Why this Covid-19 surge is 'unprecedented in this pandemic'

The new year is starting with a massive influx of Covid-19 that's different from any other during this pandemic, doctors say.

"We're seeing a surge in patients again, unprecedented in this pandemic," said Dr. James Phillips, chief of disaster medicine at George Washington University Hospital.

"What's coming for the rest of the country could be very serious. And they need to be prepared."

Even health care workers are getting sidelined during the rapid rise of the Omicron variant, the most contagious strain of novel coronavirus to hit the US.

"Our health system is at a very different place than we were in previous surges," emergency medicine professor Dr. Esther Choo said.

"This strain is so infectious that I think all of us know many, many colleagues who are currently infected or have symptoms and are under quarantine," said Choo, associate professor at Oregon Health and Science University.

"We've lost at least 20% of our health care workforce -- probably more."

Don't get a false sense of security with Omicron

Early studies suggest the Omicron variant may cause less severe disease than the Delta variant, which still makes up a considerable portion of US Covid-19 cases.

But because Omicron is much more contagious, the raw number of Covid-19 hospitalizations could get worse, Dr. Anthony Fauci said.

"When you have so many, many cases, even if the rate of hospitalization is lower with Omicron than it is with Delta, there's still the danger that you're going to have a surging of hospitalizations that might stress the health care system," said Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

And Omicron might be more problematic for young children, said Dr. Scott Gottlieb, former commissioner of the US Food and Drug Administration.

"It does appear now, based on a lot of experimental evidence that we've gotten just in the last two weeks, that this is a milder form of the coronavirus," Gottlieb told CBS' "Face the Nation" on Sunday.

"It appears to be more of an upper airway disease than a lower airway disease. That's good for most Americans. The one group that that may be a problem for is very young children -- toddlers -- who have trouble with upper airway infections," said Gottlieb, a current board member at Pfizer.

"This new strain could have a predilection, again, for the upper airway, which could be a bigger challenge in young kids, because of the way it binds to the airway cells."

School districts go remote after record-high child Covid-19 hospitalizations

Just as millions of students prepared to return to school, new pediatric Covid-19 hospitalizations reached a record high.

For the week ending December 28, an average of 378 children were admitted to hospitals every day with Covid-19, according to CDC data.

That's a 66% jump from the previous week. It also breaks the previous record of 342 set during the Delta variant surge at the beginning of the school year.

With the more transmissible Omicron variant, some schools might want to postpone in-person learning, pediatrician Dr. Peter Hotez said.

"It may be the case in some school districts, where things are so raging right now in terms of Omicron for the next couple of weeks, and it may be prudent to delay things a couple more weeks," said Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston.

"It's going to be a very challenging time," Hotez said. "People are going to have to be patient."

In Georgia, at least five large Atlanta-area school districts will be starting class remotely this week.

"Due to the rapid rise in positive cases in the metro Atlanta area, students will begin virtual classes Tuesday, Jan. 4 through Friday, Jan. 7," Atlanta Public Schools said Saturday.

"Our current plan is to resume in-person instruction on Monday, Jan. 10," the school district said.

"All APS staff are required to report to their work location Monday, Jan. 3, for mandatory COVID-19 surveillance testing, unless they are ill. The data collected from staff testing will be used for future planning."

https://minimore.com/b/eswSP/1

https://minimore.com/b/cFy0C/1

https://minimore.com/b/SWNaZ/1

https://minimore.com/b/TEHFn/1

https://minimore.com/b/6W0nk/1

https://wakelet.com/wake/fKXVWE6NvCaNZGx2fCAJX

https://wakelet.com/wake/f07AUFI3eTj-XcoS3SPn5

https://wakelet.com/wake/9_RgwMclAxcANe8AaFq2D

https://wakelet.com/wake/ADQ4RLRtIbCARreF-1DUH

https://wakelet.com/wake/uwwYWb8s3zEeka93IpRjy

https://www.blockdit.com/posts/61d1c3c61ab71576d5ff846a

https://www.blockdit.com/posts/61d1c5e898ef5bc0ed29ea3d

https://www.blockdit.com/posts/61d1cb5d1fa772574109ab1b

https://www.blockdit.com/posts/61d1cd38ef3483d12e7c4a6a

https://www.blockdit.com/posts/61d1ce9a81eb2149c9a13a0b

https://www.guilded.gg/fransfora908s-Dragons/overview/news/zy47P8z6

https://www.guilded.gg/fransfora908s-Dragons/overview/news/NyE5jz1y

https://www.guilded.gg/fransfora908s-Dragons/overview/news/qlDvMEDy

https://www.guilded.gg/fransfora908s-Dragons/overview/news/gy8KZXk6

https://www.guilded.gg/fransfora908s-Dragons/overview/news/xypaxmGR

https://vk.com/@679083722-jujutsu-kaisen-0-free-2021-online-full-free-hd

https://vk.com/@688768988-jujutsu-kaisen-0-free-2021-online-full-free-hd

https://vk.com/@movieglobal-jujutsu-kaisen-0-free-2021-online-full-free-hd

https://vk.com/@marthaj-jujutsu-kaisen-0-free-2021-online-full-free-hd

https://vk.com/@679083722-jujutsu-kaisen-0-free-2021-online-full

https://vk.com/@688768988-kaisen-0-free-2021-online-full-free-hd

https://vk.com/@movieglobal-jujutsu-kaisen-0-free-full-free-hd

https://vk.com/@marthaj-jujutsu-0-free-2021-full-free-hd

https://groups.google.com/u/1/g/jujutsu-kaisen-0-free-2021-online-full-free-hd/c/fVgzdrnGoFw

https://groups.google.com/u/1/g/jujutsu-kaisen-0-free-2021-online-full-free-hd/c/kUVhNn4_b9I

https://groups.google.com/u/1/g/jujutsu-kaisen-0-free-2021-online-full-free-hd/c/n2dCzyU08b0

https://groups.google.com/u/1/g/jujutsu-kaisen-0-free-2021-online-full-free-hd/c/oJUq-m5Ql5Y

https://groups.google.com/u/1/g/jujutsu-kaisen-0-free-2021-online-full-free-hd/c/0TOyOXekcew

https://www.mychemicalromance.com/news/jujutsu-kaisen-0-free-2021-online-full-free-hd-3842221

https://www.mychemicalromance.com/news/jujutsu-kaisen-0-free-2021-online-full-free-hd-3842266

https://www.mychemicalromance.com/news/jujutsu-kaisen-0-free-2021-online-full-hd-free-3842276

https://www.mychemicalromance.com/news/jujutsu-kaisen-0-free-2021-online-full-hd-free-3842286

https://www.mychemicalromance.com/news/jujutsu-kaisen-0-free-2021-online-full-hd-free-3842291

https://www.mychemicalromance.com/news/jujutsu-kaisen-0-free-2021-online-full-hd-free-3842296

https://www.mychemicalromance.com/news/jujutsu-kaisen-0-free-2021-online-full-hd-free-3842301