January 6 coronavirus pandemic and Omicron variant news

Here’s the latest data on vaccination efforts in the US, published Thursday by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:

Note: CDC data on Covid-19 vaccinations are estimates. The agency notes that data on people who are fully vaccinated and those with a booster dose may be underestimated, while data on people with at least one dose may be overestimated. 

Chicago Public Schools (CPS) informed parents Thursday evening that classes will be canceled again on Friday for the third consecutive day as the district and Chicago Teachers Union failed to reach an agreement. 

Some context: The decision comes as CPS, the third-largest school district in the country, canceled classes for more than 340,000 students Wednesday and Thursday after the Chicago Teachers Union voted Tuesday night to refuse to show up for in-person work, citing concerns over Covid-19 safety.

New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu announced the deployment of another 100 National Guard members to help the state's healthcare system amid a rise in Covid-19 cases.  

About 30 guard members will be deployed to long term care facilities and 70 will be sent to hospitals that provide critical care, Sununu said on Thursday at a Covid-19 news briefing.

Thursday's decision comes as new daily cases over the past seven days averaged 1,766 new infections, a 55% increase compared to the previous seven-day period, according to data obtained by the state's health department. 

In early December: Sununu announced that 70 National Guard members would be deployed to help hospitals where the need is most severe, assisting with tasks that will allow for a smoother operation. 

Louisiana reported at least 14,077 Covid-19 cases in the state Thursday, a record number of cases in a 24-hour period, Gov. John Bel Edwards said at a news conference. 

Louisiana State Health officer and Medical Director Dr. Joseph Kanter said that to avoid further burdening hospitals, don’t go to the emergency room for Covid-19 testing.

He acknowledged that take-home tests can be difficult to obtain in the state, but said PCR testing centers are open and available, but if someone has symptoms and can’t get a test, they should assume they have Covid-19.

Some context: There are 1,412 people hospitalized across the state of Louisiana with Covid-19, an increase of 125 since Wednesday, the governor said.

“The percentage of emergency department visits related to Covid-like illness remains at an all-time high. The average daily incidence of Covid has exceeded its Delta surge peak across the state of Louisiana,” the governor said. “What is not captured on our Covid dashboard currently are reinfections, which we are seeing more of because of the Omicron variant than we saw before.”

Of those hospitalized with Covid-19, 76% of them are not vaccinated, Kanter said at the news conference.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will hold a briefing Friday to give updates on the Covid-19 pandemic.

CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky is scheduled to speak at 11 a.m. ET.

It's been a few months since the agency had held a briefing like this: The CDC usually participates in joint briefings with officials from the White House or the National Institutes of Health, such as Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Its last independent Covid-19 briefing was July 27, 2021.

The agency has faced renewed criticism this month over confusion surrounding its guidelines on testing and isolation for people who test positive for Covid-19.

Sample test results confirm that Omicron makes up approximately 90% of the Covid-19 cases that health officials are seeing surge throughout the state, according to state officials.

Hogan, who spoke from a new testing site at the University of Maryland Laurel Medical Center, announced the launch of 20 additional testing locations across the state that will be set up outside hospitals in an effort to divert people from going to emergency rooms for Covid-19 tests.

According to Hogan, officials are already seeing dramatic drops in emergency room visits in hospitals where testing sites are set up outside.

Hospitals across the state are seeing a rapid rise in patients arriving with Covid-19, according to president and CEO of the University of Maryland Medical System Dr. Mohan Suntha, who also spoke at the briefing.

Suntha said that in a span of one month, Covid-19 patients across the medical system rose from 200 to 800.

“Seventy-five percent of the patients who are currently admitted in our hospitals with Covid-19 across the medical system are unvaccinated,” he said.

Less than 5% of all patients who are hospitalized with Covid-19 are vaccinated and boosted, according to Suntha. 

Some context: Hogan declared a 30-day state of emergency earlier this week, mobilizing 1,000 members of the National Guard to assist state and local health officials with the state’s emergency pandemic response and to provide operational support to help open and operate testing sites.

Peru raised its coronavirus pandemic alert level to high and will implement new restrictions starting Friday, including a curfew in 25 provinces, according to state news agency Andina.  

Peru detected its first four cases of the Omicron variant in the country on Dec.19 and is dealing with a "third wave" of infections, state media said.

The new restrictions include a curfew from 11 p.m. to 4 a.m. local time and new capacity limits for businesses and commercial activities. 

In addition to Lima and Callao, the provinces that will move to the high alert level are Ica, Pisco, Cusco, Cajamarca, Jaén, Piura, Sullana, Sechura, Talara, Trujillo, Pacasmayo, Chiclayo, Santa, Puno, Huaura, Bagua, Chachapoyas, Tacna, Huancayo, Satipo, Mariscal Nieto, Ilo, and Tumbes, Andina reported.

The White House expects to share details over the next day about contracts between the federal government and manufacturers to produce the 500 million rapid Covid-19 tests President Biden had said Americans would be able to order for free.

Some background: Biden announced last month a plan to order half-a-billion at-home rapid tests that Americans could order online for free. The White House said they would be available in January, though didn't specify an exact date.

Psaki said the administration would "absolutely" be able to meet the January goal, saying that efforts to stand up the program had been ongoing.

"A lot of these things are happening simultaneously," she said, noting the request for proposals to companies had closed this week and the contracting process was underway.

"We don’t want to put the website up before we know we can provide, even through pre-orders, tests as people want them," she said.

The Mayo Clinic said 1% of its employees have been terminated for not complying with its required Covid-19 vaccination program. 

The health system said “the needs of the patient come first” in a statement emailed to CNN.

“This is a time when Mayo Clinic must stand firmly behind the evidence supporting the efficacy and safety of COVID-19 vaccines to help protect the health and safety of our patients, workforce, visitors, and communities,” it said in the statement. 

The Mayo Clinic has 73,000 employees, according to its website. 

Complying with the program means receiving at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine and not being overdue for a second dose if taking the Moderna and Pfizer vaccine. Nearly 99% of employees met the program’s Jan. 3 deadline at all the Mayo Clinic’s locations, according to the statement. 

“While Mayo Clinic is saddened to lose valuable employees, we need to take all steps necessary to keep our patients, workforce, visitors, and communities safe. If individuals released from employment choose to get vaccinated at a later date, the opportunity exists for them to apply and return to Mayo Clinic for future job openings,” the statement said. 

The Mayo Clinic has campuses in Rochester, Minnesota; Scottsdale and Phoenix, Arizona; and Jacksonville, Florida, as well as dozens of locations in other states, according to its website.