Covid cases have jumped over 50% in the past two weeks

Plus: Canada’s Covid entry rules are changing (again)

Over the last two weeks, new daily Covid cases have risen by over 50%, but so far hospitalizations remain near all-time lows for the pandemic. This combination has led White House Covid-19 advisor Dr. Ashish Jha to encourage “care and caution, but not overreacting.” Though the number of new cases has jumped, the rate of daily new cases is still far below their peak last January. Jha notes that because there are vaccines and new drugs to treat Covid, infections “"mean something different now than they did a year ago.” That said, the country saww around 1,600 new Covid hospitalizations per day, an 11% jump from the week prior. Of particular concern is the fact that the more infectious BA.2 omicron subvariant now comprises about 75% of the cases in the United States, and 42 states are now reporting rises in Covid infections. Time will tell what this means for the overall course of the pandemic.   

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What Else We Are Reading

• White House’s Jen Psaki offered a binder full of Covid spending details. Taking a peek was a process (Stat)

• Serum Institute CEO, head of world's biggest vaccine maker, says Covid shot production was halted in December (Endpoints News)

• Texas Democrat Beto O’Rourke tests positive for COVID-19 (AP)