Well, what is supposed to be the most wonderful time of the year, has become a season of worry for many Americans, with the US facing what might be the most severe wave yet of Covid infections. In fact, that wave is expected to be so big, a former head of CDC calls a tidal wave. In more than a quarter of the country, cases are surging, and we learned today that New York saw its most new Covid infections ever in a single day. Experts blamed the dangerous Delta variant for the spike. But today, the CDC warned the highly contagious Omicron strain is expected to become the dominate strain within weeks. Long Covid testing lines are stretching around the block as Americans rush to get tested before holiday gatherings. Meanwhile the sports world is reeling tonight. The NFL moved three games this weekend due to outbreaks, and the NHL is postponing all games for two teams to at least next weekend. And there’s also breaking news out of New York tonight, the Rockettes canceled the rest of 2021 Christmas Season.
Three surges are happening around the country tonight. There’s a surge in the number of Omicron cases, a surge in Covid testing and a surge in holiday travelers. This all has health officials concerned. Along with the packed airports comes fears of packed hospitals, as the Omicron variant spreads at an alarming rate. The number of people traveling is approaching pre-pandemic levels with 109 million Americans expected to leave home for the holidays, 34% jumped in the last year. More than 6 million of them will be flying. Long lines are also at Covid testing sites in New York, Miami, and Rockford, Maryland where the drive-thru testing line stretched for several block. The CDC says the Omicron is expected to surpass Delta as the dominant variant in just weeks. It’s now in at least 41 states. In New York City, hospitalizations are up 64% in just two weeks. This comes as Pfizer announces it’s testing a third vaccine dose in children under five because two doses failed to give enough immunity to kids age 2 to 4. And two new CDC studies are showing the effectiveness of the so-called test to stay strategies in schools. The studies found that kids exposed to Covid can continued safely in-person learning if they are regularly tested at school. Meanwhile, there is concern over how some test will hold up against Omicron. Dr. A.F says some of the antigen tests may not detect the variant. And one reason for concern here in New York, the state just hit 21,000 daily cases, the highest it’s been since the pandemic began. And half of them are in New York City.
:::tip antigen
- : any substance (such as an immunogen or a hapten) foreign to the body that evokes an immune response either alone or after forming a complex with a larger molecule (such as a protein) and that is capable of binding with a product (such as an antibody or T cell) of the immune response. 抗原
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:::tip cadaver
- : a dead body. 尸体
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