Coronavirus vaccine and COVID variant updates for 12-30-2021

<p>This is Vaccine 411, the latest coronavirus vaccine information for December 30th, 2021.</p><br><p>Whoops. Germany’s health minister said their infection rate is likely two to three times higher than the statistics that have been reported. He said there’s a shortfall in staff that becomes particularly noticeable over holiday periods at local health offices, and that’s a key part of Germany's reporting chain.</p><br><p>France is taking the record-breaking surge seriously, increasing the pressure on the unvaccinated. The plan is to banish them from, well, society. Restaurants, cinemas, theaters, museums, and sports arenas, inter-regional trains and buses, and domestic flights. More than 4 million adults there remain unvaccinated, including more than 1 million who are over 65.</p><br><p>Will France’s strategy work? Let’s look at China, which has a zero-tolerance policy toward the virus and a population that’s in virtual total compliance. Cases rose for the fourth day in a row in the city of Xi’an, where 13 million people have been living under a comprehensive lockdown.</p><br><p>And again, all this over a variant that is by nearly all reporting, mild, with symptoms akin to allergies. The CDC Director said COVID deaths and hospitalizations are comparatively low given how fast and broad Omicron has spread. And Dr. Anthony Fauci agrees.</p><br><p>Let’s check in with those unvaccinated folks and get the latest on why they aren’t getting it. A new Census Bureau poll shows most, nearly half, are worried about potential side effects. Not trusting the vaccines and not trusting the government were also among the top reasons. And, being the Census Bureau, they broke down the demographics of the unvaccinated. 75% are under age 50. The unvaccinated also tend to have lower levels of education, be single, and African-American.&nbsp;</p><br><p>In the United States, while cases were up 153% and breaking records, deaths are down 7%, and hospitalizations are up 11% over 14 days. The 7-day average of new cases has been trending up