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Omicron pushes New York virus hospitalizations past 2021 peak

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More than 3,000 flights canceled Monday as airlines grapple with wintry weather, omicron variant
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FDA authorizes coronavirus vaccine boosters for 12-to-15-year-olds as schools reopen amid omicron surge
Omicron is the fifth coronavirus variant of concern and is spreading rapidly around the world. Here’s what we know. (Video: Luis Velarde/The Washington Post)
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Updated January 3, 2022 at 11:30 p.m. EST|Published January 3, 2022 at 4:16 a.m. EST

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The number of New Yorkers hospitalized with coronavirus infections topped 9,500 on Monday, surpassing the peak reached during last year’s winter wave, Gov. Kathy Hochul said.

The state — and especially New York City — is once again the epicenter of the pandemic, with the hyper-infectious omicron variant fueling a rapid rise in new cases and a pair of winter holidays providing the virus ample opportunity to spread through indoor gatherings.

“We’re not in a good place, I’m going to be really honest with you,” Hochul said. “This is the winter surge we predicted.”

The United States was averaging more than 400,000 new cases each day as of Monday, double the previous week’s rate, according to Washington Post data, and is expected to soon hit as many as 1 million cases per day. Anthony S. Fauci, the nation’s top infectious-disease expert, says the better way to track the variant’s impact is to look at growing hospitalizations. Speaking on ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday, Fauci said “the real bottom line that you want to be concerned about is: Are we getting protected by the vaccines from severe disease leading to hospitalization?”

More than 3,000 flights canceled Monday as airlines grapple with wintry weather, omicron variant
Key coronavirus updates from around the world
FDA authorizes coronavirus vaccine boosters for 12-to-15-year-olds as schools reopen amid omicron surge

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The number of New Yorkers hospitalized with coronavirus infections topped 9,500 on Monday, surpassing the peak reached during last year’s winter wave, Gov. Kathy Hochul said.
The Food and Drug Administration on Monday authorized booster shots of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine for 12-to-15-year-olds.
More than 3,000 flights were canceled Monday amid wintry weather and a rise in workers testing positive for the coronavirus, continuing days of air travel disruptions.
A federal judge granted a preliminary injunction blocking the Defense Department from taking action against a group of 35 Navy sailors who had refused to get a coronavirus vaccine.

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Coronavirus: What you need to know

Where do things stand? See the latest covid numbers in the U.S. and across the world. In the U.S., pandemic trends have shifted and now White people are more likely to die from covid than Black people.

The state of public health: Conservative and libertarian forces have defanged much of the nation’s public health system through legislation and litigation as the world staggers into the fourth year of covid.

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Would we shut down again? What will the United States do the next time a deadly virus comes knocking on the door?

Vaccines: The CDC recommends that everyone age 5 and older get an updated covid booster shot. New federal data shows adults who received the updated shots cut their risk of being hospitalized with covid-19 by 50 percent. Here’s guidance on when you should get the omicron booster and how vaccine efficacy could be affected by your prior infections.

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