Hello,
Welcome to Insider Healthcare. I'm healthcare editor Leah Rosenbaum, and today in healthcare news:
- COVID-19 cases are on the rise again in the US;
- Dr. Fauci says early data on the Omicron variant is encouraging;
- A recent event in Denmark highlights Omicron's spread.
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A medical team member holds up a used swab.Leon Neal/Getty Images COVID-19 cases are back on the rise in the US, with more than 100,000 new cases per day
- New COVID-19 cases have reached their highest levels since October, according to the CDC.
- The 7-day average rolling as of December 3 was reported at 106,132 new cases.
- The spike in cases comes as the US continues to grapple with the Delta variant and is bracing for the newest Omicron variant's spread.
Dr. Anthony Fauci testifies before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, on Capitol Hill in Washington, on July 20, 2021.J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo
- Anthony Fauci said on Sunday that South Africa's initial data on Omicron was "a bit encouraging."
- But he added that it was too early to determine whether the new variant was less deadly than Delta.
- Boosters were "critical" for the US to handle both variants, Fauci said.
A healthcare worker conducts a COVID-19 test on a traveller at OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg, South Africa.Phill Magakoe/AFP via Getty Images
- 64 of 150 people tested positive for Omicron after a Christmas lunch, authorities told Insider.
- More than 1,000 more were potentially exposed after the November 27 event, Danish officials said.
- It is not yet clear how transmissible Omicron is or whether it causes more severe symptoms.
More stories we're reading:
- Ten COVID-19 cases were detected on a Norwegian Cruise Line ship as it headed to port in New Orleans (Insider)
- Here's what we know about treating COVID-19, two years into the pandemic (The Wall Street Journal)
- 3D-printed suicide pods are now legal in Switzerland (Insider)
- Inside the CDC's new pandemic prediction division (New York Times)
-Leah
Read the original article on Business Insider