Free Republic

In its evolutionary fight for survival, the COVID virus is switching strategies: It’s becoming a master at slipping past our immune systems. And that, say experts, is largely why we’re dealing with an unexpected surge. Powered by two mutations, new lineages of the omicron variant — called BA.2 and its more recent descendants BA.2.12.1, BA.4 and BA.5 — are increasing rates of vaccine breakthrough and reinfection, according to an analysis published Saturday by Trevor Bedford, a virologist at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, who studies the evolution of viruses.

There are 716 people currently hospitalized with COVID-19, up from 452 on July 16, officials said. The county also reported four new deaths, bringing the total to 24,628 fatalities since the pandemic began early last year. On Saturday, L.A. County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer warned that the Delta variant was "one of the most aggressive and infectious respiratory diseases known and currently makes up over 80% of sequenced cases in L.A. County." Although cases remain at a lower point than they have been during any of the previous surges, the rate of increase between July 3 and 16 was...

Austin-Travis County's top health authority on Friday requested that residents return to wearing masks as the area moved back into Stage 4 coronavirus guidelines, a sign of worsening pandemic conditions in Central Texas due to the presence of a highly contagious variant known as delta. Dr. Desmar Walkes, Austin-Travis County's health authority, announced the stricter recommendations after the weekly average of daily hospital admissions reached 35 Thursday night, the highest it had been since late February. "In just five months, we have evidenced four new variants of this virus," Walkes, who was joined by five other local doctors during a...

LAURENS, S.C. (WSPA) – City of Laurens Mayor Nathan Senn announced a healthcare emergency this week as Prisma Health Hospitals in the Upstate reach capacity, and said the National Guard has been called to assist what is becoming “a field medicine scenario.” In a recorded message, the mayor explained measures being taken at Laurens Hospital, saying the third floor has been converted to a surge area for COVID-19 patients to provide 29 extra beds. Workers are exploring other facilities to house patients, as critical care units are overflowing. “What we feared has now happened,” Senn said of hospitals being at...

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) urged residents on Monday to refrain from ringing in the new year with individuals outside of their household, pressing New Jerseyans to reduce celebrations and strictly adhere to coronavirus protocols, including masking up and practicing social distancing. “IMPORTANT: This New Year’s Eve, we urge you to keep to a small gathering of only your immediate household,” Murphy began, stating that the new year should begin with residents “staying vigilant” regarding the Chinese coronavirus by practicing social distancing, masking up, and handwashing:

The United States is sleepwalking into what could become the largest coronavirus outbreak of the pandemic so far. In the past week alone, as voters prepare to go to the ballot box, about one in every 1,000 Americans has tested positive for the virus, and about two in every 100,000 Americans have died of it. Today, the United States reported 73,103 new cases, the third-highest single-day total since the pandemic began, according to the COVID Tracking Project at The Atlantic.