MSDH Addresses Omicron Wave, Hospitalizations, CDC Guidelines
The omicron wave is now sweeping over Mississippi, with cases skyrocketing and more concerning indicators, like hospitalizations, rising behind them.
The omicron wave is now sweeping over Mississippi, with cases skyrocketing and more concerning indicators, like hospitalizations, rising behind them.
Mississippi is now in the early stages of the predicted surge of the omicron variant of coronavirus, with the Mississippi State Department of Health announcing 7,058 new cases of COVID-19 over the long Christmas holiday.
A child has died of an influenza infection for the first time since May 2020, the Mississippi State Health Department reported this week. The state reported two child deaths from influenza in 2020, but flu activity levels plummeted as residents followed social-distancing guidelines in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mississippi thus far has avoided the dramatic uptick in new cases that countries like the United Kingdom and South Africa have faced from the omicron variant of coronavirus, but state health leadership is encouraging residents to remain vigilant after detecting the variant in Mississippi.
Mississippi’s daily average COVID-19 caseload is now at its highest point since late October. Today, Dec. 9, 2021, the Mississippi State Department of Health reported 745 new cases, marking the second day in a row with more than 700 cases.
The Mississippi State Department of Health has detected the first case of the omicron variant of COVID-19 in Mississippi. Health officials discovered the variant in a fully vaccinated individual who returned to Mississippi from New York, where earlier cases of the variant have been reported, but MSDH could not confirm where the infected individual acquired the virus.
“COVID hospitalization on the rise and most older Mississippians un-boosted,” State Health Officer Thomas Dobbs wrote on Tuesday. “Booster doses (are) especially important for Mississippians 65+ or with any medical condition.”
With the holiday season arriving and Thanksgiving imminent, public-health officials are encouraging Mississippians to gather responsibly and avoid spreading COVID-19, using a combination of vaccination, testing and other safety precautions to limit the threat of family transmission of the virus.
In a court filing, the Biden administration is warning that the Mississippi-backed lawsuit asking courts to block enforcement of the president’s employer COVID-19 vaccine mandate “would likely cost dozens or even hundreds of lives per day.”
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