Scientists begin predicting that Omicron will peak in the United States in the coming weeks, but hospitalizations remain at record levels.

Ali Mokudad, a professor of health metric science at the University of Washington in Seattle, told AP:

On Wednesday, the World Health Organization said that Omicron was more infectious and brought breakthrough COVID cases to people who were fully vaccinated and received booster shots, but Omicron was better than previous variants. Also continued to show that it was less lethal. I was infected before.

inside that Weekly epidemiological updates, The agency cited studies from Denmark, South Africa, the United States, and Qatar, all of which show that they are less likely to cause more serious illness or death than previous varieties. None of the studies have been peer-reviewed yet.

But to explain how rapidly it spreads, WHO also said that there were 15 million new COVID cases worldwide in the week leading up to January 9, a significant increase from the previous week. rice field. However, the death toll was flat at 43,000.

Weekly cases were reported to be high in all regions, except in Africa, where cases decreased by 11%. Europe was the most devastated region in terms of per 100,000 people, followed by the Americas.

Do not miss it: According to WHO experts, the world cannot get out of the pandemic with existing vaccines.

The average 7-day hospital stay in the US on Tuesday was 140,641, According to the New York Times tracker It increased by 84% from 2 weeks ago. The average number of cases per day is 761,122, an increase of 185% from two weeks ago. The number of deaths behind cases and hospitalization has also increased by 40% from two weeks ago to 1,736.

Not all new cases are recorded because many people use rapid home exams, but experts say it is a greater risk for hospitals to overfill and overwhelm health care workers. Say that.

Lauren Ancel Meyers, director of the COVID-19 Modeling Consortium at the University of Texas, told AP. The university predicts that reported cases will peak within a week.

According to Mokudad, in a highly influential model unique to the University of Washington, the number of cases reported daily in the United States reached 1.2 million by January 19, after which “everyone who could be infected”. It is predicted to decrease sharply “just because it is infected.”

Complex daily calculations in the United States have already peaked in new daily infections (estimates, including those who have never been tested), reaching 6 million on January 6, according to complex calculations by the university. He said.

“I find it difficult to handle what’s really happening right now. Most people will get COVID,” said Janet Woodcock, Deputy Commissioner of Food and Drug Administration. Senate hearing On Tuesday, Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Infectious Diseases, and Rochelle Warrensky, director of the CDC, also testified.

look: Anthony Fauci called the Republican Senator “Moron” in an enthusiastic hearing and said he was threatened with murder.

Other COVID-19 News You Should Know

• British Prime Minister Boris Johnson apologized for attending the garden party during the 2020 British coronavirus blockade and said the government had “failed”. AP reported. Johnson faces anger from the general public and politicians over allegations that he and his staff ignored the pandemic restrictions by socializing when they were banned. Some Conservative members say they should resign if they can’t calm their anger. Johnson admitted to attending the May 2020 garden party for the first time on Wednesday at the Downing Street office, but said he considered it a work event.

• The Biden administration is increasing federal support for COVID-19 testing of schools in order to keep them open. Omicron surge, AP reported individually. The White House will make available a dedicated stream of 5 million rapid tests and 5 million lab-based PCR tests starting this month to alleviate supply shortages and promote safe school reopening. I announced that.This is in addition to the $ 10 billion spent on school-based testing approved by COVID-19 Remedy And about $ 130 billion allocated to send children to school under the law.

• The White House used Tom Inglesby, a former director of Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. Leading the Government COVID-19 Test InitiativeSaid spokesman Jen Psaki.

reference: Doctors reveal the best face masks to protect your child from variants of the Omicron coronavirus

• Germany, Austria and Saudi Arabia counted record numbers of COVID-19 cases in one day on Wednesday, according to media reports. Germany counted 80,430 new coronavirus infections, surpassing the previous record of 76,000 set on November 26. Reuters reported. Austria counted More than 17,000 for the first time at 17,006, Data from the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Health have shown. The previous peak was 15,809 on November 19th.Saudi Arabia’s daily tally It exceeded 5,000 for the first time.

• Russian President Vladimir Putin said his country has two weeks to prepare for the wave of Omicron infections. AFP reported. Russia has lifted almost all restrictions aimed at limiting cases, despite the increasing number of cases and the most devastating country in Europe for virus-related deaths. “We know what’s happening in the world,” a Russian leader said at a ministerial meeting Wednesday. “It will take at least a few weeks to prepare.”

This is the meaning of the numbers

Global aggregates of confirmed cases of COVID-19 rose to 314.8 million on Wednesday, According to data compiled 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 Tracker It shows that about 208 million people living in the United States are fully vaccinated. This represents 62.6% of the total population.

Approximately 76 million people have been boosted, which is 36.7% of complete vaccinations.