A surge in cases - and in holiday travel

Plus: Omicron now comprises 73% of new U.S. Covid cases

The CEO of United Airlines said today that the next two weeks will be the busiest the airline has seen since the pandemic began. There’s been no drop-off on domestic travel and projections suggest holiday travel will surge compared to 2020. That said, there may be some obstacles to those who want to travel over the holidays - rising Covid cases have led many Broadway productions to close their doors. The CDC has added still more countries to its list of those to avoid travel to, while Israel has banned people from traveling from the U.S. and other countries have banned travel from the U.K. and South Africa (despite the fact that such bans might do more harm than good).

For those of you who are traveling, don’t forget that you will need to wear a mask on planes and trains, and that many cities are reinstituting indoor mask mandates. That, combined with getting vaccinated and a booster shot, says NIAID head Dr. Anthony Fauci, should keep your risk pretty low. “If you're vaccinated and you're boosted and you take care when you go into congregate settings like airports to make sure you continually wear your mask, you should be okay,” he said on ABC over the weekend. One thing you definitely want to be cautious about as you travel is being lax in your procedures. Just ask Southwest CEO Gary Kelly - just a day after he told Congress he thought masks weren’t needed for air travel, he tested positive for Covid-19. 

Do you have comments or questions? Email us at health@forbes.com

More Covid News

Stocks tumbled today after a slew of negative headlines over the weekend extended a two-day sell off, with surging Covid-19 infections sparked by the omicron variant threatening to stifle the economic recovery… but in good economic news, in-person retail traffic for the Saturday before Christmas was up 19.4% this year compared to 2020.  

The European Union’s drug regulator authorized the Novavax Covid-19 vaccine—long hyped as a highly effective alternative to the mRNA vaccines—for use in adults in the 27-nation bloc.

The medical device industry has rebounded this year from one of its worst periods ever as the Covid-19 pandemic triggered major sales losses in 2020.

Four dozen passengers and crew tested positive for Covid on a Royal Caribbean Cruise, one in a series of cruises that have seen dozens of people on board infected. 

Former President Donald Trump revealed at an event Sunday night that he's received a Covid-19 vaccine booster shot–after previously saying he “probably” would not.

As some New Yorkers waited in hours-long lines to get tested for Covid-19 last week, outgoing New York Mayor Bill de Blasio announced new testing sites will be opening up.

Dr. Anthony Fauci touted Pfizer’s soon-to-be approved Covid-19 antiviral pill as “very important” for ending the pandemic, but warned that it won’t be widely available for several months

Starting early next year, Boston will require that patrons of indoor restaurants, gyms and entertainment venues show proof of Covid vaccination. Forbes is tracking all the cities with similar vaccine requirements here. 

What Else We Are Reading

• Across US, houses of worship struggle to rebuild attendance (Religion News)

• How Long Does Omicron Take to Make You Sick? (The Atlantic)

• US ships out all remaining supplies of the only Covid treatment that works against Omicron (Endpoints News)