The Army's COVID vaccine has shown success in primates and is now being tested on humans.
There's a new COVID-19 vaccineand surprise, it's not from Pfizer, Moderna or any pharmaceutical company. The US Army has announced early results for a vaccine developed by the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research that includes defense against the now dominant omicron variant of COVID-19-- a strain causing breakthrough infections in people who have received two vaccine shots or more.
Vaccines have been proven highly effective at preventing serious illness and death from COVID-19. Recent Jan. 5 data from Washington state shows that people over 65 are 13 times more likely to be hospitalized and 15 times more likely to die from COVID-19 compared with those over 65 who received two doses of the Moderna or Pfizer vaccines or one dose of the Johnson & Johnson.
As the omicron variant surges around the world and outbreaks among the "fully vaccinated" leave governments and medical experts scrambling, an effective Army vaccine for existing and future COVID-19 variants could become a pandemic-changing solution for stopping reinfection from coronavirus mutations.
The Army isn't only gunning for COVID-19. Scientists are designing the vaccine to be adaptable for all viruses in the coronavirus family, future and past, including SARS, a virus that infected more than 8,000 people during its last outbreak in 2003.
We'll share what we know about the Army's COVID-19 vaccine, including how it works and when it could become available. Here's the current status on federal vaccine mandates, what we know about omicron today and seven mask myths putting people at risk today.
The three vaccines authorized right now for use in the US take two approaches to protecting against COVID-19 infection. The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines use mRNA to build up immunity against the disease, and the Johnson & Johnson vaccine uses a harmless virus (not the one that causes COVID-19) to train the body's immune system to respond to COVID.
The US Army vaccine -- officially named the Spike Ferritin Nanoparticle (or SpFN) COVID-19 vaccine -- takes a third approach, using a harmless portion of the COVID-19 virus to spur the body's protection against COVID.
The Army's vaccine also has less restrictive storage and handling requirements than the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines, allowing it to be used in a wider variety of situations. The Army's vaccine can be stored in a refrigerator between 36 degrees Fahrenheit and 46 F for up to six months and at room temperature for up to one month, according to military scientists. Pfizer's vaccine requires an ultra-cold freezer (between 130 degrees F and -76 F) for shipment and storage and is stable for 31 days when stored in a refrigerator.
The vaccine has been tested with two shots, 28 days apart, and also with a third shot after 6 months.
The vaccines from Moderna, Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson all target the specific virus -- SARS-CoV-2 -- that causes COVID-19. Army scientists are going broader and designed their vaccine to be "pan-coronavirus," meaning they plan to use it against a variety of coronaviruses, including new strains of the virus as they emerge.
Dr. Kayvon Modjarrad, founding director of the Emerging Infectious Diseases Branch at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, toldthe Army Times, "We have designed and positioned this platform as the next generation vaccine, one that paves the way for a universal vaccine to protect against not only the current virus, but also counter future variants, stopping them in their tracks before they can cause another pandemic."
Though the Army's vaccine hasn't been directly tested on the omicron variant, scientists working on the vaccine said its protection has shown promise against omicron in the lab using human trial samples.
Now playing: Watch this: What to do if you lose your vaccination card, and how...
3:00
No date has been set. The vaccine is now going through clinical trials to determine how safe and effective it is. Normally, completing all three phases of a clinical trial can take three to five years, but the urgency of the COVID-19 pandemic could speed up the process. The existing COVID vaccines authorized by the Food and Drug Administration were tested, reviewed and authorized in the course of one year.
Learn smart gadget and internet tips and tricks with our entertaining and ingenious how-tos.
After the data from the Phase 1 human trials is formally collected, analyzed and published, the Phase 2 and Phase 3 trials will begin. There is very little information so far on when or how those trials will proceed or if the phases will overlap.
To follow the progress of the Army vaccine trials, visit the SpFN COVID-19 Vaccine Tracker provided by the US Army Medical Research and Development Command.
For more on COVID-19, here's what we know about how the CDC defines being fully vaccinated, how to store your vaccine card on your phone, and what we still don't know about the virus after two years.
The information contained in this article is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as health or medical advice. Always consult a physician or other qualified health provider regarding any questions you may have about a medical condition or health objectives.
Public officials across the country are reopening temporary mass-vaccination sites that they wound down months ago, in an effort to get more people vaccinated and boosted in the latest Covid-19 surge driven by the Omicron variant.
Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon and Rhode Island are among states that have opened or are planning soon to open sites designed to administer hundreds or even thousands of shots a day. The locations include Bostons Fenway Park, malls, a casino and convention centers.
Effect of Covid-19 Vaccination on Transmission of Alpha and Delta Variants | NEJM nejm.org
Patricia Flemming says she is feeling more motivated and less fearful of catching COVID-19 after getting her booster shots.
The 71-year-old is among the 87 residents at Chester Village to have received a fourth COVID-19 vaccine dose since Dec. 30 at the Toronto nursing home.
The third one, I noticed a bit of fatigue, said Flemming, who is a retired nurse from Nova Scotia.
This one had a little more fatigue associated with it. But other than that, there [were] no real issues.
Chester Village was one of the first long-term care homes in Ontario to fully vaccinate almost all of its residents against the coronavirus last January. And now a year later, the not-for-profit facility is offering all eligible residents the Moderna vaccine as a fourth dose.
Story continues below advertisement
As the highly transmissible Omicron variant of COVID-19 surges across the country, Canadas National Advisory Committee on Immunization (NACI) has recommended that moderately or severely immunocompromised Canadians may receive a second booster or fourth shot at least six months after their last dose.
Many of these individuals are at a higher risk of severe outcomes of COVID-19 and also at increased risk of decreasing protection over time since vaccination, NACI said in its updated guidance released on Dec. 3.
Besides long-term care homes, the Ontario government is making fourth doses available to residents of the provinces retirement homes, elder care lodges and other congregate settings.
Meanwhile, Manitoba is recommending a fourth dose for moderately to severely immunocompromised individuals at least six months after the last received dose.
Story continues below advertisement
Saskatchewan has also opened up fourth doses to people who are immunocompromised, provided it has been three months since their third dose.
According to NACI, the intent of a booster dose is to restore protection that may have decreased over time or is no longer sufficient in individuals who initially responded adequately to a complete primary vaccine series.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has repeatedly warned against blanket booster programmes, stressing greater equity globally in the distribution of and access to vaccines.
The agency says more people worldwide should be vaccinated with first doses before others receive boosters.
Booster after booster in a small number of countries will not end a pandemic while billions remain completely unprotected, said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHOs director-general, during a news conference on Jan. 6.
But Canada, like several other countries, is pressing ahead with boosting its population amid a surge in infections thanks to the Omicron variant.
A growing body of research shows that a first booster or third COVID-19 vaccine dose, which is recommended for all Canadian adults, raises antibody levels, cuts death rates and hospitalization.
Story continues below advertisement
But there is limited data to back the need for a fourth dose or additional subsequent doses, experts say.
It is, in my view, somewhat early to start thinking of a fourth dose when the third dose itself hasnt been fully deployed in our population, said Dr. Ciriaco Piccirillo, an immunologist and senior scientist at the Research Institute of McGill University Health Centre (MUHC).
Trending Stories
As of Sunday, 9,810,166 people or roughly 25 per cent of the Canadian population had received a third COVID-19 vaccine dose, according to covid19tracker.ca.
Piccirillo believes a two-dose or triple-dose vaccine series should be more than sufficient for people who dont have pre-existing conditions and who have normal immune systems.
However, subsequent boosters are likely very important for the elderly, immunocompromised individuals and cancer patients, he added.
Israel, which is now administering fourth doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine to people over 60, health workers and immunocompromised patients, has played a leading role in studying the effects of COVID-19 vaccines.
Story continues below advertisement
The country was the fastest to roll out two-dose inoculations to a wide population a year ago and one of the firstto give third shots as boosters.
Citing preliminary findings of an Israeli study, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said on Jan. 4, that a fourth dose of COVID-19 vaccine boosts antibodies five-fold a week after the shot is administered.
Like Canada, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has recommended a fourth shot for anyone who is moderately and severely immunocompromised.
But in the U.K., the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunization has advised the government that there was no need to offer a fourth dose, or second booster, to vulnerable people at this time. It cited data that shows a third shot offers lasting protection against admission to the hospital three months after the dose.
The purpose of giving a booster is to raise the level of neutralizing antibodies from a vaccine, especially in immunosuppressed individuals, who have difficulty producing antibodies due to a weakened immune system, said Dr. Horacio Bach, an infectious diseases expert at the University of British Columbia.
Story continues below advertisement
However, more research is needed to see the impact of a fourth shot before it can be rolled out to the general population, he said.
Dr. Samir Sinha, director of geriatrics at Sinai Health and University Health Network hospitals in Toronto, said while a fourth shot may provide benefit in certain vulnerable populations who are at risk of waning immunity, it still remains to be seen if a mass rollout among the general population is needed going forward.
This might become one of those illnesses that we need a booster on an annual basis, for example, he said.
But right now, we just dont have that information on whether a fourth shot would truly be beneficial for younger, healthier populations.
Are boosters targeting variants?
The current booster shots have exactly the same formula as the first two doses.
Story continues below advertisement
For now, each dose is targeting the same S protein of the original Wuhan strain of SARS-CoV-2, Piccirillo said. The S protein is the key that the virus uses to dock into cell receptors to enter human cells, causing infection.
Early findings about a single booster in the context of the Omicron variant are promising.
Citing data from the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), the United States top doctor, Anthony Fauci, has said that the current booster vaccine regimens work against Omicron, whether your dose is Pfizer or Moderna.
Research from the University of California indicates boosters can push protection against Omicron back up to roughly 48 per cent. As for preventing severe disease, boosters appear to push that efficacy back up to 91 per cent.
A study released in the United Kingdom also found a COVID-19 booster shot can provide 71 to 75 per cent protection against mild symptoms of COVID-19.
Story continues below advertisement
Meanwhile, both Pfizer and Moderna, are working to develop booster shots that can specifically target the Omicron variant.
This week, Modernas chief executive Stephane Bancel said that the efficacy of boosters against COVID-19 is likely to decline over the next few months and people may need another shot in the fall of 2022.
I suspect that in the upcoming months, we will be seeing commercially available booster shots that are variant specific, Piccirillo said.
Sinha agrees. There might be a future booster dose thats tailored more to variants like Omicron or other future variants. But that takes time to develop.
For now, James Patridge, 76, is looking forward to getting his fourth shot at Chester Village next week so he can move around more freely and live longer.
It protects me from the virus, he said, urging others to get vaccinated.
with files from Reuters
2022 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
The Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) supports the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions (CDC) recommendation that 12- to 15-year-olds should receive a single booster dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine. DHS also supports CDCs recommendations to shorten the booster interval from 6 months to 5 months for people who received the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines and that moderately or severely immunocompromised 5- to 11-year-olds receive an additional primary dose of vaccine 28 days after their second shot.
The approval of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine booster dose for 12- to 15-year-olds provides another opportunity for more Wisconsinites to get additional protection from COVID-19 and the Omicron variant, said DHS Secretary-designee Karen Timberlake. Being fully vaccinated and getting a booster dose is the best protection for preventing the worst outcomes from COVID-19. We encourage everyone ages 12 and older to join the more than 1.6 million Wisconsinites who have already gotten their booster or additional COVID-19 vaccine dose.
The Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine is the only one recommended for 12- to 17-year-olds at this time.
DHS is also recommending the Pfizer and Moderna boosters five months after completion of initial vaccination for everyone ages 12 and older. The booster interval recommendation for people who received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine (2 months) has not changed. Additionally, DHS is recommending a third Pfizer primary series dose for certain immunocompromised children 5 through 11 years of age.
Receiving a booster vaccination at five months rather than six months after initial vaccination may offer better protection sooner for individuals against the highly transmissible Omicron variant, said Stephanie Schauer, Ph.D., Division of Public Health Immunization Program Manager. The latest research also indicates that children 5 through 11 years of age who are moderately or severely immunocompromised, receive maximum benefit when they receive a third primary series dose."
With the record high-level of disease transmission in Wisconsin, DHS strongly recommends that everyone who is eligible to get a booster should get one as soon as possible. The booster dose can strengthen and extend their protection against infection, serious illness, hospitalization, and death from COVID-19.
To find a COVID-19 vaccine provider in your community, visit Vaccines.gov, or call 211 or 877-947-2211. For additional information about booster doses, additional doses, and help accessing your COVID-19 vaccine record to determine when you may be recommended for a booster, visit the DHS Additional Doses and Booster Doses webpage.
For up-to-date information about Wisconsins COVID-19 response, visit the DHS COVID-19 webpage. You can also follow @DHSWI on Facebook, Twitter, or dhs.wi on Instagram for more information on COVID-19.
Now is the time to get your COVID-19 booster and increase your protection against severe illness as the Omicron variant surges in our community. Ottawa Public Heath (OPH) has more than 40,000 COVID-19 vaccine appointments available for the week of January 10, 2022. The appointments are available to eligible Ottawa residents who are in need of a first, second, or booster dose. For more information on how to book, visit Ottawa Public Healths vaccine website.
Expanded eligibility for groups to drop-in at certain OPH vaccination clinics
Effective Monday, January 10, OPH is increasing drop-in eligibility at certain community clinics to prioritize immunizing these four groups:
Residents in these priority groups can drop-in to the following clinics at any time moving forward:
COVID-19 vaccination clinic for residents aged 60 and older, and pregnant individuals
OPH has increased capacity to better serve older adults 60 years and older in the Ottawa community who still require a third (booster) dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, as well as for pregnant individuals seeking a first, second, or booster dose at the Nepean Sportsplex.
Adults over 60 remain at greater risk for serious illness and complications from COVID-19. For many, their immunity is likely to have decreased and getting a third (booster) dose ensures they are as protected as possible against serious illness and complications from COVID-19. Adults aged 60 and older who have received two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine and at least 84 days (three months) have passed since their last dose are encouraged to contact OPHs booking line today to book an appointment.
For pregnant individuals, getting the COVID-19 vaccine can help prevent complications or bad outcomes for parent and baby. Like everyone else, most pregnant people have mild COVID-19. However, pregnant people are at an increased risk of severe illness requiring hospital care and admission to the intensive care unit compared to those who are not pregnant. The antibodies a pregnant individual makes from the vaccine pass to the baby and help protect the baby after birth. Giving birth too early in pregnancy (preterm birth), having a caesarean delivery and having a baby admitted into a neonatal intensive care unit is more common in pregnant people with severe COVID-19. Pregnant individuals needing a COVID-19 vaccine, either first, second or booster dose are encouraged to call OPHs booking line today.
Clinic details:
Nepean Sportsplex, (Halls A & B) 1701 Woodroffe Avenue
For the latest updates, visit OPHs clinic information page.
Vaccinations and the public health measures in place for limiting COVID-19 transmission are our best strategy to protect ourselves, our loved ones and our frontline workers, to keep our healthcare system functioning effectively by slowing the spread of COVID-19 and support the full resumption of business and in-person learning.
Visit OttawaPublicHealth.ca/COVID19 to learn more about COVID-19, how you can protect yourself and others and what to do if you suspect you may be infected with the virus. You can also connect with us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
For more information on City programs and services, visit ottawa.ca, call 3-1-1 (TTY: 613-580-2401) or 613-580-2400 to contact the City using Canada Video Relay Service. You can also connect with us through Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Staff at CSL are working in the lab on November 08, 2020 in Melbourne, Australia, where they will begin manufacturing AstraZeneca-Oxford University COVID-19 vaccine.
Darrian Traynor | Getty Images
A researcher in Cyprus has discovered a strain of the coronavirus that combines the delta and omicron variant, Bloomberg News reported on Saturday.
Leondios Kostrikis, professor of biological sciences at the University of Cyprus, called the strain "deltacron," because of its omicron-like genetic signatures within the delta genomes, Bloomberg said.
So far, Kostrikis and his team have found 25 cases of the virus, according to the report. It's still too early to tell whether there are more cases of the strain or what impacts it could have.
"We will see in the future if this strain is more pathological or more contagious or if it will prevail"against the two dominant strains, delta and omicron, Kostrikis said in an interview with Sigma TV Friday. He believes omicron will also overtake deltacron, he added.
The researchers sent their findings this week to GISAID, an international database that tracks viruses, according to Bloomberg.
The deltacron variant comes as omicron continues its rapid spread across the globe, causing a surge in Covid-19 cases. The U.S. is reporting a seven-day average of more than 600,000 new cases daily, according to a CNBC analysis Friday of data from Johns Hopkins University. That's a 72% increase from the previous week and a pandemic record.
Read the full Bloomberg News story here.
New Jersey on Sunday reported another 12 confirmed COVID-19 deaths and 26,615 confirmed positive cases, the 12th straight day with at least 20,000 new cases as the rate of transmission in the latest surge dropped slightly for the second day in a row.
The states seven-day average for new confirmed positive tests is now 27,734, up 27% from a week ago and 715% from a month ago as the omicron variant has ripped through the global population.
New Jerseys statewide transmission rate was 1.55 Sunday, down from 1.61 on Saturday and 1.69 on Thursday. It was 1.67 on Friday. Thats down further from a recent high of 1.92 on Jan. 1. Should the transmission rate reach 2.0, it would indicate every infected person is passing the virus along to two people.
But any rate over 1.0 indicates the pandemic is still expanding.
Omicron accounted for 40% of positive tests sampled for the week ending Dec. 18, the most recent available, in New Jersey. That coincides with the sharp increase in cases that began in mid-December. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated omicron accounted for 95% of all new cases across the country during the week that ended Jan. 1.
This comes as Gov. Phil Murphy told NJ Advance Media this week its highly unlikely New Jersey will install any new restrictions to battle the new surge. Instead, Murphy said, the focus will be on increasing vaccine booster shots, helping hospitals with staffing, and expanding testing.
At the same time, state lawmakers are set to allow a number of Murphys remaining emergency pandemic powers and orders to expire Tuesday including mandates for masks in schools and for teachers and health-care workers to be vaccinated or face regular testing.
The decision could force Murphy to declare another public-health emergency to keep the measures in place as New Jersey reports tens of thousands of new cases a day, hospitalizations reach levels not since April 2020.
The 26,615 cases reported Sunday makes a decline from 29,564 cases reported Saturday and Fridays total of 33,459, the states daily record. The state has reported 10 record-breaking days since Dec. 22. Before the latest wave, the states single-day record for confirmed positive tests was 6,922 cases on Jan. 13, 2021, in the early days of vaccine rollout.
The uptick comes as more people are getting tested than ever before. The state on Sunday also reported 2,813 probable cases from antigen testing as more people have sought rapid tests due to long lines for the more reliable PCR tests. However, demand for rapid at-home antigen tests has far exceeded supply. That has presented a challenge for New Jersey hospitals, whose officials report an influx of people going to emergency departments to get a COVID test, even if they dont feel sick.
Officials also say there are signs that while omicron is much more contagious, it may lead to more asymptomatic or less severe cases than previous strains.
But its not just case numbers rising. The 12 confirmed deaths on Sunday bring the total for the last eight days to 405 fatalities. Officials note that daily death reports do not reflect fatalities that occurred in the last 24 hours and reporting is sometimes delayed for days or weeks as fatalities are investigated and certified. The holidays may play a factor in those reporting delays.
There were 5,747 patients across New Jerseys 70 of 71 hospitals with confirmed or suspected cases of COVID-19 as of Saturday night, the most since April 30, 2020, when the initial wave of the pandemic was starting to ease. Patient numbers havent climbed to the heights they did in the very early days of the pandemic when there were more than 8,000 people hospitalized in April 2020. But hospitalizations have increased by more than 3,200 patients over the last two weeks.
Officials say hospitalizations are an important metric to watch because only a portion of people who catch the virus develop severe cases. The goal, officials say, is to prevent hospitals from becoming overstressed and running out of space to care for critically ill patients.
One notable difference compared to previous waves: Officials and experts say many of the people being hospitalized recover more quickly. Still, a big problem is hospitals are dealing with staff shortages because of employees missing work after contracting the virus. Nearly 20,000 hospital employees have contracted COVID-19 since December 2020, when the New Jersey Hospital Association began tracking such data. In a measure of omicrons communicability, 10,345 became infected just in the past 30 days, the NJHA said.
The state Health Department advised hospitals and long-term care facilities to plan for a possible staff vacancy rate of up to 30% as infected health care workers are required to isolate for at least five days.
The statewide positivity rate for tests conducted on Monday, the most recent day available, was 34.33% meaning more than 1 in 3 people who sought a test got a positive result. Positivity rates tend to be higher on weekends due to fewer tests being conducted and the holiday weekend likely pushed that number lower.
The positivity rate, however, has been above 30% since Christmas Day. New Jersey has not had positivity rates hovering around 33% since April 2020.
There are caveats to the recent record case surge. Officials note that testing was less widely available in the first months of the pandemic, making it difficult to compare periods. Significantly more people are being tested now.
Even so, the numbers may not represent the full extent of the current outbreak because countless people are testing positive through at-home test kits that are not reported to local health officials.
CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES: Live map tracker | Newsletter | Homepage
The state does not issue daily breakdowns of the vaccine status of those who test positive, are hospitalized, or died because of the virus.
But Murphy said Monday unvaccinated residents continue to be the primary driver of the numbers of hospitalizations and deaths, accounting for roughly 70% of those being hospitalized in New Jersey. Still, he added, infections among fully vaccinated people have been rising, accounting for more than a quarter of new infections over the week of Dec. 13-19.
During that week, the state reported 44,481 positive tests. Of those, 12,453 were from fully vaccinated people, and those cases led to 17 hospitalizations (out of 1,804 total) and 1 death (out of 136 total).
As of Dec. 19, New Jersey has reported a total of 91,896 breakthrough cases among fully vaccinated people, leading to 1,682 hospitalizations and 401 deaths, though those represent a small percentage of total cases.
Officials say vaccinated people are less likely to contract the virus and much less likely to develop life-threatening cases. But officials are calling on more people to get booster shots because the effectiveness of vaccination wanes over time.
About 46% of New Jerseys eligible population has received booster shots, which Murphy said Monday is too low.
All of New Jerseys 21 counties are listed as having high rates of coronavirus transmission, according to the CDC. The agency is recommending that all people in high transmission counties wear masks for indoor public settings regardless of vaccination status.
New Jersey, an early coronavirus hotspot, has now reported 29,444 deaths 26,589 confirmed deaths and 2,855 probable deaths in the more than 22 months since the pandemic began here.
The state has the fourth-most coronavirus deaths per capita in the U.S., behind Mississippi, Arizona, and Alabama.
New Jersey has reported 1,564,370 total confirmed cases out of more than 16.7 million PCR tests conducted since the states first case was announced on March 4, 2020. The state has also reported 250,793 positive antigen or rapid tests, which are considered probable cases.
There were 5,747 people hospitalized hospitalizations throughout the states 70 of 71 hospitals as of Saturday night, up 46 people from the night before despite one hospital not yet reporting data for Sunday. There were 803 people discharged over that same 24-hour period.
Of the people hospitalized in 70 of the 71 hospitals, 833 were in intensive care (21 more than the previous night and the most since May 20, 2020) and 460 were on ventilators (19 more than the previous night and the most since Jan. 2, 2021).
More than 6.44 million of the 8.6 million eligible people who live, work or study in New Jersey have been fully vaccinated and more than 7.33 million have received a first dose since vaccines began here on Dec. 15, 2020.
More than 2.32 million of the 4.95 million people in New Jersey eligible for boosters have received one.
Anyone 16 and older in the U.S. who has received their second dose of the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines at least six months ago is eligible to get a booster shot. The Pfizer booster eligibility was recently reduced to five months. Anyone 16 and older who received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is also eligible for a booster two months after their single shot. In most situations, the CDC said, it recommends the Pfizer and Moderna boosters.
Cases continue to rise among school staff and students in New Jersey, according to numbers released before schools went on winter break that track infections regardless of where the transmission occurred.
For the week ending Dec. 26, with just 28.8% of schools reporting data (down from 61%), another 7,125 confirmed cases were reported among staff (1,973) and students (5,152).
Since the start of the academic year, there have been 48,690 students and 12,008 school staff members who have contracted COVID-19, though the state has never had more than two-thirds of the school districts reporting data in any week.
The state provides total student and staff cases separately from those deemed to be in-school transmission, which is narrowly defined as three or more cases linked through contact tracing.
At least 8,799 of the states COVID-19 deaths have been among residents and staff members at nursing homes and other long-term care facilities, according to state data. There were active outbreaks at 513 facilities, resulting in 5,627 current cases among residents and 8,679 cases among staff as of the latest data.
As of Sunday, there have been more than 305 million COVID-19 cases reported across the globe, according to Johns Hopkins University, with more than 5.48 million people having died due to the virus. The U.S. has reported the most cases (more than 59.7 million) and deaths (more than 837,800) of any nation.
There have been more than 9.4 billion vaccine doses administered globally.
EDITORS NOTE: An earlier version of this story incorrectly reported 75 deaths. The 75 deaths referred to hospital-related deaths within the last 24 hours but whether COVID-19 was a factor in them is still being investigated.
Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com
Matt Arco may be reached at marco@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @MatthewArco.
COVID-19 vaccine turns one, so here's what to watch in the future
It's the one year anniversary of the first COVID-19 vaccine, so what's next for researchers? Here are some things to watch for the vaccine's future.
Staff Video, USA TODAY
As hundreds of thousands of Americans test positive for COVID-19 each day, public health officials are encouraging booster shots to prevent the spread of the highly contagious omicron variant.
But online, some still doubt the safety of the coronavirus vaccines.
"1 million COVID-vaccine injuries now reported on CDC's database," reads a Jan. 3 headline from WorldNetDaily, a website that has previously published false claims about COVID-19.
The article accumulated about 1,500 interactions on Facebook within two days, according to CrowdTangle, a social media insights tool. Politicians like Rep. Michael Cloud, R-Texas, and Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., have also promoted the claim on social media.
Fact check: COVID-19, election misinformation dominated social media in 2021
WorldNetDaily's article references genuine reports in the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System, a database maintained by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration. But that doesn't mean serious COVID-19 vaccine side effects are widespread.
"One cannot assume that these reports are things caused by the vaccine,"Daniel Salmon, director of the Institute for Vaccine Safety at Johns Hopkins University, said in an email.
USA TODAY reached out to WorldNetDaily for comment.
As USA TODAY has previously reported, reports in the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System, commonly known as VAERS, are not proofof widespread serious side effects or death due to the COVID-19 vaccines.
Public health agencies use VAERS as a national early warning system to detect potential safety problems with approved vaccines. Anyone from doctors and nurses to parents and patients can submit a report of an adverse event following vaccination to the database.
VAERS reports are unverified, and the CDC says on its website that the database "is not designed to determine if a vaccine caused or contributed to an adverse event."If public health officials detect a reporting pattern, they conduct follow-up studies to determine whether a vaccine was to blame.
Fact check: The COVID-19 pandemic is not a hoax
"I can get a COVID vaccine and my dog gets hit by a car I can make that report and it will show up in the database," Salmon said."It does not mean that my getting a COVID vaccine caused my dog to get hit by a car."
Still, anti-vaccine advocates have previously used unconfirmed VAERS reports to make unfounded claims about the safety of COVID-19 vaccines.The WorldNetDaily article is the latest example of that trend.
"TheVaccine Adverse Events Reporting System, known as VAERS, reports that as of Dec. 24, there were 21,002 COVID vaccine deaths and 110,609 hospitalizations along with a total of 1,000,227 COVID vaccine adverse events," the article reads.
As evidence, WorldNetDaily cites OpenVAERS, a website that "posts publicly available CDC/FDA data of injuries reported post-vaccination." A USA TODAY analysis of VAERS data confirmsthose numbers, which include adverse event reports for all COVID-19 vaccines in any location worldwide.
However, there are nearly 300,000 fewerresults when searching for adverse events reported inthe U.S. and its territories.
"As of December 24, 2021, there were 709,085 reports of adverse reactions after COVID-19 vaccination in VAERS," Martha Sharan, a CDC spokesperson, told USA TODAY in an email.
Special access for subscribers!Click here to sign up for our fact-check text chat
But again, those reports alone are not proof of "COVID-vaccine injuries" or "COVID vaccine deaths," as WorldNetDaily claims.
The CDC says on its website that "serious adverse events after COVID-19 vaccination are rare but may occur." The agency has"not detected any unusual or unexpected patterns for deaths following immunization" that would indicate the COVID-19 vaccines are to blame, Sharan said.
The exception is Johnson & Johnson's vaccine, which has beenlinked tonine confirmed deaths due tothrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome.The CDC recommendsshots from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna for people 18 and older.
Based on our research, we rate FALSE the claim that1 million "COVID-vaccine injuries"are reported in a CDC database. As of Dec. 24, there were more than 700,000 reports of adverse events following COVID-19 vaccination in the VAERS database. But since those reports are unverified, they are not proof of vaccine injuries or deaths. The CDC says serious adverse events related to the COVID-19 vaccines are rare.
Thank you for supporting our journalism.You cansubscribe to our print edition, ad-free app or electronic newspaper replica here.
Our fact-check work is supported in part by a grant from Facebook.
The Omicron variant of Covid-19 has spread around the world at a rapid pace since it was first discovered in southern Africa in November but there is still a great deal we do not know about it.
More data is needed to determine its precise characteristics and how it responds to our existing coronavirus vaccines, but what seems beyond doubt is that it is more transmissible than any previous strains we have encountered over the course of the pandemic so far, including the Alpha and Delta variants.
Omicron has been detected in at least 110 countries to date, with the likes of the Netherlands, Germany and South Korea reimposing lockdown measures to slow its spread.
The UK has continued to experience extremely high levels of Covid infections across the festive period, with total daily cases in England rocketing to a pandemic high of 218,724 on 4 January, according to the UK Health Security Agency.
One aspect of the Omicron variant that has become clear over the last few weeks is how it differs from the original Covid strain.
While the World Health Organisation estimated that symptoms took anywhere between two days to two weeks to materialise in cases of people infected with the first coronavirus strain, the Omicron variant is thought to incubate much faster, closer to three to five days.
Recent analysis from the UK Health Security Agency suggests that the window between infection and infectiousness may be shorter for the Omicron variant than the Delta variant, UK health secretary Sajid Javid told MPs on 6 December.
That would explain why it has spread so swiftly and successfully, as the shortness of its incubation period gives sufferers a shorter window between suspecting they have contracted the virus and experiencing a flare-up, making it less likely a positive test result will be recorded in time to warn others, enter isolation and prevent the contagion being passed on.
A shorter incubation period makes a virus much, much, much harder to control, Jennifer Nuzzo, an epidemiologist at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, warned The Atlantic recently.
Another characteristic of Omicron that makes it potentially harder to detect than other strains is that its symptoms differ somewhat from the three primary indicators we have learned to be on the lookout for: coughs, fever and any loss of sense of taste or smell.
Early warning signs for the new variant, by contrast, include a scratchy throat, lower back pain, a runny or blocked nose, a headache, muscle pains and fatigue, sneezing and night sweats.
The current evidence from Omicron cases analysed in Britain is that patients will recover within five days to a week on average, although some of the symptoms like coughing and fatigue may linger for longer.
Shortness of breath has also been reported in more severe cases, which has been seen to last for as long as 13 days after.
Covid sufferers are, typically, thought to be infectious to others from around two days before their first symptoms start to materialise and for around 10 days after.
If you believe you have symptoms of either Omicron or the still-dominant Delta variant, the current NHS advice is to get a PCR test as soon as possible and to self-isolate at home to protect others.
Our best hope against Omicron at present collectively is to take up the offer of a vaccine booster jab, which has now been rolled out to all adults in the UK, as studies have shown that three shots are likely to offer a far greater degree of immunity against the new strain that just two.
But, as Mr Javid told the BBCs final Andrew Marr Show, there are no guarantees in this pandemic, so the public are also advised to adhere to the restrictions currently in place including mask-wearing in public spaces, abandon unnecessary social commitments this winter and exercise extreme caution.
