‘Covid-19 need no longer control our lives.’ Biden outlines plan to emerge from the pandemic

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In the face of waning protection, boosters are key in helping to push the coronavirus to an endemic disease instead of causing pandemic-levels of infection, Andy Pekosz, Professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, told CNN.

“Thanks to the progress we have made this past year, Covid-19 need no longer control our lives,” Biden said as he acknowledged that Americans are “tired, frustrated, and exhausted” with the pandemic. 

Covid-19 cases are falling in the US, but numbers are still very high. More than 1,600 people are dying of the virus every day, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) seven-day average of new deaths, as the US closes in on the milestone of one million total Covid-19-related deaths. 

Despite that, Biden highlighted the CDC’s recently updated mask guidelines, which show that “most Americans in most of the country can now be mask free,” CNN’s Maegan Vazquez reports. 

Here are the main takeaways: 

YOU ASKED. WE ANSWERED.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices will meet Friday to discuss expanding booster eligibility for Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine, a CDC spokesperson told CNN Tuesday. CDC’s vaccine advisers typically meet only once a vaccine has received authorization from the FDA.  

A: In the case of Omicron, what initially raised alarms for doctors and scientists in South Africa was the rapid rate of spread of this new variant, according to CNN Medical Analyst Dr. Leana Wen. 

If your child continues to be concerned, you could still have them mask – even if others around them are not, says CNN’s Medical Analyst, Dr. Leana Wen. 

“Ease into social and extracurricular activities. Don’t start with the school dance with hundreds of people in a room, but rather with a playdate or birthday party with two or three good friends,” she added. 

Send your questions here. Are you a health care worker fighting Covid-19? Message us on WhatsApp about the challenges you’re facing: +1 347-322-0415.

READS OF THE WEEK

Hong Kong struggles with Covid as the world moves on 

Hong Kong is mulling a full lockdown due to an Omicron-fueled surge that has pushed hospitals and morgues to the limit. As many countries in the world choose to live with the virus, Hong Kong’s strict zero-Covid policy bans contact between Covid-19 patients and their immediate families who do not test positive. 

Fighting back tears, Hong Kong residents Laura and Nick struggle to comfort their sobbing 11-month-old daughter, Ava, through a phone screen. They were barred from visiting Ava at Hong Kong’s Queen Mary Hospital, where the infant is recovering from Covid-19 after testing positive last Monday, CNN’s Kristie Lu Stout, Jadyn Sham, Rhea Mogul, Teele Rebane and Lizzy Yee report. 

But after widespread outrage, Laura and Nick were reunited with Ava four days later, leaving government quarantine as a family a week after their ordeal began on Monday. Despite the happy reunion, the US Department of State updated its travel advisory for Hong Kong on Wednesday, asking citizens to reconsider travel to the city “due to arbitrary enforcement of local laws.”

But being stuck in the Olympic closed loop – a system of multiple bubbles, including venues, conference centers and hotels, designed to keep arrivals isolated from the general population – has prevented Wang from experiencing the Beijing she knows, and hugging her grandmother. In this piece, she explores the sacrifices people have made to be part of the Olympics.  

At least 5.2 million children globally have lost a parent, grandparent or family member who helped care for them to Covid-19, according to a new study, which the authors describe as a “heartbreaking hidden pandemic.” 

The study, published in the medical journal The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health, looked at Covid-19 mortality data from 21 countries from the start of the pandemic through October 2021 and estimated the number of children who lost a parent or caregiver, Jen Christensen reports. 

Of the children who lost their parents, three out of four lost their fathers. Preteens and teens were the most likely to be orphaned, with two out of three children who lost a parent being adolescents. While beyond the scope of the study, real-time data using the same model suggests the number of kids who lost a parent or caregiver is around 6.7 million as of January – outpacing the current total number of Covid-19 deaths of more than 5.9 million. 

The Duchess is triple vaccinated and will continue to follow all government guidelines and review engagements on that basis, a royal source said.

Plummeting Covid-19 case counts across the US have led to the lifting of mask mandates and more conversations about steps toward normality – but more people are dying of the coronavirus now than during most of the pandemic, Deidre McPhillips reports. 

A common refrain early in the pandemic was that Covid-19 was most deadly for the elderly and people with certain health conditions. The people dying from the virus now tend to be younger than before, and they’re overwhelmingly unvaccinated, experts say. 

Experts also worry that social determinants of health are starting to play a larger role in who becomes seriously ill and dies from the virus. Extremely high transmission rates mean the virus is reaching everyone, said Dr. Faisal Masud, director of the critical care center at Houston Methodist hospital. But it’s hitting those from disadvantaged neighborhoods especially hard. These are the people who are more likely to be uninsured and who may delay care, leaving chronic conditions such as diabetes and hypertension untreated. 

TOP TIP

Unfortunately, there is no one-size-fits-all solution to replacing the precious document. Here are some options (and advice about things that don’t work). 

The CDC recommends Covid-19 testing: 

Most importantly, Mina said, access to testing is “absolutely crucial to get treatment fast.” Read more here. 

TODAY’S PODCAST

In today’s episode, CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta heads into the kitchen to explore how food can be a powerful tonic for our bodies and minds. Listen Now.