U.S. breaks daily record for COVID-19 cases
On Tuesday, the record for daily coronavirus cases in the United States was shattered, as the seven-day average topped 267,000.
The previous record was set on Jan. 11, when the seven-day average was 251,232, The New York Times reports. Now, there are two highly contagious variants — Delta and Omicron — fueling surges across the United States, and hospitalizations are on the rise.
Scientists say early evidence is showing that Omicron causes milder symptoms, and vaccinations and booster shots protect against hospitalization. Still, because it spreads faster, public health experts are worried that so many more people will become infected and overwhelm hospitals that have been operating at the brink for nearly two years.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
On Monday, Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia all reported their highest number of COVID-19 cases of the pandemic, with D.C. recording nearly 1,000 percent more new cases over the last two weeks. Neil J. Sehgal, an assistant professor of health policy at the University of Maryland's School of Public Health, told the Times D.C. is "a marker for what we're likely to see in much of the rest of the country. A tidal wave in Omicron cases is likely to flood much of the country in the next month."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
FDA OKs generic abortion pill, riling the rightSpeed Read The drug in question is a generic version of mifepristone, used to carry out two-thirds of US abortions
-
The new Stratus Covid strain – and why it’s on the riseThe Explainer ‘No evidence’ new variant is more dangerous or that vaccines won’t work against it, say UK health experts
-
RFK Jr. vaccine panel advises restricting MMRV shotSpeed Read The committee voted to restrict access to a childhood vaccine against chickenpox
-
Texas declares end to measles outbreakSpeed Read The vaccine-preventable disease is still spreading in neighboring states, Mexico and Canada
-
RFK Jr. shuts down mRNA vaccine funding at agencySpeed Read The decision canceled or modified 22 projects, primarily for work on vaccines and therapeutics for respiratory viruses
-
Measles cases surge to 33-year highSpeed Read The infection was declared eliminated from the US in 2000 but has seen a resurgence amid vaccine hesitancy
-
Kennedy's vaccine panel signals skepticism, changeSpeed Read RFK Jr.'s new vaccine advisory board intends to make changes to the decades-old US immunization system
-
Kennedy ousts entire CDC vaccine advisory panelspeed read Health Secretary RFK Jr. is a longtime anti-vaccine activist who has criticized the panel of experts



