12-01-21 First case of omicron variant detected in the U.S. (Nebraska) - a man reported unmasked contact with a masked, coughing person while in Nigeria on Nov. 20 and tested positive Dec. 1 after returning to Nebraska.

12-04-21 Sold Lily

12-06-21 New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced that some state hospitals will be ordered to halt certain elective surgeries in an effort to combat a recent COVID-19 surge.

12-07-21 Albany and Schenectady County executives issued a joint health advisory encouraging all people (vaccinated or not) to wear masks in public areas.

12-10-21 Nathaniel Hafer, assistant professor at UMass Medical School, noted in a Dec. 10 article that studies have shown serial testing — doing two or three rapid tests in one week — is on par with one PCR test.

12-10-21 Gov. Kathy Hochul announced a statewide mask mandate "in all indoor public places unless businesses or venues implement a vaccine requirement."

12-10-21 The CDC said that of the 43 U.S. Omicron cases, 34 were fully vaccinated and fourteen had received a booster (five of those cases occurred less than 14 days after the booster). Fourteen had traveled internationally. Six had previously been infected with the coronavirus. Most had mild symptoms such as coughing, congestion, and fatigue, and one person was hospitalized for two days.

12-12-21 Seventy-five percent of people who have died of the virus in the US (about 600,000 of 800,000) have been 65 or older. One in 100 older Americans has died from the virus. For people younger than 65, that ratio is closer to 1 in 1,400.

12-13-21 The U.S. Supreme Court is allowing a New York state vaccine mandate for all health care workers to stand after a legal challenge argued that it violated religious freedom.

12-13-21 Computer models suggest that after two doses of an mRNA vaccine, efficacy against symptomatic Omicron infection is only about 30% (compared to 87% against Delta), and protection against symptomatic infection is "essentially eliminated" for individuals vaccinated more than four months earlier. Boosters restore protection to about 48% (similar to the waned immunity against the Delta variant (43%)). Protection against Omicron severe disease is estimated to be 86% for recent mRNA vaccination, 67% for waned immunity, and 91% following 3rd dose boosters.

12-14-21 German researchers have found that COVID-19 therapies developed by Eli Lilly and Regeneron lose most of their effectiveness when exposed in laboratory tests to the Omicron variant of coronavirus.

12-17-21 In New York State, there were more cases today then any other day in this entire pandemic.

12-17-21 A U.K. study found that Omicron was associated with a 5.4-fold higher risk of reinfection compared with Delta, and that natural immunity or vaccinations provided no more than 20% protection against omicron. The good news is that a booster shot dramatically increased immune defense: up to 80% more protection against the new variant.

12-20-21 From Dr. Guptill: The whole state is affected. Broadway shows are shutting down every day because of cases, and the Rockette’s Holiday show cancelled the *entire* season until next year because of so many cases. In NYC, lines for testing are hours long, wrapping around many blocks, and results are taking days and days. Cornell shut down, canceled classes and sent students home after 1200+ breakthrough cases on a campus with 98% vaccine rate. In Albany, testing sites are booking up for the day by 8am. Regeneron monoclonal antibody treatment (that needs to be given early on to protect worsening), is now booking DAYS out in Albany with waiting lists 100s of patients long. This is a huge problem. There are huge staffing shortages. There aren’t enough nurses.

12-20-21 Omicron is responsible for an estimated 90% or more of new infections in the New York area, the Southeast, the industrial Midwest and the Pacific Northwest.

12-22-21 South Africa's National Institute for Communicable Diseases released a study - not yet peer-reviewed - found that omicron causes fewer hospitalizations and instances of severe side effects than previous coronavirus variants. The study found that the omicron variant was 80% less likely to lead to hospitalization than the delta variant and that for patients who were hospitalized, the risk of severe illness was 30% lower. Both the quick peaking of cases and omicron's lower severity could be due to multiple country-specific factors in South Africa, the most prominent being that more than 70% of South Africans have been infected by previous variants, probably giving a greater proportion of the population a more robust antibody response.

12-26-21 Dr. Jha (Dean of Brown University) said that the country has shifted to a place where people who are vaccinated and especially those who have received a booster shot "are gonna bounce back" if they become infected with the coronavirus. "For two years, infections always preceded hospitalizations which preceded deaths, so you could look at infections and know what was coming...Omicron changes that. This is the shift we've been waiting for in many ways."

12-31-21 Over 1,000 new cases in the capital region yesterday.