This is Covid 411, the latest on Omicron and other COVID variants, and new hotspots for February 8th, 2022.

A story of mixed metrics. Yes, the Omicron wave has receded significantly in the US over the past few weeks. But more people are dying every day than died during the peak of Delta last summer. 2,400 people have died every day over the past seven days even though cases are a third of what they were three weeks ago. As we’ve explained before, the reason is the sheer number of people infected with Omicron meeting the unvaccinated population. The CDC says unvaccinated adults have a 68-times-higher risk of dying from Covid than boosted adults.

There are claims out on the always reliable Internet that in fact, most of the world is still unvaccinated. But data from the University of Oxford's Our World in Data project show more than 60% of the world’s population have gotten at least one dose. 52.1% are fully vaccinated. The UAE and Portugal are most vaccinated at more than 90%, while Chad, Haiti, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Burundi have less than 1% of people fully vaccinated. 

The governors of four states announced plans to lift statewide mask requirements in schools by the end of February or March. Those states are Connecticut, Delaware, New Jersey, and Oregon. All indicated a need for acceptance that the virus is here to stay and there must be a path back to normalcy for kids.  

A couple of California stories for you. The state is keeping its mask mandates for schools in place, but California is not extending its statewide indoor mask mandate. That means people who are vaccinated can show off their mouths starting February 15, the unvaccinated cannot. Los Angeles County, however, has its own stricter mask mandate in place that it will apparently keep in place no matter what the state does.

Also in California, lawmakers passed legislation giving most workers up to two weeks of COVID supplemental paid sick leave. The idea is to fix it so infected people don’t have to come to work and put everyone else at risk. The policy allows workers at businesses of 26 or more employees to take paid time off not just to recover from COVID, but to care for a sick family member, go get vaccinated, recover from immunization side effects, or care for a child who can’t go to school because of closures or quarantines.

In the United States, cases were down 57%, deaths are up 18%, and hospitalizations are down 24% over 14 days. The 7-day average of new cases has been trending down since January 14.  

The five states that had the most daily deaths per 100,000 are Mississippi, South Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, and Guam. 

There are 29,145,580 active cases in the United States.

The five areas with the greatest increase in hospitalizations per capita: Wyoming 25%. Montana and West Virginia 16%. And Idaho and Oregon 11%.

The top 10 areas with the highest number of recent cases per capita according to The New York Times: Nome Census Area, AK. Whitman, WA. Adair, OK. Craig, OK. Okmulgee, OK. Cherokee, OK. Bethel Census Area, AK. Scott, TN. Mayes, OK. And Imperial, CA.

There have been 905,542 deaths in the U.S. recorded as COVID-related.

The top 3 vaccinating states by percentage of population that’s been fully vaccinated: Vermont at 79.6%, Rhode Island at 79.4%, and Maine at 77.7%. The bottom 3 vaccinating states are Alabama at 49.6%, Wyoming at 50%, and Mississippi at 50.3%. The percentage of the U.S. that’s been fully vaccinated is 64.1%.

Globally, cases were down 13% and deaths up 34% over 14 days, with the 7-day average trending down since January 25. 

There are 74,687,082 active cases around the world.

The five countries with the most new cases: Russia 171,905. The United States 156,487. Germany 138,867. Turkey 96,514. And Japan...

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