Top U.S. infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci said there was still a danger of a surge in hospitalization due to a large number of coronavirus cases even as early data suggests the Omicron COVID-19 variant is less severe.
"The only difficulty is that if you have so many cases, even if the rate of hospitalization is lower with Omicron than it is with Delta, there is still the danger that you will have a surging of hospitalizations that might stress the healthcare system," Fauci said in an interview on Sunday with CNN.
The Omicron variant was estimated to be 58.6% of the coronavirus variants circulating in the United States as of Dec. 25, according to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The sudden arrival of Omicron has brought record-setting case counts to countries around the world and dampened New Year festivities around the world..
"There will certainly be a lot more cases because this is a much more transmissible virus than Delta is," Fauci said on CNN.
However, "It looks, in fact, that it (Omicron) might be less severe, at least from data that we've gathered from South Africa, from the UK and even some from preliminary data from here in the United States," Fauci said.
Fauci added that the CDC will soon be coming out with a clarification on whether people with COVID-19 should test negative to leave isolation, after confusion last week over guidance that would let people leave after five days without symptoms.
The CDC had reduced the recommended isolation period for people with asymptomatic COVID to five days, down from 10. The policy does not require testing to confirm that a person is no longer infectious before they go back to work or socialize, causing some experts to raise questions.
"You're right. There has been some concern about why we don't ask people at that five-day period to get tested. That is something that is now under consideration," Fauci told ABC News in a separate interview on Sunday. "I think we're going to be hearing more about that in the next day or so from the CDC."
U.S. authorities registered at least 346,869 new coronavirus on Saturday, according to a Reuters tally. The U.S. death toll from COVID-19 rose by at least 377 to 828,562.
Israel could reach herd immunity amid surging Omicron infections, its top health official said on Sunday, as the country approved the use of Merck & Co's molnupiravir anti-viral pill for COVID-19 patients.
The highly transmissible Omicron variant has caused a wave of coronavirus cases across the globe. Worldwide infections have hit a record high, with an average of just over one million cases detected each day between Dec. 24 and 30, according to Reuters data.
Deaths, however, have not risen in kind, bringing hope the new variant is less lethal.
Daily cases in Israel are expected to reach record highs in the coming three weeks.
"The (infection) numbers will have to be very high in order to reach herd immunity," Nachman Ash, director-general of the Health Ministry, told 103 FM Radio. "This is possible but we don't want to reach it by means of infections, we want it to happen as a result of many people vaccinating."
The head of the health ministry's coronavirus task force, Salman Zarka, said herd immunity was far from guaranteed, because experience over the past two years showed that some COVID-19 patients who recovered were later reinfected.
Herd immunity is the point at which a population is protected from a virus, either through vaccination or by people having developed antibodies by contracting the disease.
Around 60% of Israel's 9.4 million population are fully vaccinated - almost all with Pfizer /BioNTech'S vaccine - according to the Health Ministry, which means they have either received three doses or have had their second dose recently.
But hundreds of thousands of those eligible for a third inoculation have so far not taken it.
Watching severe morbidity closely, Ash is considering allowing a fourth vaccine dose for people over 60, following its approval last week for immune-compromised and elderly people in care homes.
In a statement, the Health Ministry said it had authorised the use of the molnupiravir pill for COVID-19 patients over 18 years of age and signed a supply contract with Merck & Co for its supply, with the first shipment due soon.
Molnupiravir was authorised by the United States last month for certain high-risk adult patients and has been shown to reduce hospitalisations and deaths by around 30% in a clinical trial. In November, Britain became the first country in the world to approve molnupiravir.
Israel said last month it ordered 100,000 units of Pfizer's Paxlovid anti-viral pill for people aged 12 and older at risk of serious disease.
Around 1.3 million coronavirus cases have been documented in Israel since the start of the pandemic. But between two to four million people may well be infected by the end of January when the Omicron wave could subside, according to Eran Segal, data scientist at the Weizmann Institute of Science and an adviser to the government.
Over the past 10 days, daily infections have more than quadrupled. Severe cases have also climbed but at a far lower rate, rising from about 80 to around 100.
In Germany, the head of the country's association of senior hospital doctors said that the Omicron variant could ease pressure on its health system if it turns out to produce milder illness, even though infections are rising.
Dr. Anthony Faucion Sunday said Americans “don’t want to get complacent” despite reports that the omicron variant may lead to less-severe illness than previous COVID-19 strains.
Asked by host George Stephanopoulos on ABC’s “This Week” about early evidence that the omicron variant leads to less-serious infections and illness, Fauci said that while there is “accumulating evidence,” it is “still early.”
“There's accumulating evidence, George, that that is the case. So we first got inkling of that in South Africa when one looked at the relationship in the ratio between hospitalizations and cases, it was lower. The duration of hospital stay was lower. The requirements for oxygen was lower,” Fauci said.
“We're seeing a bit of that, not as pronounced in the U.K., but certainly that trend. And if you look here at the United States, we don't want to get complacent at all and you don't want to jump to a positive conclusion ‘cause it's still early,” he added.
The White House medical adviser noted, however, that the U.S. has “not seen a concomitant increase in the relative percentage of hospitalizations” amid a large spike in cases. He warned, though, that hospitalizations are oftentimes “late lagging indicators.”
“But I still believe that there is indication, even in some animal studies that have been done, George, where they did, particular animal models that might reflect what's going on, and the virus does seem to have a lower intrinsic pathogenicity to it. We're hoping that's the case,” he added.
Fauci told reporters during a White House briefing on Wednesday that, based on early data, the omicron variant appears to be less severe than the delta strain for people who are vaccinated. He pointed to international studies and some initial data from U.S. hospitals.
Fauci on Sunday, however, warned about Americans becoming complacent despite the early signs because a large caseload can still overwhelm hospitals.
"Even if you have a less of a percentage of severity, when you have multi, multi, multi fold more people getting infected, the net amount is you're still gonna get a lot of people that are gonna be needing hospitalization, and that's the reason why we're concerned about stressing and straining the hospital system," he said.
Medtronic plc (NYSE:MDT), a global leader in healthcare technology, today announced that the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) will expand Medicare coverage for all types of continuous glucose monitors (CGMs), including adjunctive and non-adjunctive CGMs. This includes CGMs that integrate with Medtronic insulin pumps. The proposed rule was finalized onDecember 21, 2021and will be effective starting 60 days after official publication.
This expanded coverage also ensures continuity of therapy for people on certain Medtronic insulin pump systems transitioning into Medicare — including Medtronic hybrid closed loop systems which automatically adjust insulin delivery based on readings from the integrated CGM. Medtronic will continue to offer its CGM Access Discount(opens new window)
to all Medicare customers until the ruling takes effect.
"The CMS ruling brings much needed relief for the many individuals with diabetes who, like me, desire to continue on their Medtronic insulin pump as they transition into Medicare. I'm very appreciative of the company's efforts to make CGM as affordable as possible while they worked with CMS to make this a reality," said Terry Weland. "I've experienced tremendous benefits from integrated pump therapy, and I'm thrilled that this opens up access for many more people looking for ways to enhance their diabetes management. CGM technology is important to me and many others like me to help maintain good glucose control and better health outcomes."
Dr. Anthony Faucion Sunday said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is considering further amending its isolation guidance for individuals who test positive for COVID-19 but remain asymptomatic.
Asked by host George Stephanopoulos on ABC’s “This Week” why the CDC does not require that individuals who tested positive for COVID-19 receive a negative test before leaving quarantine as an “extra layer of protection,” Fauci said such a requirement is under consideration.
“You're right, there has been some concern about why we don't ask people at that five-day period to get tested. That is something that is now under consideration,” Fauci said.
The CDC last week revised its COVID-19 isolation guidelines by cutting the recommended quarantine from 10 days to five days for people who test positive and remain asymptomatic. For the subsequent five days, the health agency recommends that individuals wear a mask around others at all times.
Fauci on Sunday said the health agency is “very aware” of the pushback generated by the new guidelines.
“The CDC is very well aware that there has been some pushback about that. Looking at it again, there may be an option in that, that testing could be a part of that, and I think we're going to be hearing more about that in the next day or so from the CDC,” he added.
The White House medical adviser, during a separate appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union” Sunday morning, explained the rationale behind the shortened quarantine period of asymptomatic patients.
Fauci said “the likelihood of transmissibility is considerably lower in that second half of a 10-day period.”
“And for that reason, the CDC made the judgment that it would be relatively low-risk to get people out,” he added.
Fauci on CNN said the new guidance “has generated a number of questions about at that five-day period, should you or should you not be testing people.”
Mayor de Blasio’s obsession with race already hurt our schools and our police department, so why not go the extra mile and sacrifice our lives? Rather than distribute city COVID testing resources based on population, his administration prioritized neighborhoods that have “borne the brunt of this pandemic due to structural racism,” a Health Department representative told The Post.
Meanwhile, the distribution of COVID medicine such as monoclonal antibodies “will consider race and ethnicity when assessing individual risk.”
But what is that risk? Not race, but class, says a Harvard epidemiologist and professor. “I have not seen [race] as one of the risk factors for severe disease and death,” Martin Kulldorff told The Post. “The reason that a lot of African Americans have died in New York — which is true — is because the rich people and more affluent were working from home while the working class were exposed.”
Yet City Hall, as it has done repeatedly for the past eight years, decided to fuel racial division instead.
Former Mayor Bill de Blasio cared more about race than serving New Yorkers.AP Photo/Richard Drew, File“I have not seen [race] as one of the risk factors for severe disease and death,” Martin Kulldorff told The Post.Shutterstock
We don’t need to make these decisions at all. New York City is awash in federal aid. Congress allocated the Department of Health and Human Services $480 billion for hospitals and health care, of which only a fraction has been spent.
De Blasio just wanted to preen for the progressives and show off his “Taskforce on Racial Inclusion & Equity.” If one person dies in this city because they didn’t get the treatment they need or weren’t properly tested, that blood is on his hands.
Mayor Eric Adams must focus on delivering at-home COVID-19 tests to every city neighborhood.Robert Miller
Mayor Adams now has the opportunity to stop this nonsense. Get at-home tests and city centers to any neighborhoods that want them. Disband De Blasio’s task force. And let’s have a city government aimed at helping all New Yorkers.
The city’s ambulance corps are so understaffed because of the COVID-19 surge, they’re now under new orders to try to convince stable patients with flu-like symptoms not to go to the hospital.
The directive from the FDNY puts EMS crews on notice that “effective immediately, stable patients with influenza-like illness … should not be transported to a 911-receiving facility” unless they meet certain criteria: being over 65 years old, having a fever above 100.4 degrees or a history of diabetes or heart conditions, according to a copy obtained by The Post.
Oren Barzilay, president of Local 2507, the union representing more than 4,100 rank-and-file city emergency medical technicians and paramedics, said Saturday more than 30% of his members are out of medical leave – and a vast of majority of the absences are due to staff catching COVID-19 on the front lines.
About 20-25%, or about 800 members, are out specifically because they caught COVID-19, Barzilay estimated — adding the city only has itself to blame for not dealing with longtime staffing shortage of medics.
Both he and Vincent Variale, president of the city’s EMS Officers Union Local 3621, said the new orders might be necessary as 911 calls have skyrocketed the past month.
“It’s a shame that two years into the pandemic, the city isn’t prepared to deal with COVID,” Barzilay told The Post.
EMS union reps said their members see no evidence of city hospitals being overwhelmed by a lack of beds to deal with COVID-19 patients.Stephen Yang
The EMS staffing crisis comes as the NYPD has its own struggles with coronavirus absences, sources said: there were 6,883 cops out sick Saturday – including 1,920 with COVID-19 – or nearly 20 percent of the Police Department.
Five are now hospitalized.In December, 3053 cops tested positive – breaking a previous record since the pandemic started of 2,846 during April 2020. But the stricken EMS service, which a source said had dozens of ambulance crews out of service in Brooklyn alone last week due to the staffing crisis, has an easy fix at its disposal, Variale said.
About 200 medics could be allowed to come back to work, he said, after they were put on unpaid leave because of a city mandate requiring municipal workers be vaccinated for COVID-19.
City medics are also routinely putting in 60 and 70-hour weeks. The FDNY last week temporarily lifted an overtime cap applying to all city agencies that prohibits municipal workers from making more than 40 percent of their salary in overtime, Barzilay said.
Variale said city medics are already trained to determine whether a patient needs to go a hospital.
The FDNY last week temporarily lifted an overtime cap.Daniel William McKnight
Under the new order they’ll call an FDNY emergency doctor on duty to help decide whether a patient who appears stable should be taken to a hospital, he said.
The doctor could get on the phone and directly ask the patients questions to help make a decision, he added.
“We don’t want to tell anyone they can’t go to a hospital, but we are vastly understaffed, so we have to do what we can to triage all this and decide who should be going and who shouldn’t,” Variale said.
However, one veteran paramedic said, “it’s ridiculous to put this kind of pressure on a crew.”
“The FDNY ambulance crew cannot just leave you, and say ‘Sorry we’re not doing anything’ and drive off. It’s abandonment,” the source said.
The FDNY acknowledged the order was due to “high medical leave” among EMS workers because of the COVID surge, but didn’t immediately respond to further questions Saturday.
Gov. Kathy Hochul earlier this week announced 80 members of the National Guard are being trained to become certified EMTs to assist in the shortage.Hans Pennink
EMS union reps said their members see no evidence of city hospitals being overwhelmed by a lack of beds to deal with COVID-19 patients.
A spokesman for NYC Health+Hospitals said capacity in the city’s hospital system is “stable,” while a Northwell Health spokesman said the system was “well within manageable levels” of patient beds.
Admissions for COVID are up at New York Presbyterian, but stays are shorter and coronavirus cases in the hospital’s intensive care units are behind where they were last year, said Chief Surgeon Craig R. Smith in a message to colleagues Friday.
The Omicron variant accounts for 80% of the cases, Smith said, noting that next week the hospital would reschedule some elective surgeries as it staffs just two-thirds of its operating rooms.
There is some help on the way. Gov. Kathy Hochul earlier this week announced 80 members of the National Guard are being trained to become certified EMTs and help both with medic shortages both in city and upstate regions.
