Editor’s note: This is a live account of COVID-19 updates from Saturday, Dec. 4, as the day unfolded. It is no longer being updated. Click here to see all the most recent news about the pandemic, and click here to find additional resources.
Health and safety measures aimed at protecting communities against the delta variant should remain as the foundation for fighting the pandemic, World Health Organization officials said Friday. The announcement came as dozens of countries continue to report cases of the mutated omicron variant.
The variant appears to be three times more likely to cause reinfection in a person than the delta and beta variants, an aspect that may shed light on how the variant quickly spread across the globe, according to a preliminary study from South African scientists, which is yet to be peer-reviewed.
Though it’s still not known how much protection current COVID-19 vaccines provide against the new variant, scientists say the vaccines still offer the most protection against severe illness and possible death.
As countries grapple with increased COVID-19 cases and uncertainties over the omicron variant, the outgoing Czech government announced it will issue a vaccine mandate for people 60 and over as well as some professional groups. Though the plan is in motion, it’s still unclear whether the succeeding health minister will enforce the mandate.
Click here to see previous days’ live updates and all our other coronavirus coverage, and here to see how we track the daily spread across Washington.
More omicron detected as hospitals strain under virus surge
New York announced three more cases of the omicron variant of the coronavirus Saturday, bringing the number of state cases linked to the new variant to eight.
“The omicron variant is here, and as anticipated we are seeing the beginning of community spread,” state Health Commissioner Mary Bassett said in a news release.
The number of states finding the variant is growing as well, with authorities in New Jersey, Georgia, Pennsylvania and Maryland reporting their first confirmed cases Friday, and Missouri reporting its first presumed case.
Read the story here.
—Carolyn Thompson, The Associated Press
US drugstores squeezed by vaccine demand, staff shortages
A rush of vaccine-seeking customers and staff shortages are squeezing drugstores around the U.S., leading to frazzled workers and temporary pharmacy closures.
Drugstores are normally busy this time of year with flu shots and other vaccines, but now pharmacists are doling out a growing number of COVID-19 shots and giving coronavirus tests.
The push for shots is expected to grow more intense as President Joe Biden urges vaccinated Americans to get booster shots to combat the emerging omicron variant.
Read the story here.
—Tom Murphy, The Associated Press
Resurgence in business travel expected as companies tire of Zoom, but omicron variant complicates outlook
Many road warriors’ suitcases and passports have been gathering dust since the COVID-19 pandemic brought business travel to a halt.
That’s not the case at Chicago-based Devbridge, which hosted an all-hands event in Lithuania earlier this year and brought teams from Toronto, London and Lithuania to its Chicago office last month to workshop new products with clients.
Read the story here.
—Lauren Zumbach, Chicago Tribune
Cognitive rehab: One patient’s painstaking path through long COVID-19 therapy
AURORA, Ill. — There is sobering evidence of Samantha Lewis’ struggle with long COVID-19 on her bathroom mirror.
Above the sink, she has posted an index card scrawled with nine steps reminding her how to brush her teeth. It is one of many strategies Lewis, 34, has learned from “cognitive rehab,” an intensive therapy program for COVID-19 survivors whose lives have been upended by problems like brain fog, memory lapses, dizziness and debilitating fatigue.
Read the story here.
—Pam Belluck, The New York Times
Merkel: Virus death toll ‘so bitter because it is avoidable’
BERLIN — Outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel on Saturday made what is likely her final appeal before leaving office next week for Germans to get vaccinated against COVID-19.
Merkel gave what is expected to be her last weekly video message two days after federal and state leaders decided on a series of measures meant to break a wave of coronavirus infections.
The measures include excluding unvaccinated people across the country from nonessential stores, restaurants and sports and cultural venues. In a longer-term move, parliament will consider a general vaccine mandate.
Read the story here.
—The Associated Press
FDA authorizes Eli Lilly antibody treatment for high-risk young children
The Food and Drug Administration on Friday authorized Eli Lilly’s monoclonal antibody treatment for infants and children under age 12 with COVID-19 who are at high risk of becoming severely ill from the virus because they have a condition such as obesity or diabetes.
Previously, high-risk COVID patients 12 or older had been eligible to get the drugs, which are typically administered intravenously at a clinic or hospital and have been shown to lower the risk of hospitalization and death.
Read the story here.
—Rebecca Robbins, The New York Times
Over 129K WA kids ages 5–11 receive first COVID vaccine dose
OLYMPIA — More than 129,000 children ages 5 through 11 in Washington state have received their first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech pediatric vaccine since eligibility expanded to include younger kids on Nov. 3, health officials said this week.
“While COVID-19 is often milder in children than adults, children can still get very sick and spread the disease to family and friends, which is an even bigger concern as people gather this holiday season,” Secretary of Health Dr. Umair A. Shah said Thursday. “As a father, knowing our children are vaccinated helps me breathe a sigh of relief.”
Read the story here.
—The Associated Press
UW men’s basketball game vs. No. 5 UCLA canceled due to COVID-19
The Washington men’s basketball team will suffer its first Pac-12 defeat due to COVID-19 developments within the program.
The Huskies are unable to host No. 5-ranked UCLA on Sunday at Alaska Airlines Arena and will forfeit the game in accordance to Pac-12 guidelines.
Washington has seven players and coaches in COVID-19 protocols, according to a Los Angeles Times report that cited an anonymous source.
Read the story here.
—Percy Allen
So far, Washington workers pushed out over vaccine mandates aren’t losing jobless benefits
In August, when Gov. Jay Inslee ordered state employees, health care workers and others to get vaccinated against COVID-19 by Oct. 18, officials issued a stern warning: If you quit or get fired for refusing a jab, don’t expect unemployment benefits.
But nearly two months after the vaccination deadline, it’s unclear just how much vaccine-hesitant workers have to worry about.
Although thousands of workers in Washington likely have quit or been fired over government and private vaccine mandates — including nearly 2,000 state employees as of Nov. 15, according to state data — just 26 mandate-related claims for jobless benefits had been flagged for review by the state Employment Security Department as of Friday. Although the review process isn’t complete, ESD officials don’t believe that any of those claims have been denied.
Read the story here.
—Paul Roberts
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