First case of omicron variant in Alabama has been confirmed
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama confirmed its first case of the omicron variant of the coronavirus Thursday, a development that was expected as the latest mutation spreads in the United States, the state health officer said.
State Health Officer Scott Harris said Alabama officials had presumed the variant was already in Alabama since it had been confirmed in neighboring states and much of the country.
“The No. 1 message remains get vaccinated. That is the single best thing you can do to protect yourself,” Harris said, adding that people who are eligible should also get a booster.
Harris said reports that omicron causes less severe illness are, “encouraging if that is true” but cautioned that scientists are still learning about the new variant.
Alabama in recent days has seen a slight increase in cases and hospitalizations, and health officials say delta for now remains the dominant variant in the state.
“They are beginning to tick up,” Harris said, adding that the rise is primarily caused by unvaccinated people.
The seven-day rolling average of daily new cases in Alabama has risen over the past two weeks from 303 on Nov. 29 to 542 on Dec. 13, according to researchers at Johns Hopkins University. However, that is well below the two pandemic peaks when the state was reporting as many as 4,000 new cases per day.
Dr. Don Williamson, the former state health officer who now heads the Alabama Hospital Association, said the state has seen a slight uptick in the number of people hospitalized with COVID-19. The number had dropped under 300 in late November, but on Wednesday there were 378 people with COVID-19 in state hospitals, according to numbers reported to the Alabama Department of Public Health.
That is a fraction of the hospitalizations that occurred during the previous two peaks, when about 3,000 people were hospitalized.
“It is trending up. I wouldn’t call it a spike yet,” Williamson said. “Everything tells me we are in an upslope of another increase. How high is it going to be? That we don’t know.”
Williamson said a key question is what happens when omicron goes from a “negligible impact to being the dominant variant.”
Williamson said Thanksgiving gatherings, in a population with a low vaccination rate, might have driven some of the current uptick.
“People traveled more. People got together more, and more of the gatherings are indoors, and that is going to drive more spread of the disease in a population where still less than 50% have had two doses,” he said.
Taiwan votes to decide whether to oust lawmakers from China-friendly party
Taiwanese were voting Saturday to determine whether to oust about one-fifth of their lawmakers, in elections that could potentially reshape the power balance in the self-ruled island's legislature.
Has the Billboard Hot 100 caught the Holy Ghost?
Brittany dives into the economy behind Christian contemporary music
Arizona woman to serve 8 years for identity theft scheme benefiting North Korea
Christina Chapman was sentenced to prison this week for her role in a scheme that the DOJ said used stolen American identities in order to help illegally employ North Koreans in U.S. companies.
Lawmakers seek to ban federal agents from wearing masks
ICE says its employees have good reasons to hide their faces from protesters who want to dox them online, but Democrats say masked federal agents evokes "secret police," and the practice should be banned.
Independent grocery stores have had a tough five years. SNAP cuts will make it harder
The bulk of sales for many independent grocers come from SNAP. Cuts to the program could leave some making hard decisions about their future.
Education Department says it’s releasing more than $5 billion in frozen grants
The grants fund a wide range of education programs, including migrant education, services for English language learners and adult education.