Coronavirus vaccine and COVID variant updates for 12-29-2021

<p>The US Tuesday broke the previous record for most daily cases as infections accelerate. And most experts are saying Omicron is going to make for a very difficult January. One CNN medical analyst thinks the US could see half a million cases a day sometime over the next week to 10 days. The rate of booster doses has actually fallen in recent weeks. Only 32.7% of the U.S.’s fully vaccinated population is boosted.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>As it often has, the new CDC guidance around isolating and quarantining has left many Americans confused and many medical experts critical. They want to know why let people leave isolation without getting tested in the middle of a wintertime spike in cases. They think the answer might be pressure from the private sector.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Speaking of the CDC, it’s revised down its estimates for how many US infection are caused by Omicron. Revised it down by a lot. They now say it accounts for about 59% of all cases, not 73% like it said previously. Want some more good news? Another leading immunologist in the UK says Omicron is “not the same disease we were seeing a year ago” and high Covid death rates in the UK are “now history.” A small CDC study shows people who had Covid and later get reinfected with Omicron appear to experience fewer symptoms. And a special envoy for the World Health Organization says that in pandemics, the expected pattern is the virus becomes more transmissible but less serious, and Omicron might be a step toward our relatively safe coexistence with the virus.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>If you’re having trouble finding a rapid test to see if you have Omicron, don’t stress too much about it. The FDA says that when it comes to detecting the new variant, they’re more likely to give you a false negative anyway.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>So how do you know if you have a cold, the flu, or COVID? An attending physician at Children's National Hospital tells CNN the early signs are alike for all three. Flu symptoms include fever, fatigue, body aches, sore throat, shortness of breath a