Merkel: Virus death toll 'so bitter because it is avoidable'
4 December 2021 - Outgoing Chancellor Angela Merkel on Saturday made what is likely her final appeal before leaving office next week for Germans to get vaccinated against COVID-19. ... The number of unvaccinated residents has been blamed as a key factor in a surge of new virus cases in recent weeks. Official figures suggest that the infection rate may now be stabilizing, but at too high a level. ... Another 378 deaths in 24 hours brought Germany's total in the pandemic to 102,946. 'Every one of them leaves behind families or friends, stunned, speechless and helpless,' Merkel said in her video message. 'This is so bitter because it is avoidable. With the effective and safe vaccines, we have the key to this in our hands.' (more)

South Korea sets daily records for new coronavirus cases, deaths
4 December 2021 - South Korea again broke its daily records for coronavirus infections and deaths and confirmed three more cases of the new omicron variant as officials scramble to tighten social distancing and border controls. The 5,352 new cases reported by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency on Saturday [4 December] marked the third time this week the daily tally exceeded 5,000. (more)

New data suggests 1 in 44 US children affected by autism
3 December 2021 - New autism numbers released Thursday [2 December] suggest more U.S. children are being diagnosed with the developmental condition and at younger ages. In an analysis of 2018 data from nearly a dozen states, researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that among 8-year-olds, 1 in 44 had been diagnosed with autism. That rate compares with 1 in 54 identified with autism in 2016. (more)

US: 3rd military medical team sent to Michigan amid COVID surge
2 December 2021 - A third 22-member medical team from the U.S. military is being deployed to Michigan, where hospitals are grappling with record-high numbers of COVID-19 patients amid the state's fourth surge of infections. ... More than 4,500 people, most of them unvaccinated, were hospitalized in Michigan with confirmed or suspected coronavirus cases as of Wednesday [1 December]. The 4,269 adults with confirmed infection surpassed the state's previous pandemic high that was reported two days earlier. (more)

US: What's behind the 'dire' COVID-19 surge in Michigan?
2 December 2021 - Michigan is in the midst of its fourth COVID-19 wave -- and there is no end in sight, hospital officials said. Cases and hospitalizations are rivaling levels seen in earlier parts of the pandemic, when vaccines weren't widely available. The surge also comes at a time when non-COVID-19-related patients are being admitted, flu cases are emerging, and health systems are understaffed, Brian Peters, CEO of the Michigan Health and Hospital Association, told ABC News. (more)

US: COVID-19 hospitalizations reach record high in Michigan
1 December 2021 - Michigan's number of hospitalized adults with confirmed COVID-19 cases reached a new pandemic high Monday [29 November], nearing 4,200 as the state continued to confront surging infections. More than one-fifth of COVID patients in Michigan hospitals were in intensive care. Only Minnesota had a higher seven-day rate of new infections than Michigan, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. ... The federal government has deployed 44 military medical staffers to help hospitals in Grand Rapids and Dearborn. (more)

Omicron brings COVID-19 vaccine inequity 'home to roost'
30 November 2021 - The emergence of the new omicron variant and the world's desperate and likely futile attempts to keep it at bay are reminders of what scientists have warned for months: The coronavirus will thrive as long as vast parts of the world lack vaccines. (more)

COVID: Dozens test positive on SA-Netherlands flights
27 November 2021 - Sixty-one people who arrived in Amsterdam [Friday 26 November] on two flights from South Africa have tested positive for COVID-19, Dutch officials say. They were among some 600 passengers held for several hours after arrival while they were tested for the virus. The Dutch authorities are carrying out further testing to see if there are any cases of Omicron, named on Friday [26 November] as a variant of concern by the WHO. (more)