The Vaccination Campaign

The Local Vaccination Campaign Total People Fully Vaccinated (two doses of Moderna or Pfizer or one dose of Johnson & Johnson) Massachusetts: 5,097,188 (up 14,877 from Thursday) Rhode Island: 832,237 (up 5,645 from Thursday) Reported changes from the last issue of this newsletter. View all vaccine news and numbers on Globe.com Top Stories: Vaccinations The CDC signed off on two measures for Pfizer's vaccine: shortening the amount of time between the second shot and the booster dose from six months to five and recommending that immunocompromised children ages 5 to 11 receive an additional dose.  Major hospital systems in Massachusetts announced Tuesday that staff members will be required to receive a COVID-19 booster shot.  Representative Ayanna Pressley tested positive for COVID-19 in a breakthrough case.

 

 

 

 

The Local Impact Massachusetts:  1,107,768 cases (up 69,202 from Thursday)  ·  19,954 deaths (up 181 from Thursday)  ·  2,372 hospitalizations (up 555 from Thursday) Rhode Island:  247,324 cases (up 16,228 from Thursday)  ·  3,096 deaths (up 30 from Thursday)  ·  382 hospitalizations (up 57 from Thursday) Reported increases or decreases from the last issue of this newsletter. Sources: Massachusetts Department of Public Health Rhode Island Department of Health View all COVID-19 news and numbers on Globe.com Top Stories: COVID-19 Impact Emergency room providers are warning they're "overwhelmed" by the virus following a holiday surge of COVID-19. Early education providers are concerned that rising COVID-19 cases in Massachusetts is threatening their ability to keep classrooms open.  With early data showing Omicron appears to cause only mild illness in some people, doctors are warning those with weakened immune systems, who don't respond as well to vaccines as healthy people, that the notion does not apply to them.  Vital public services and industries are bracing for the economic impact of the Omicron wave.

 

 

Across the US and Around the World US 512,665,013 vaccine doses administered 56,803,703 cases 829,351 deaths Sources: Johns Hopkins Centers for Disease Control and Prevention The Most and Least Vaccinated US States (% of population fully vaccinated) Top Ranked Vermont (77.7%) Rhode Island (76.8%) Maine (76%) Connecticut (74.9%) Massachusetts (74.8%) Bottom Ranked Idaho (46.3%) Wyoming (47.7%) Alabama (47.8%) Mississippi (48.7%) Louisiana (50.4%) Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Worldwide  9,246,727,667 vaccine doses administered 294,520,418 cases 5,454,874 deaths Source: Johns Hopkins  Top Stories: US and Worldwide New studies are providing a possible explanation for why cases of the Omicron variant appear to be less severe: it spares the lungs.  Scientists are predicting that the COVID-19 surge fueled by the Omicron variant could peak as soon as the middle of January.

 

 

What's Next The Food and Drug Administration on Monday allowed booster shots of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine to children ages 12 to 15. The CDC director is expected to decide whether they're recommended for the age group this week.