Coronavirus weekly need-to-know: ‘stealth’ omicron, free COVID tests, face masks & more
In the United States, more than 79.5 million people have tested positive for coronavirus as of Saturday, March 12, according to Johns Hopkins University, as cases continue to go down.
To date, more than 967,000 Americans have died, including about 7,000 since last week. Worldwide, there have been more than 455 million confirmed cases of COVID-19.
Additionally, over 6 million have died from the virus globally. Roughly 216 million people in the U.S. are fully vaccinated as of March 11 — 65.2% of the population — and 95 million of those people have gotten a booster shot, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data.
Currently, “more than 98% of the U.S. population is in a location with low or medium COVID-19 Community Level,” the agency says as of March 10. This means roughly 2% of Americans reside in an area with a high COVID-19 Community level. For them, it’s recommended to wear a mask while indoors in public
The CDC reports the weekly average of COVID-19 cases has dropped nationwide as of March 2. Cases are 28.5% lower compared to the prior week’s average, according to the agency’s data tracking. The omicron variant continues to dominate positive U.S. cases, including its subvariants, for the week ending March 5.
Here’s what happened between March 6 and 11:
‘Stealth’ omicron cases are doubling in US, data shows. Is it a cause for concern?
As mask mandates lift in most states and coronavirus cases continue to drop, the “stealth” omicron subvariant, BA.2, is becoming more prevalent in the United States.
But what does this mean and is it a reason to worry amid easing virus restrictions?
Cases of this particular omicron subvariant, one of a few, keep popping up and have roughly doubled the past few weeks in the U.S., according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data estimates. It now makes up 11.6% of overall virus cases as of March 5 since it began doubling as of Feb. 5.
“All in all, I think we’re really gonna be okay and I don’t think BA.2 is gonna be problematic like omicron,” Dr. Thomas Russo, an infectious disease doctor and professor and chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases at the University of Buffalo, told McClatchy News over the phone. He referenced the omicron COVID-19 wave that hit after its discovery in November.
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You can now order another set of free COVID test kits. How to request yours
You can now request another round of free COVID-19 test kits online.
People in the U.S. who already ordered the at-home kits can now get more sent to their homes, President Joe Biden said in a video posted to Twitter on March 7.
If you haven’t ordered tests for your household, the change also allows you to order two sets of them at the same time, the Biden administration told McClatchy News in an email. Each set comes with four tests.
Here’s what to know:
Unvaccinated pastor removed over ‘serious disobedience’ of COVID rules, VT bishop says
A pastor who rejected his bishop’s directive to get vaccinated against COVID-19 can no longer preside at a church in Vermont due to “his serious disobedience and disrespect,” the bishop said.
The pastor initially told the bishop he wouldn’t follow the parish’s COVID-19 policy, which required unvaccinated clergy to wear a mask and get tested for the virus every other week, after it was announced in September, the National Catholic Register reported.
Months later, Father Peter Williams has been removed from serving at Holy Family Parish in Springfield after he “first made this matter public,” Bishop Christopher Coyne of the Diocese of Burlington wrote in a March 8 letter.
“Please know that I did not make this decision lightly nor with any personal feelings in the matter,” Coyne added.
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Catching COVID might cause brain shrinkage in some people, new study finds. Here’s how
Along with losing your sense of smell and taste, a new study suggests that catching COVID-19 could also impact your memory – and even potentially reduce the size of your brain.
A new peer-reviewed study published on March 7 by researchers in the journal Nature shows that COVID-19 could lead to “brain-related abnormalities.”
But experts warn more research is needed to determine what long-term implications, if any, there could be for affected patients.
“To make a conclusion that this has some long-term clinical implications for the patients I think is a stretch,” Dr. Serena Spudich, chief of neurological infections and global neurology at the Yale School of Medicine, who was not involved in the study, told the New York Times.
Keep reading about the study:
Don’t ditch your face masks, experts say. What to know as COVID rules change
Yes, many mask mandates are ending in the United States as COVID-19 cases continue to drop — but there’s still a pandemic.
Some health experts say you should keep your face masks for a few reasons, even if they aren’t required in most places.
“People should hold on to their masks and KN/N95 respirators. The pandemic may be easing up in most areas of the U.S., but we’ve been here before,” Dr. Sheela Shenoi, an infectious disease doctor and assistant professor at Yale School of Medicine, told McClatchy News in a statement.
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His COVID loan paid for a $57,000 Pokemon card, feds say. Now GA man is prison bound
A 31-year-old man accused of blowing his coronavirus relief loan on a collector’s Pokemon card will spend the next three years in prison after he pleaded guilty to felony fraud charges in Georgia.
Vinath Oudomsine was sentenced to 36 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Georgia said in a news release on Monday, March 7. He was also ordered to pay $85,000 in restitution — the total value of the Economic Injury Disaster Loan he received as part of the alleged scheme.
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, also known as the CARES Act, was passed in March 2020 and expanded eligibility and waived certain requirements for businesses applying to the EIDL program.
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Missouri chiropractor defies feds to tout his vitamins over COVID vaccine, faces fine
The federal government is ordering a chiropractor and radio show host to stop making claims that his vitamins are more effective than a COVID-19 vaccine, or the Missouri man must pay up.
According to a March 4 filing by the Federal Trade Commission, chiropractor Eric Nepute has been violating an order requiring him to cease advertising his Vitamin D and zinc supplements falsely. He says the vitamins can treat and prevent coronavirus more effectively than vaccines.
Nepute’s lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment from McClatchy News.
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Reporters Simone Jasper, Cassandre Coyer, Hayley Fowler, and Mariah Rush also contributed to this report.
This story was originally published March 11, 2022 at 4:10 AM with the headline "Coronavirus weekly need-to-know: ‘stealth’ omicron, free COVID tests, face masks & more."
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