune responses.

Although these percentages remained roughly similar throughout the pandemic, there were variations of this disproportionality between the different waves.

Within the Delta wave, 58% of deaths were of males, whereas the lowest proportion of male deaths took place within the Alpha wave at 53%. These calculations were made by using provisional ONS data regarding weekly coronavirus deaths registered.

The spread of Covid deaths has not been even across the country: the crude death rate remains highest in the north-west, driven by the high number of deaths in 2020 after high case rates in the UK in the early part of the pandemic.

Across the entire pandemic the virus has claimed 23,659 lives in the region, equivalent to a crude death rate of 321 per 100,000 population, higher than any other both by absolute numbers and rate.

Among the four nations of the UK, Wales recorded the highest death rate of 291 coronavirus deaths per 100,000 population, driven partly by the fact that it has the highest proportion of people aged 65-plus of the UKs constituency countries. The UK-wide crude death rates stood at 262 deaths per 100,000 registered deaths at the end of 2021.

At the start of the pandemic with essential workers going out to work while anyone who could stayed home research focused on the link between occupation and Covid mortality risk.

The ONS last published data on this topic in early 2021, analysing close to 8,000 deaths involving coronavirus within the working age population across England and Wales to the end of 2020, showing that those working in close proximity to others had higher death rates.

Again, men were more exposed, making up nearly two-thirds of these deaths, with male workers in the care and leisure sectors and other public-facing jobs experiencing higher death rates. Female death rates were highest among machine operatives, those in the caring and leisure industries, and other customer-facing occupations.

Among healthcare occupations, nurses had statistically significantly higher rates of death involving Covid-19 when compared with those of the same age and sex in the population.

The ONS conducted provisional analysis, looking at deaths involving coronavirus between 2 March and 15 May 2020. The analysis found that, when taking into account size and age variations across different ethnicities, the mortality rate was highest among black men.

After adjusting for region, population density and other sociodemographic characteristics, the raised risk of death for black people was two times greater for men and 1.4 times greater for women compared with white people.

The analysis was updated in May 2021 and found that the mortality risk for black people relative to white British people was reduced in the second wave. Nevertheless, most black and South Asian groups remained at higher risk than white British people in the second wave even after adjustments, according to the ONS.

Although the ONS data does not cover the whole of the pandemic, there remains evidence that minority ethnic people were at a higher risk of contracting and dying from Covid-19 compared with their white counterparts. Factors as to why this may be the case include socio-economic factors, and the prevalence of pre-existing health conditions. For example, people from a south-Asian background are already up to six times more likely to have type-2 diabetes than the general population.

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What do we know about the 175,000 people who died of Covid in the UK? - The Guardian

Posted: Jan 16, 2022 / 03:01 PM CST / Updated: Jan 16, 2022 / 03:42 PM CST

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. Testing for COVID-19 continues to see high numbers as COVID-19 in Arkansas numbers start to slowly come down from record highs reported over the past week.

Testing remained high Saturday with much lower cases reported. This is a hopeful sign we are close to a peak. The best way we can come back down is to get vaccinated and boosted, Governor Hutchinson said on social media.

Data from the Arkansas Department of Health show the total number of active cases in the state jumped by 2,113 in just 24 hours, making that number 96,379. The figures show there have now been 681,176 total cases of COVID-19 since the pandemic began, with new cases increasing by 5,386.

The data reported on Wednesday show there are now 9,434 Arkansans who have died because of COVID-19, an increase of four from the previous day.

The ADH also reported that there are 1,385 patients currently hospitalized with COVID-19, rising by 28 from the day before. The figures show 168 patients currently on ventilators, three more than the previous day and 12 more patients added to the ICU putting that number at 385.

According to the Arkansas Department of Health, 3,170 doses of the vaccine were given in the last 24 hours, changing the total number of doses given to 3,818,575. There are now 1,528,168 Arkansans who are fully immunized.

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COVID-19 in Arkansas: Governor cites continued high COVID-19 testing with lower cases reported as hopeful sign - KLRT - FOX16.com

(Washington, DC) -The Districts reported data for January 13, 2022 includes 1,544 new confirmed positive coronavirus (COVID-19) cases, bringing the Districts overall confirmed positive case total to 121,871. The District also reports 76 new probable tests*, bringing the overall positive probable tests since October 15, 2021 to 7,882.

*Previously, these were reported as probable cases. The language has been corrected to probable tests to align with the CDC definitions. These are raw counts of submissions to coronavirus.dc.gov/overthecounter and may not represent individual cases.

The District reported that ten additional residents lost their lives due to COVID-19.

Tragically, 1,255 District residents have lost their lives due to COVID-19.

Visit coronavirus.dc.gov/data for interactive data dashboards or to download COVID-19 data.Below is the Districts current Key Metrics Summary Table.

Below is the Districts aggregated total of confirmed positive COVID-19 cases, sorted by age and gender.

Patient Gender

Total Confirmed Positive Cases

%

Female

%

Male

%

Unknown

%

All

121,871*

100

64,688

100

55,783

100

1,400

100

Unknown

247

<1

91

<1

127

<1

29

2

0-18

23,335

19

11,659

18

11,331

20

345

25

19-30

34,045

28

19,445

30

14,234

26

366

26

31-40

24,854

20

13,078

20

11,462

21

314

22

41-50

14,637

12

7,522

12

6,932

13

183

13

51-60

11,580

10

5,757

9

5,733

10

90

6

61-70

7,584

6

3,894

6

3,650

7

40

3

71-80

3,532

3

1,928

3

1,584

3

20

2

Excerpt from:

Coronavirus Data for January 13, 2022 | mayormb - Executive Office of the Mayor

Italian police have arrested a nurse accused of pretending to inject COVID-19 vaccines into the arms of anti-vaxxers so they could benefit from vaccination certificates.

Investigators used a hidden camera to capture the nurse working at a vaccination center in Palmero. A clip from the footage, released Saturday by Italy's State Police, purportedly shows the woman preparing a booster dose of a COVID-19 vaccine and then emptying the syringe into a piece of gauze before pretending to inject it into an individual's arm. She faces charges of forgery and embezzlement, according to police.

Police said the woman also faked her own booster shot so she could continue working at the vaccination center, in coordination with another nurse who was arrested last December on similar charges. The other nurse is accused of faking COVID-19 vaccinations for 11 people, including a well-known leader of an anti-vaccine movement, according to police.

New restrictions came into force in Italy on Jan. 10, barring people who aren't fully vaccinated against COVID-19 from accessing restaurants, gyms, swimming pools, theaters, cinemas, sport events and public transport. Unvaccinated individuals who recently recovered from COVID-19 are exempt from the new rule, which will be in force until March 31. The measures were imposed amid a sharp rise in COVID-19 infections across the European country.

People gather for a demonstration at piazza San Giovanni in Rome, Italy, on Jan. 15, 2022, after new restrictions were imposed in the face of a sharp rise in Covid-19 infections. New restrictions came into force in Italy on Jan. 10, 2022, barring the unvaccinated from restaurants, gyms, swimming pools, theaters, cinemas, sports events and public transport, with only those recently recovered from COVID-19 exempt.

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COVID-19 live updates: Italian police arrest nurse accused of faking shots for anti-vaxxers - ABC News

SPRINGFIELD The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) today reported 207,203 new confirmed and probable cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Illinois, including an increase of 738 deaths since January 7, 2022.

Currently, IDPH is reporting a total of 2,589,640 cases, including 29,099 deaths, in 102 counties in Illinois. The age of cases ranges from younger than one to older than 100 years. Since January 7, 2022, laboratories have reported 1,956,972 specimens for a total of 47,949,094. As of last night, 7,320 individuals in Illinois were reported to be in the hospital with COVID-19. Of those, 1,148 patients were in the ICU and 657 patients with COVID-19 were on ventilators. Updated data analysis shows almost 90% of COVID-19 hospitalizations in Illinois are unvaccinated.

The preliminary seven-day statewide positivity for cases as a percent of total test from January 7 13, 2022 is 10.6%. The preliminary seven-day statewide test positivity from January 7 13, 2022 is 15.6%.

A total of 19,893,424 vaccines have been administered in Illinois as of last midnight. The seven-day rolling average of vaccines administered daily is 51,070 doses. Since January 7, 2022, 357,487 doses were reported administered in Illinois. Of Illinois total population, almost 74% has received at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose, 65% of Illinois total population is fully vaccinated, and more than 42% boosted according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

All data are provisional and will change. Additional information and COVID-19 data can be found at https://dph.illinois.gov/covid19.html.

Vaccination is the key to ending this pandemic. To find a COVID-19 vaccination location near you, go to http://www.vaccines.gov.

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Public Health Officials Announce 207,203 New Cases of Coronavirus Disease Over the Past Week - IDPH

As Covid's omicron variant continues to rip across the United States, causing record numbers of infections and hospitalizations, new coronavirus myths keep bubbling up.

The variant has been the subject of constant scientific scrutiny since it was first detected in South Africa in late November. Recent studies have unveiled its strengths and weaknesses: It's four times more transmissible than the delta variant, it causes less severe physical symptoms than previous variants, and Covid boosters significantly increase your protection against it.

In total, the World Health Organization has collected data from more than 5,800 studies surrounding Covid-19 from all over the world. But despite the data, pandemic falsehoods are still circulating and omicron seems to have given some of them new life.

CNBC Make It asked a trio of leading infectious disease experts for the biggest Covid misconceptions they're hearing right now. Here's what they said:

It's true that vaccinated people can catch omicron: A two-dose regimen of Pfizer's Covid vaccine only provides 22.5% protection against symptomatic infection from omicron, according to an early study from South Africa last month.

But crucially, the study observed, getting vaccinated helps keep your symptoms mild if you do get sick, reducing your chances of hospitalization or death. And if you add a booster shot, your protection against symptomatic infection rises significantly to 75%, according to real-world data from the U.K.

"The vaccine does work, and that's been clearly shown by both death rates and hospitalization rates when comparing vaccinated people to unvaccinated people," says Dr. Mark Sawyer, an infectious disease specialist at Rady Children's Hospital who served on theU.S. Food and Drug Administration advisory committeethat approved Covid vaccines in 2020.

Not all states publicly track patients' vaccination status in hospitals, but the ones that do back up Sawyer's claims.

According to data compiled by Time, unvaccinated people account for a large percentage of hospitalized Covid patients in states like South Carolina, Montana and Mississippi. And recent data from New York State found that unvaccinated residents had a 13-times higher risk for hospitalization than vaccinated residents amid the state's omicron surge in late December.

That's because the vaccines prompt your body to produce an arsenal of Covid-fighting immune cells that work together to fend off the virus. Antibodies, which help prevent you from getting sick, are only the first line of defense: If you do get infected, your body's vaccine-induced T cells target and destroy virus-infected cells to make your symptoms less severe.

Dr.David Hirschwerk, an infectious disease specialist and medical director at Northwell Health's North Shore University Hospital, says he constantly reminds people that the "value of the vaccine" extends to reducing severe illness and hospitalizations.

"Hopefully, we can keep reminding ourselves about that fact," he says.

Dr. Shaun Truelove, an infectious disease epidemiologist at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, says he's seen lots of portrayals of omicron as "super mild" and "flu and cold-like."

While omicron's physical symptoms can sometimes resemble the flu or common cold, its rate of transmission is much higher. It's more transmissible and better at evading existing antibodies than previous Covid variants, too.

In other words, Truelove says, omicron is far more severe than the cold or influenza. And it's the reason hospitals across the country have gone into emergency mode in recent weeks, declaring they're at full capacity, he adds.

"Even if it's same severity [of symptoms], it produces in terms of numbers way more hospitalizations and deaths," he says. "I think people keep missing that point."

Additionally, omicron is still a form of Covid. If you catch it, even if your symptoms are mild, you're still enabling the virus to keep circulating and the more Covid spreads, especially in unvaccinated populations, the more chances it has to potentially mutate into another dangerous variant.

It's been more than a year since the first Covid vaccine was administered in the U.S. Since then, nearly 250 million people across the country have received at least one vaccine dose, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Yet Sawyer says much of the country's unvaccinated population is still concerned about "what we might not know about these vaccines," particularly in terms of long-term safety.

"We have given hundreds of millions of doses of these vaccines, including in young children, five to 11," Sawyer says. "So if there was some mysterious side effect that was going to emerge, we would see it by now and know about it."

Long-term vaccine side effects are extremely rare. For example, J&J's one-shot vaccine carries a very small risk of "thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome," a severe blood clotting disorder. Pfizer and Moderna's mRNA vaccines can increase the risk of myocarditis, a heart inflammation condition, in men under age 29 but those cases are often mild, typically resolving on their own.

For Sawyer, the vaccine's benefits greatly outweigh its risks. As of Friday, roughly 63% of the U.S. population is fully vaccinated,accordingto the CDC. Of those fully vaccinated, approximately 38% have received a booster dose, which experts say is critical in protecting yourself against omicron.

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3 big Covid misconceptions people still have, according to infectious disease experts - CNBC