December 27 coronavirus pandemic and Omicron variant news

By Helen Regan, Adam Renton, Tara John, Aditi Sangal, Mike Hayes, Melissa Macaya and Melissa Mahtani, CNN

Updated 0601 GMT (1401 HKT) December 28, 2021
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11:50 a.m. ET, December 27, 2021

Israel begins trials for fourth dose of Covid-19 vaccine

From CNN's Elliot Gotkine in Jerusalem and Mia Alberti in Lisbon

Israel has begun trials for a fourth dose of the Covid-19 vaccine for healthy patients as it looks to roll out the additional booster shot to at-risk populations. The Sheba Medical Center said it is the first time in the world healthy subjects are receiving a fourth shot of the Covid-19 vaccine. 

Around 150 health workers whose antibody levels have dropped are part of the trial at the Sheba Medical Center outside of Tel Aviv. 

“I don’t feel much as a guinea pig,” Dr. Jacob Lavee, former director of Heart Transplant Unit at the Sheba Medical Center, told CNN. “I volunteered for research done here in previous shots, mainly booster shot, as I know my own immunity has dropped below threshold, and therefore, not only am I potentially exposed to Omicron, but more importantly, I might be a potential hazard to the heart transplant patients I’m taking care of.” 

On Dec. 21, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett welcomed a decision by a panel of experts to recommend the additional booster for people over 60 years old, health care workers and people with suppressed immune systems. But the health ministry’s director-general has yet to sign it off.

“Wonderful news, do not waste time – go get vaccinated,” Bennett said in a statement at the time. 

Those eligible for the fourth dose will be administered it provided at least four months have passed since the third dose, the government said in the statement.

“The State of Israel is continuing to stand at the forefront of the global effort to deal with the pandemic. The citizens of Israel were the first in the world to receive the third dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and we are continuing to pioneer with the fourth dose as well,” Bennett added.   

Initial results from the study are expected by the end of the week by which time Israel’s rising Covid-19 caseload will likely be even heavier. 

“I don’t think it’s right, right now at this moment but it may change in a week,” Dr. Gili-Regev Yochay, director of Infection Prevention Control Unit at the Sheba Medical Center, told CNN. “It depends what we see is happening in England, and also here — if we see there is more severe disease, maybe it will be correct. That’s why it is so important to start a research ASAP.” 

12:41 p.m. ET, December 27, 2021

Biden addresses US governors on Omicron rise: "We're going to have your back in any way we can"  

From CNN's Kevin Liptak

(Carolyn Kaster/AP)
(Carolyn Kaster/AP)

President Biden is speaking with the nation's governors as a wave of Covid-19, driven by the heavily transmissible Omicron variant of the coronavirus, crashes across the country and drives caseloads to record levels in areas of the Northeast.

Biden asked that the governors "say something" if they needed federal assistance, and assured them that the government will help support their efforts.

"We just have to stay focused and continue to work together. My message to the governors is simple — if you need something, say something. We're going to have your back in any way we can," Biden said.

Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, a Republican, shared some of the challenges his state is facing with Omicron.

"As we face Omicron, the governors and your administration must be working together more closely than ever," Hutchinson said during the call. "I'd like to give you a glimpse of Arkansas today. First, hospitalizations are down by half from where they were this time last year. Our Omicron case count and the demand for testing has increased."

"As governors, we are getting pressure to do more, and the need is great to do more in terms of the rapid tests and the availability of it," he continued, adding that he hopes "federal solutions don't stand in the way of state solutions."

Biden told governor that "there is no federal solution. This gets solved at a state level."

"As I said last week, Omicron is a source of concern, but it should not be a source of panic. If you're fully vaccinated, you get your booster shot and you're highly protected," he said on the call.

More on today's meeting: It is Biden's first time joining the weekly call convened between his Covid team and state leaders, and comes a week after he laid out an enhanced strategy for combating the new surge focused heavily on accelerating testing and vaccinations.

The new steps, which included ordering 500 million at-home rapid tests that Americans can obtain for free, came too late to avoid disruptions to winter holiday plans. Thousands of flights were canceled as airline staff tested positive. Many Americans downsized their plans amid the viral spread. Biden's new tests, and the website where Americans can order them, won't be in place until next month, the White House has said.

11:10 a.m. ET, December 27, 2021

English Premier League reports 103 positive Covid-19 cases

From CNN’s Vasco Cotovio in Lisbon

The English Premier League has reported 103 Covid-19 cases in the week leading up to Boxing Day, it said in a statement on Monday.

“The League can today confirm that between Monday 20 December and Sunday 26 December, 15,186 Covid-19 tests were administered on players and club staff,” the statement read. “Of these, there were 103 new positive cases.” 

The 103 cases are an increase on the previous week (Dec. 13 to 19) when 90 players and staff tested positive for coronavirus.

“The safety of everyone is a priority and the Premier League is taking all precautionary steps in response to the impact of the Omicron variant of COVID-19,” the statement said. “The League has reverted to its Emergency Measures, and has increased testing of players and club staff to daily lateral flow and twice-weekly PCR tests, having previously carried out lateral-flow testing twice a week.”

11:38 a.m. ET, December 27, 2021

European airlines say they are experiencing a small number of cancellations

From CNN’s Arnaud Siad in London and Chris Liakos Paris

(Adrian Dennis/AFP/Getty Images)
(Adrian Dennis/AFP/Getty Images)

As more than 2,000 flights have been canceled Monday, European airlines are experiencing a small number of cancellations amid record-breaking numbers of Covid-19 cases in several European nations.

A British Airways spokesperson told CNN on Monday that the airline had canceled “a number of flights due to operational constraints,” ​and are instead using larger aircrafts, where possible, to get customers to their destinations. According to tracking website FlightAware, 45 flights from British Airways were canceled on Monday.

Virgin Atlantic told CNN that flying continues “as scheduled,” noting the exception of one of its London to New York City rotations, which saw cancellations on Dec. 21. A Virgin Atlantic spokesperson told CNN, "We continue to take pre-emptive measures to uphold operational and staffing resilience, always putting the health and safety of our customers and people first."

Scandinavian Airlines told CNN it has seen “a small number of daily cancellations on Christmas day and onwards,” acknowledging that the airline had “experienced an increased sick leave due to more people experiencing symptoms and staying home like recommended.”

Lufthansa was also forced to cancel some long haul flights to North America.

Iberia said there have been no cancellations ​to their flights so far.

More than 2,000 flights ​worldwide have been canceled Monday as Covid-19 cases surge across the globe, according to tracking website FlightAware. 

Of the nearly 2,200 canceled flights, more than 700 were within, into or out of the United States, according to FlightAware. More than 3,000 flights are delayed. 

Globally, airlines canceled more than 6,000 flights on Christmas Eve, Christmas and the day after Christmas. In the United States, more than 1,200 flights were canceled and more than 5,000 were delayed on Sunday alone, with staff and crew calling out sick.

11:11 a.m. ET, December 27, 2021

Paraguay detects first 3 cases of the Omicron variant

From CNN's Karol Suarez in Mexico City

The first three cases of Omicron have been detected in Paraguay, the country’s public health ministry announced in a statement issued Monday. 

All three of these first-detected cases were young tourists, around 18-years old, traveling to Paraguay from Cancun, Mexico.

The three are in quarantine as is anyone they came into contact with, as contact tracing is underway, the statement adds. 

In the wake of these first detected cases of Omicron in the country, Paraguay’s Director of Health Surveillance Dr. Sandra Irala issued a recommendation to the public to avoid “traveling to countries where there is high circulation” of Covid-19.

Dr. Irala also underscored the importance of getting vaccinations and urged people to avoid crowds in an effort to prevent the large-scale spread of this variant.

10:28 a.m. ET, December 27, 2021

Biden will speak with governors today as Covid-19 cases surge across the US

From CNN's Kevin Liptak

President Biden will confer with the nation's governors on Monday as a wave of Covid-19, driven by the heavily transmissible Omicron variant of the coronavirus, crashes across the country and drives caseloads to record levels in areas of the Northeast.

It is Biden's first time joining the weekly call convened between his Covid-19 team and state leaders, and comes a week after he laid out an enhanced strategy for combating the new surge focused heavily on accelerating testing and vaccinations. The call is set to take place today at 11:30 a.m. ET.

The new steps, which included ordering 500 million at-home rapid tests that Americans can obtain for free, came too late to avoid disruptions to winter holiday plans. Thousands of flights were canceled as airline staff tested positive.

Many Americans downsized their plans amid the viral spread. Biden's new tests, and the website where Americans can order them, won't be in place until next month, the White House has said.

American governors have calibrated their approach to Omicron as an exhausted public reckons with a pandemic that is nearing its two-year mark. Many have resisted putting in place new restrictions, following Biden's pledge to keep the country open even amid record case numbers.

Still, some states have reimposed mask mandates and are preparing for a spike in hospitalizations by cutting elective surgeries at certain facilities.

The White House said during his call on Monday, Biden would "discuss his Administration's response to the Omicron variant and ... hear from the Governors on the needs in their States."

Read more about today's call here.

10:24 a.m. ET, December 27, 2021

TSA screens about 2 million passengers on Sunday amid coronavirus surge

From CNN's Greg Wallace

Just over 2 million people traveled through the nation’s airports on Sunday amid the Christmas holiday and a coronavirus surge.   

The Transportation Security Administration said it screened 2,009,239 people, about 78% of the number it screened on the Sunday after Christmas in 2019. Seven of the last 10 days have seen more than 2 million screenings.   

On Friday and Saturday, TSA screened about two-thirds of the passengers it did on those days in 2019 (when Christmas fell on a Wednesday).

At least 850 US flights have been canceled so far Monday as airlines deal with the Omicron variant of coronavirus. 

10:52 a.m. ET, December 27, 2021

Fauci: "We should have had" more Covid-19 tests available in the US when Omicron arrived 

From CNN's Virginia Langmaid

Cars line up at a drive-thru COVID-19 testing site at Tropical Park last week in Miami.
Cars line up at a drive-thru COVID-19 testing site at Tropical Park last week in Miami. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

The US should have had more Covid-19 tests available when the Omicron variant arrived and increased demand just ahead of the holidays, Dr. Anthony Fauci said Monday.

“You know, testing has always been an issue, Kaitlan. That has been problematic. It has been compounded by the situation of the high demands,” Fauci told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins on New Day. 

“We had a conflation of high demands — high demands because of the concern about Omicron which is a justifiable concern, but the high demand that was triggered by the holiday season, people getting ready to travel getting ready to go and mix with family members and friends. It's been a very, very strong run on testing,” said Fauci, who is director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

“Obviously, not making any excuses for it: we should have had more tests available. But hopefully now as we get into the first couple of weeks in January, that'll get much better,” he said.

Long lines have formed at testing sites across the US over the past week.

Watch:

9:50 a.m. ET, December 27, 2021

US will continue to see cases surge from Omicron, Fauci says

From CNN's Virginia Langmaid

The US is going to continue to see cases surge from the Omicron variant but may see them fall as they did in South Africa, Dr. Anthony Fauci said Monday.

“We're certainly going to continue to see a surge for a while, Kaitlan. I fully expect that it will turn around. I hope it turns around as sharply as what we've seen in South Africa,” Fauci, director of the National institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins.

The US is currently averaging close to 200,000 new Covid-19 cases per day, a 47% increase from last week and the highest this number has been since January of 2021. While the virus may turn out to be less severe, Fauci said, those numbers can still strain American health infrastructure. 

“It looks like the degree of severity of the disease is considerably less than they experienced with Delta. We’re seeing inklings of that now in the United States. The UK is also seeing that. So I do hope that we do have the net effect is a diminution in the degree of severity,” said Fauci.

“But the sheer volume of cases that we're seeing now — yesterday we had 214,000 cases. Even with a diminution in severity we still could have a surge on hospitals, particularly among the unvaccinated, which we’re really worried about," he continued.

Fauci said “it’s possible” the US will see 500,000 new cases in a day in the future, but he doesn’t think the country will get to that point. Vaccinations and boosters, he said, are important in keeping numbers down.

“There are so many things that we can do to mitigate against that. The thing we keep talking about is that you know if you're not vaccinated, get vaccinated. But importantly, boosters are really looming as something very, very important,” he said. 

“Boosters are always good for any variant but particularly for Omicron. If you are vaccinated and not yet boosted and your time comes for getting boosted, please get boosted. It's going to make all the difference to prevent you from getting severe disease," he added.