The U.S. reported 121,235 COVID-19 hospitalizations and 22,592 people in critical care Dec. 29 — the highest figures seen during the pandemic, according to data from The COVID Tracking Project.
Public Health
Minneapolis-based M Health Fairview will close the emergency department at St. Joseph's Hospital in St. Paul, Minn., on Dec. 30, according to the Star Tribune.
The portion of Americans who say they're willing to get vaccinated against COVID-19 has grown since earlier polls in the summer, The New York Times reports.
Flu activity is unusually low but may increase in the coming months, according to the CDC's FluView report for the week ending Dec. 19.
COVID-19 patients may maintain immunity to the virus for up to eight months after initial infection, according to two studies published Dec. 22.
The COVID-19 pandemic has drawn unparalleled attention to the critical role of lab testing.
Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna's COVID-19 vaccines will likely hold up against the fast-spreading variant first detected in the U.K., reports CBS News.
The U.S. surpassed 19 million COVID-19 cases Dec. 26, which means at least 1 in 17 Americans have contracted the virus, according to The New York Times.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio is deploying deputies to visit the home or hotel of every traveler coming into the city from the United Kingdom to ensure they are complying with a 14-day quarantine.
Antarctica reported 36 COVID-19 cases after nearly a year of remaining untouched by the novel virus, The New York Times reports. The positive cases officially mark COVID-19's presence in every continent.