COVID-19 Timeline: December 2021
October 3, 2022
At Bioethics.com we have kept up with the spread of COVID-19 and the related bioethical questions that this pandemic brings. The posts that follow highlight news from December 2021 and were originally posted at Bioethics.com. These posts focus on the bioethical issues that medical professionals, bioethicists, public health officials, and scientists grappled with as SARS-CoV-2 swept the globe.
Dec 1: “US Reports 1st Case of Omicron Variant in Returning Traveler” by Zeke Miller, Olga R. Rodriguez and Michael Balsamo, Associated Press
The U.S. recorded its first confirmed case of the omicron variant Wednesday — in a vaccinated traveler who returned to California after a trip to South Africa — as scientists around the world race to establish whether the new, mutant version of the coronavirus is more dangerous than previous ones.
Dec 1: “Mysteries of Omicron Variant Could Take Weeks to Untangle” by Lauran Neergaard and Laura Ungar, Associated Press
A pandemic-weary world faces weeks of confusing uncertainty as countries restrict travel and take other steps to halt the newest potentially risky coronavirus mutant before anyone knows just how dangerous omicron really is.
Dec 1: “Severe COVID-19 Doubles Risk of Dying in Following Year: Study” by Carolyn Crist, Medscape
Patients who survive a severe case of COVID-19 are more than twice as likely to die during the following year than those who have mild symptoms and those who haven’t been infected, according to a new study published Wednesday in the journal Frontiers in Medicine.
Dec 1: “A Different Kind of COVID Vaccine Is About Ready to Roll” by Joe Palca, NPR
These new vaccines are what’s called protein subunit vaccines. They work by injecting people with a tiny portion of the virus. In the case of the COVID-19 vaccine, that tiny portion is the so-called spike protein critical for the virus to enter cells.
Dec 1: “Meta Removes Accounts Linked to COVID Disinformation Effort by China” by Shawna Chen, Axios
Meta announced Wednesday it has removed over 600 Facebook and Instagram accounts linked to a Chinese influence operation that claimed the U.S. was pressuring the World Health Organization (WHO) to blame COVID on China.
Dec 2: “Moderna Loses Patent Battles Tied to COVID Vaccine” by Bob Herman, Axios
A federal appeals court on Wednesday dismissed two patent challenges from Moderna over key components involved in making its COVID-19 vaccine.
Dec 2: “Omicron Is Supercharging the COVID Vaccine Booster Debate” by Elie Dolgin, Nature
The evidence is in: booster jabs against COVID-19 do provide an extra layer of protection against the illness. But questions still swirl over how much they’ll help and how often they’ll be needed — and the discovery of the Omicron variant has supercharged the debate over their role.
Dec 2: “Hospitals Refused to Give Patients Ivermectin. Lockdowns and Political Pressure Followed.” by Matt Volz, Kaiser Health News
Even before the pandemic, the health care and social assistance industry — which includes residential care facilities and child day care, among other services — led all U.S. industries in nonfatal workplace violence, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Dec 3: “COVID Cases Surge in South Africa in Sign Omicron Wave Is Coming” by Dave Lawler, Axios
South Africa alerted the world to the Omicron variant. Now data out of South Africa may serve as a warning of what we’re facing.
Dec 3: “South Africa Data Suggests Omicron Gets Around Some, Not All Immunity” by Promit Mukherjee and Estelle Shirbon, Reuters, re-posted at Medscape
The Omicron variant appears able to get around some immunity but vaccines should still offer protection against severe disease, according to the latest data from South Africa where it is fast overtaking Delta to become the dominant variant.
Dec 3: “Unvaccinated Nevada State Workers to Pay Insurance Surcharge” by Sam Metz, ABC News
Nevada will be the first state to charge state workers enrolled in public employee health insurance plans a surcharge if they aren’t vaccinated.
Dec 3: “We Opened the Schools And…It Was Fine” The Atlantic
By the start of the next school year, vaccines were widely available for anyone age 12 or older. And many schools that reopened were able to implement measures that other institutions struggled with.
Dec 6: “Two Years of COVID-19” by Dave Lawler, Axios
Two years ago Wednesday, the first case of a mysterious new respiratory disease was discovered in Wuhan, China. Now, the Omicron variant has deepened concerns about just how much longer the coronavirus pandemic will last.
Dec 6: “New York City Orders a ‘1st-in-the-Nation’ Vaccine Mandate for Private Companies” by Nell Clark, NPR
New York City will implement new measures meant to head off the worsening coronavirus surge, including what its mayor says will be a “first-in-the-nation” vaccine mandate for all private-sector workers to take effect Dec. 27.
Dec 6: “Omicron Is Fast Moving, But Perhaps Less Severe, Early Reports Suggest” by Lynsey Chutel, Richard Perez-Pena and Emily Anthes, The New York Times
The Covid-19 virus is spreading faster than ever in South Africa, the country’s president said Monday, an indication of how the new Omicron variant is driving the pandemic, but there are early indications that Omicron may cause less serious illness than other forms of the virus.
Dec 7: “Post-Booster Breakthrough Covid-19 Cases Are Happening, But Rarely” by Sumathi Reddy, The Wall Street Journal
Boosters are now rolling out more widely across the country. So far, doctors say they are seeing few cases of infections in people who have received a booster.
Dec 7: “Reassuring Data on Rare Myocarditis After COVID-19 Vaccination” by Megan Brooks, Medscape
Adolescents and adults younger than age 21 who develop myocarditis after mRNA COVID-19 vaccination frequently have abnormal findings on cardiac MRI (cMRI) but most have a mild clinical course with rapid resolution of symptoms, a new study concludes.
Dec 8: “A First, Small Study Suggests Omicron Is a Larger Threat to Covid-19 Immunity Than Other Variants” by Andrew Joseph and Helen Branswell, STAT News
A small, preliminary study has found a significant drop in how well vaccine-elicited antibodies target the Omicron variant of the coronavirus. But the variant did not completely dodge the immune fighters, the research found.
Dec 8: “Pfizer Says COVID Booster Offers Protection Against Omicron” by Lauran Neergaard, Associated Press
Pfizer said Wednesday [Dec 8] that a booster of its COVID-19 vaccine may offer important protection against the new omicron variant even though the initial two doses appear significantly less effective.
Dec 8: “Pfizer’s Vaccine Takes a ‘Very Large’ Hit from Omicron—But Boosters Help” by Antonio Regalado, MIT Technology Review
A double dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech covid-19 vaccine can’t stop the omicron virus, according to labs tests done in in South Africa and Germany, and either a booster or a new vaccine will be needed.
Dec 9: “CDC’s Covid Vaccination Rates Appear Inflated, Experts Worry” by Phil Galewitz, NBC News
For nearly a month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s online vaccine tracker has shown that virtually everyone 65 and older in the U.S. — 99.9 percent — has received at least one Covid-19 vaccine dose. That would be remarkable — if it were true. But health experts and state officials say it’s certainly not.
Dec 9: “Covid Spurs Biggest Rise in Life-Insurance Payouts in a Century” by Leslie Scism, The Wall Street Journal
The Covid-19 pandemic last year drove the biggest increase in death benefits paid by U.S. life insurers since the 1918 influenza epidemic, an industry trade group said.
Dec 9: “US Expands Pfizer COVID Boosters, Opens Extra Dose to Age 16” by Lauran Neergaard and Mike Stobbe, Associated Press
U.S. health authorities again expanded the nation’s booster campaign Thursday [Dec 9], opening extra doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine to several million 16- and 17-year-olds.
Dec 9: “Vaccine Makers Racing to Update COVID Shots, Just in Case” by Lauran Neergaard, Associated Press
Vaccine makers are racing to update their COVID-19 shots against the newest coronavirus threat even before it’s clear a change is needed, just in case.
Dec 10: “Re-Infection Risk May Be Higher with Omicron Variant” by Reuters Staff, Reuters re-posted on Medscape
Survivors of previous infection with the virus that causes COVID-19 may be at higher risk for re-infection with the Omicron variant than with earlier versions of the virus, according to preliminary findings.
Dec 13: “Covid-19 Cases Rise in Many States After Thanksgiving” by Jon Kamp and Ian Lovett, The Wall Street Journal
Covid-19 is surging in many parts of the country in the wake of Thanksgiving, with Christmastime gatherings on the horizon. Health authorities in some hard-hit states, like Vermont, New Jersey and Maine, say people who became infected after traveling or gathering indoors for Thanksgiving are likely adding to the Covid-19 numbers.
Dec 13: “The Winter Omicron Wave Is Coming—Quickly” by Caitlin Owens, Axios
Data flooding in from South Africa and Europe is clear: The Omicron variant is spreading extremely quickly, including among vaccinated people. Why it matters: If this trend holds up, that means a lot of people — around the world and in the U.S. — are about to get sick, even if only mildly so.
Dec 13: “One Year of Vaccines: Many Lives Saved, Many Needlessly Lost” by Carla K. Johnson, Associated Press
One year ago, the biggest vaccination drive in American history began with a flush of excitement in an otherwise gloomy December. Trucks loaded with freezer-packed vials of a COVID-19 vaccine that had proved wildly successful in clinical trials fanned out across the land, bringing shots that many hoped would spell the end of the crisis. That hasn’t happened.
Dec 13: “China Reports First Omicron Covid-19 Case in the Mainland” by Liyan Qi, The Wall Street Journal
Chinese authorities in the northern port city of Tianjin said they had detected the mainland’s first case of the Omicron coronavirus variant, putting what China has called its “zero tolerance” Covid-19 strategy to a further test.
Dec 13: “Waning COVID Super-Immunity Raises Questions About Omicron” by Max Kozlov, Nature
‘Super-immunity’ might not be so super after all. New research1 suggests that protection against the SARS-CoV-2 virus slides over time even in people who have experienced both SARS-CoV-2 infection and had vaccines against it, a combination that initially provides hyper-charged immunity.
Dec 14: “Data Indicate Omicron Is Milder, Better at Evading Vaccines” by Andrew Meldrum, Associated Press
The omicron variant is offering more hints about what it may have in store as it spreads around the globe: A highly transmissible virus that may cause less severe disease, and one that can be slowed — but not stopped — by today’s vaccines. An analysis Tuesday of data from South Africa, where the new variant is driving a surge in infections, suggests the Pfizer vaccine offers less defense against infection from omicron and reduced, but still good, protection from hospitalization.
Dec 14: “As U.S. Nears 800,000 Virus Deaths, 1 of Every 100 Older Americans Has Perished” by Julie Bsoman, Amy Harmon and Albert Sun, The New York Times
Seventy-five percent of people who have died of the virus in the United States — or about 600,000 of the nearly 800,000 who have perished so far — have been 65 or older. One in 100 older Americans has died from the virus.
Dec 14: “Pfizer’s Covid Pill Remains 89% Effective in Final Analysis, Company Says” by Matthew Herper, STAT News
Paxlovid, Pfizer’s pill to treat Covid-19, retained its 89% efficacy at preventing hospitalization and death in the full results of a study of 2,246 high-risk patients, the company said Tuesday.
Dec 15: “Study Finds Two Pfizer Vaccine Doses Offer Less Protection Against Omicron Than Against Delta” by Denise Roland, The Wall Street Journal
The first large real-world study of how vaccines hold up against Omicron found that two shots of Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE’s Covid-19 vaccine lowered the risk of hospital admission by 70% for patients infected with the highly mutated variant.
Dec 15: “CDC Data Indicate Omicron Is Starting to Eat into Delta’s U.S. Dominance” by Andrew Joseph, STAT News
The Omicron variant is starting to eat into Delta’s dominance in the United States. The new variant accounted for 2.9% of sequenced Covid-19 cases in the United States in the week ending Dec. 11. The week before, 0% of cases were from Omicron.
Dec 15: “Omicron Evades Moderna Vaccine Too, Study Suggests, But Boosters Help” by Rob Stein, NPR
A preliminary study made public Wednesday studied blood samples in the lab from 30 people who had gotten two Moderna shots, and it found that the antibodies in their blood are at least about 50 times less effective at neutralizing the omicron variant of the coronavirus.
Dec 15: “C.D.C. Virus Tests Were Contaminated and Poorly Designed, Agency Says” by Emily Anthes, The New York Times
The faulty coronavirus testing kits developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the early weeks of the pandemic were not only contaminated but had a basic design flaw, according to an internal review by the agency.
Dec 16: “Some Hospitals Drop Worker Vaccine Mandates” by Carolyn Crist, Medscape
Some of the largest hospital groups in the U.S. have dropped COVID-19 vaccine requirements for staff after a federal judge temporarily stopped the Biden administration mandate for health care workers.
Dec 16: “Princeton, Cornell, Others Urge Students to Head Home Because of Covid-19 Outbreaks” by Omar Abdel-Baqui, Jennifer Calfas and Douglas Belkin, The Wall Street Journal
A sharp rise in Covid-19 cases on several campuses is prompting some colleges and universities to reinstate remote learning and require booster vaccination shots, upending the last days of the fall term and casting doubt over whether schools will remain in-person heading into next year.
Dec 16: “CDC Panel Recommends Pfizer, Moderna COVID-19 Shots Over J&J’s” by Lauran Neergaard and Mike Stobbe, Associated Press
Most Americans should be given the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines instead of the Johnson & Johnson shot that can cause rare but serious blood clots, U.S. health advisers recommended Thursday [Dec 16].
Dec 16: “From Blood Clots to Infected Neurons, How COVID Threatens the Brain” by Jon Hamilton, NPR
Frontera led a study that found that more than 13% of hospitalized COVID-19 patients had developed a new neurological disorder soon after being infected. A follow-up study found that six months later, about half of the patients in that group who survived were still experiencing cognitive problems.
Dec 17: “Weight of COVID Pushing Health Care Workforce to Breaking Point” by Tina Reed, Axios
New waves of COVID infections are crashing into a health care system whose workers are at a breaking point — if not already past it. Why it matters: Hospital workers have had little relief from COVID over the past two years. And that burned-out, dispirited workforce is again being overwhelmed by surges from Delta, while facing the specter of yet another wave from Omicron.
Dec 17: “Small Myocarditis Risk Now Seen for Adenovirus-Based COVID-19 Vaccine” by Patrice Wendling, Medscape
The first large population study to investigate the association between different COVID-19 vaccines types and cardiac effects and adverse events shows a small increase in the risk for acute myocarditis with both the mRNA-based vaccines and — in what may a first in the literature — an adenovirus-vector vaccine.
Dec 17: “The Tragedy of Johnson & Johnson’s Covid Vaccine” by Matthew Herper, STAT News
Decisions that J&J made seemingly in the service of public health, not commerce, may have hurt the vaccine’s chances, and in the end, the company was bested by one of the central facts of drug development: Biology is unfair, and, besides, you can’t be smart enough to beat bad luck.
Dec 17: “WHO Approves Novavax Vaccine for Emergency Use Against COVID” ABC News
The World Health Organization has given emergency approval to a coronavirus vaccine made by U.S.-based Novavax and the Serum Institute of India, paving the way for its inclusion in the U.N.-backed program to get such vaccines to poorer countries around the world.
Dec 20: “Moderna: Initial Booster Data Shows Good Results on Omicron” Associated Press
Moderna said lab tests showed the half-dose booster shot increased by 37 times the level of so-called neutralizing antibodies able to fight omicron. And a full-dose booster was even stronger, triggering an 83-fold jump in antibody levels, although with an increase in the usual side effects, the company said.
Dec 20: “EU Approves Fifth Jab as WHO Urges Greater Effort to End Pandemic” by Marc Burleigh with Nina Larson, AFP posted in Medical Xpress
The European Union approved its fifth Covid-19 vaccine Monday [December 20], stepping up its battle against the Omicron virus variant as the WHO called for greater efforts to ensure the pandemic ends next year.
Dec 20: “Omicron Sweeps Across Nation, Now 73% of US COVID Cases” by Mike Stobbe, Associated Press
Omicron has raced ahead of other variants and is now the dominant version of the coronavirus in the U.S., accounting for 73% of new infections last week, federal health officials said Monday [December 20].
Dec 21: “Hospitals Scramble as Antibody Treatment Fail Against Omicron” by Christina Jewett, Carl Zimmer and Rebecca Robbins, The New York Times
Two of the three monoclonal antibody treatments that doctors have depended on to keep Covid-19 patients from becoming seriously ill do not appear to thwart the latest version of the coronavirus. The one such treatment that is still likely to work against Omicron is now so scarce that many doctors and hospitals have already run through their supplies.
Dec 21: “Convalescent Plasma Cuts COVID-19 Hospitalizations in Half: Study” by Damian McNamara, Medscape
A ‘definitive study’ from Johns Hopkins University researchers and others shows that convalescent plasma can cut hospital admissions for COVID-19 by 54% if therapy is administered within 8 days of symptom onset.
Dec 21: “To Track Covid-19 Surges, Scientists Are Studying Sewage” by Josh Ulick, The Wall Street Journal
Public-health experts traditionally track the spread of an infectious disease through clinical data such as test results, hospitalizations and deaths. As Covid-19 continues to spread, scientists are turning to an alternative measure: wastewater analysis.
Dec 22: “Novavax Says COVID Vaccine Triggers Immune Response to Omicron Variant” by Carl O’Donnell, Reuters
Novavax Inc’s COVID-19 vaccine is effective in generating an immune response against the Omicron variant, according to early data published on Wednesday, suggesting that the U.S. drugmaker’s existing COVID-19 vaccine can help combat the new Omicron variant.
Dec 22: “Omicron Will Cause More Infections But Lower Hospital Rates, Analysis Shows” by Rob Stein, NPR
A new analysis by the University of Washington shows the omicron surge will peak in a massive wave of infections by the end of January but is likely to produce far fewer severe illnesses for most people.
Dec 22: “Pfizer Pill Becomes 1st US-Authorized Home COVID Treatment” by Matthew Perrone, Associated Press
U.S. health regulators on Wednesday authorized the first pill against COVID-19, a Pfizer drug that Americans will be able to take at home to head off the worst effects of the virus.
Dec 23: “US Adds Merck Pill as 2nd Easy-to-Use Drug Against COVID-19” by Matthew Perrone, Associated Press
U.S. health regulators on Thursday authorized the second pill against COVID-19, providing another easy-to-use medication to battle the rising tide of omicron infections.
Dec 23: “Covid-19 Relief Fraud Potentially Totals $100 Billion, Secret Service Says” by Andrew Ackerman and Amara Omeokwa, The Wall Street Journal
Some $100 billion has potentially been stolen from Covid-19 relief programs designed to help individuals and businesses harmed by the pandemic, the U.S. Secret Service said.
Dec 23: “Europe, China Clamp Down in Face of Surging COVID Infections” AFP posted in Medical Xpress
European nations reimposed tough rules and China locked down millions Thursday, as countries scrambled to contain surging coronavirus infections driven by the Omicron variant.
Dec 27: “US Officials Recommend Shorter COVID Isolation, Quarantine” by Mike Stobbe, Associated Press
U.S. health officials on Monday cut isolation restrictions for Americans who catch the coronavirus from 10 to five days, and similarly shortened the time that close contacts need to quarantine.
Dec 27: “China’s Xi’an Imposes ‘Strictest’ Controls to Halt Covid Outbreak” AFP posted in Medical Xpress
The locked-down Chinese city of Xi’an on Monday tightened COVID-19 controls to the ‘strictest’ level, banning residents from driving cars around town in an effort to control the country’s worst outbreak in 21 months.
Dec 28: “Remdesivir May Keep Unvaccinated Out of the Hospital: Study” by Ralph Ellis, Medscape
The antiviral remdesivir, an intravenous drug given mostly to seriously ill COVID-19 patients in hospitals, could keep unvaccinated people who become infected out of the hospital if given on an outpatient basis, a new study says.
Dec 28: “Pediatric COVID-19 Case Rates, Hospitalizations ‘on Fire’ Amid Nation’s Latest Surge” by Arielle Mitropoulos, ABC News
With coronavirus cases in the U.S. approaching near-peak levels recorded last winter, pediatric coronavirus infection and hospitalization levels are now surging to their highest point in months.
Dec 29: “Covid: US Reports Record Infections as Europe’s Omicron Cases Also Soar” BBC
The US and several European countries have reported their highest daily rises in Covid cases since the pandemic began, as the Omicron variant spreads. More than 440,000 new cases were recorded in the US on Monday [December 29], health officials said.
Dec 29: “WHO Worried for Health Systems Over Covid Cases ‘Tsunami’” AFP posted in Medical Xpress
A ‘tsunami’ of Omicron and Delta COVID-19 cases will pile pressure on health systems already being stretched to their limits, the World Health Organization warned on Wednesday. The WHO said the Delta and Omicron variants of concern were ‘twin threats’ that were driving new case numbers to record highs, leading to spikes in hospitalisations and deaths.
Dec 30: “Exclusive: U.S. NIH Research Hospital Delays Elective Surgeries as Omicron Hits” by Marisa Taylor, Reuters
A new wave of COVID-19 infections driven by the Omicron variant is forcing the U.S. National Institutes of Health to postpone elective surgeries at the largest hospital in the United States devoted to clinical research as a growing number of staff must isolate or quarantine, according to a memo reviewed by Reuters.
Dec 30: “US Children Hospitalized with COVID in Record Numbers” by Martha Bellisle and Terry Tang, Associated Press
During the week of Dec. 21-27, an average of 334 children 17 and under were admitted per day to hospitals with the coronavirus, a 58% increase from the week before, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Dec 30: “J&J’s Booster Shown Effective Against Covid Hospitalization” Politico
Two doses of Johnson & Johnson’s Covid-19 vaccine provided up to 85 percent protection against hospitalization from the Omicron variant, researchers in South Africa reported on Thursday [December 30].
Dec 31: “COVID Vaccines Rarely Lead to Serious Problems in Ages 5-11, CDC Says” by Carolyn Crist, Medscape
The CDC released two studies on Thursday that showed vaccine safety for ages 5-11 and emphasized the importance of vaccinating children against the coronavirus to prevent serious illness and hospitalization.
Dec 31: “Omicron Hospitalization Risk Around One Third of Delta, UK Analysis Shows” Reuters
The risk of hospitalisation with the Omicron variant of coronavirus is about one-third that of the Delta variant, according to British analysis of more than a million cases of both types in recent weeks.
