Vaccinations at highest point in over 6 months

Plus: New Zealand’s largest city reopens

Yesterday, Covid-19 vaccinations reached their highest single day total in over six months, according to the CDC. This happened as multiple states reported cases of the new omicron variant in their borders. About half of the 2.18 million doses administered were booster shots, with about a third getting their first dose of the vaccine. Vaccinations have been on the rise since Thanksgiving and have veered upward since the omicron variant was first identified. That 2.18 million number, however, is still short of the peak of 3.4 million seen in April. Only 60% of Americans are fully vaccinated, and new daily cases have been creeping upward again since late October. The U.S. is now once again seeing more than 100,000 new cases daily.

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More Covid News

Though unemployment fell to its lowest level in nearly two years, the U.S. added back a worse-than-expected 210,000 jobs in November. 

Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James has been cleared to return to play after additional testing suggested that an initial test showing he had Covid-19 was a false positive.

Google has pushed back its January 10 timeline to begin a hybrid work model for employees amid uncertainties about the omicron variant.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Antonio Brown and two other NFL players will be suspended for three games for misrepresenting their Covid-19 vaccination status.

What Else We Are Reading

• Omicron is supercharging the COVID vaccine booster debate (Nature)

• How the Omicron Variant Got So Many Scary Mutations So Quickly (Scientific American)

• Colleges prepare for unknowns with omicron variant (Washington Post)