The White House this week published its Winter COVID Preparedness Plan ahead of the expected uptick in cases as the cold weather drives people indoors.
The plan includes:
- Expanding access to free COVID-19 testing options in the winter. This includes allowing U.S. households to order a total of four at-home COVID-19 tests that will be mailed directly to them for free.
- Making vaccinations and treatments readily available as cases rise, including offering resources and assistance to increase vaccinations and respond to a possible surge.
- Preparing personnel and resources, meaning readying clinical personnel for deployment as needed, and pre-positioning critical supplies from the Strategic National Stockpile.
- Focusing on protecting the highest-risk Americans, with a special focus on nursing homes and long-term care facilities.
The Centers for Disease Control this week reported a 2.3% jump in the number of patients newly admitted to the hospital for COVID-19 — averaging 5,010 between December 7 to 13. This is still 76.7% off the peak number of hospitalizations witnessed during the original Omicron-fueled wave that swept through the country in early January.
The total for new cases this week was 455,466, deaths are at 2,703, and the daily average for hospitalizations is at 5,014. Just 68.9% of the population are fully vaccinated, and only 35.7% of those aged over 65 years old have received a second booster shot.
This comes as there have been 650,991,151 confirmed cases of COVID-19 globally, and the number of people killed by the coronavirus now stands at
6,658,635.
