COVID-19 watch
Tracking Hardship - December 17, 2021
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The 61.2 million children get coal edition. This week, the U.S. marked two sad milestones. More than 50 million COVID-19 cases have now been confirmed since the pandemic began, and more than 800,000 people have died. The highly contagious omicron variant is here in the U.S. and is ricocheting through Britain and parts of Europe; on Thursday alone, Britain reported 88,376 new infections – the highest number since the pandemic began. “Omicron is spreading at a rate we have not seen with any previous variant,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said at a news briefing.
In the U.S., which often trails Britain and Europe in terms of COVID-19's evolution, delta remains by far the dominant variant, and it continues to wreak havoc, particularly in Arizona, Colorado, and parts of the Midwest and Northeast. But that could be changing quickly. Top health officials warned in a briefing this week that omicron is spreading rapidly here and could peak in a massive wave of infections as soon as January. The prevalence of omicron in the U.S. jumped seven-fold in a single week, according to the CDC. The U.S. is not in lockdown mode, but COVID-19 is closing some schools, colleges, and universities early, and hospitals are nearing capacity yet again in some areas. We know the booster shot is an important protection, but only 28.1 percent of those fully vaccinated in the U.S. have received it.
Also cancelled? The hope that the Senate will act on President Biden’s Build Back Better plan by Christmas. So we must fight on in January. The stakes are so high for all of us – including the 61.2 million children in 36 million families who have seen their final expanded Child Tax Credit monthly payment unless Congress takes action. You can call your Senators today: 1-888-738-3058 (thanks to NETWORK for the use of the number).
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The daily average of new COVID-19 cases and deaths in the U.S. reported on Thursday, December 16. That’s a 31 percent increase in cases and a 23 percent increase in deaths compared to two weeks ago. Tweet this.
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61.2 million children in 36 million families received the latest expanded Child Tax Credit payment, distributed on Wednesday, December 15, according to the Treasury Department. The average payment to each family was $444. This will be the final monthly payment unless Congress extends the CTC expansion. Tweet this.
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For the week ending December 12, only 54.7 percent of fully vaccinated nursing home residents had received a COVID-19 booster shot. This is most disturbing for several reasons. First, the elderly are more at risk of dying from COVID-19 than other age groups, nursing home residents even more so. Second, the new, incredibly infectious omicron variant is infecting many fully vaccinated people but appears to struggle to infect people who have received their boosters. COVID cases are rising among unvaccinated nursing home residents, but not among those with booster shots. Tweet this.
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Three-fourths of the roughly 800,000 Americans who have died from COVID-19 were 65 or older. One in 100 older Americans have died from the virus, compared to one in 1,400 Americans under 65. Tweet this.
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At least 75 members of the House and Senate held shares of Moderna, Johnson & Johnson, or Pfizer during 2020, according to a new investigative report. Congress appropriated billions to help companies develop vaccines. In early January 2020, a share of Moderna traded below $20. Moderna peaked in September 2021 at more than $455 a share. Tweet this.
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