Coronavirus vaccine and COVID variant updates for 01-18-2022

<p>Brace yourself, here’s a story about how more vaccine shots may not always be the answer. An Israeli hospital’s preliminary research suggests a fourth dose of vaccine adds only limited defense against Omicron. That makes things a little tricky politically because Israel just started giving people over age 60 fourth shots. </p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>The US Surgeon General says don’t get too enamored of the good news you’ve been hearing. He says the Omicron wave started later in some parts of the country, so we shouldn't be looking for a peak in those places, and the next few weeks will be tough. He says the problem is we’re running out of healthcare workforce and the crush of COVID patients is still expected to get substantially higher. </p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Even where there are still doctors on the job, the stress on the system means those doctors are starting to get worn out and make mistakes. That’s what’s happening in England. A survey shows 25% of doctors in the NHS are so tired that their ability to treat patients has become impaired. In at least seven cases, patients were actually harmed.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Brace yourself again, an honest admission from a government bureaucrat. The Director of the CDC told the Wall Street Journal the messaging and communication around the pandemic should have been clearer. She said, "I think what I have not conveyed is the uncertainty in a lot of these situations." </p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Going to the Winter Olympics in Beijing? No you’re not. Tickets won’t be sold to the general public in response to the pandemic. However, if you’re a friend of Communist Chinese authorities, you might still have tickets distributed to you. But even then, you have to be a resident of China's mainland and in compliance with COVID countermeasures.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>In the United States, cases were up 98%, deaths are up 57%, and hospitalizations are up 61% over 14 days. The 7-day average of new cases has been trending down since January 14.&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>The five states that had the most dai