December 2 Omicron coronavirus variant news

By Rhea Mogul, Adam Renton, Sheena McKenzie & Ed Upright, CNN

Updated 12:01 a.m. ET, December 3, 2021
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7:50 a.m. ET, December 2, 2021

Frustration has replaced optimism about Covid-19 vaccinations in the US, survey finds 

From CNN’s Deidre McPhillips

Most adults in the United States say they are “frustrated” about the status of Covid-19 vaccinations overall amid stagnant vaccination intentions and uptake, according to the latest Kaiser Family Foundation Covid-19 Vaccine Monitor survey published Thursday. 

The share of adults who refuse to be vaccinated has held steady all year, with about one in seven adults (14%) saying they will “definitely not” get vaccinated, according to the survey.

The overall vaccination rate has remained largely unchanged in recent months, and only about 5% of adults plan to get vaccinated “as soon as possible” or “only if required.”

Since January, frustration has replaced optimism as the most common emotion. Less than half (48%) of adults say they feel “optimistic” about vaccinations in the US, down from a third (66%) in January, while the share of those feeling frustrated rose from 50% to 58%. 

The survey was conducted for two weeks among a nationally representative sample of 1,820 adults in mid-November.

9:34 a.m. ET, December 2, 2021

UK approves use of Covid antibody treatment that appears to reduce risk of hospitalization and death in some high-risk adults by almost 80%

From CNN’s Allegra Goodwin in London 

An antibody treatment which has been found to reduce the risk of hospitalization and death from Covid-19 by up to 79% in high-risk adults has been approved for use in the United Kingdom. 

Xevudy, also known as sotrovimab, was approved for use in patients aged 12 and above by the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) on Thursday, the MHRA said in a statement. 

The drug “was found to be safe and effective at reducing the risk of hospitalisation and death in people with mild to moderate COVID-19 infection who are at an increased risk of developing severe disease,” the statement added. 

Sotrovimab was developed by London-based GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and Vir Biotechnology, based in California. It “retains activity against all tested variants of concern, including key mutations of Omicron,” according to a statement released Thursday by maker GSK.

It is the second monoclonal antibody therapeutic to be approved by the UK drugs watchdog, after Ronapreve, made by Regeneron.

“The drug works by binding to the spike protein on the outside of the Covid-19 virus. This in turn prevents the virus from attaching to and entering human cells, so that it cannot replicate in the body,” the MHRA said. 

A single dose was found to reduce the risk of hospitalisation and death by 79% in high-risk adults with symptomatic Covid-19 infection, according to the statement. 

Like Merck’s antiviral pill molnupiravir, Xevudy “has been authorised for use in people who have mild to moderate Covid-19 infection and at least one risk factor for developing severe illness,” the statement said. It added that such risk factors included obesity, older age (over 60 years), diabetes mellitus, or heart disease.

Sotrovimab is administered by intravenous infusion over 30 minutes.

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this post incorrectly stated that the MHRA and GSK statements were released on Tuesday. They were both released on Thursday.

7:41 a.m. ET, December 2, 2021

Previous infection protected against Delta. That doesn't seem to be the case with Omicron, expert says

From CNN’s Eleanor Pickston in London

South Africa is seeing an increase in coronavirus reinfections in patients who contract the Omicron variant, Anne von Gottberg, a microbiologist from the country's National Institute for Communicable Diseases, said during a Thursday news briefing. 

"Previous infection used to protect against [the] Delta [coronavirus variant] but now with Omicron that doesn't seem to be the case," Gottberg told a WHO Africa briefing. 
“We monitored these reinfection for the Beta [variant] and the for the Delta wave, and we didn’t see an increase in reinfections over and above what we expect when the force of infection changes, when the wave stops. However we are seeing an increase for Omicron,” Gottberg explained.

The data from South Africa, however, are showing that reinfections may be less severe, Gottberg added. “We believe, I think very much so, that the reinfections in our data, and hopefully from South Africa, that disease will be less severe," Gottberg said. 

"And that's what we're trying to prove and to monitor very carefully in South Africa. And the same would hold for those that are vaccinated,” she added. 

South Africa is beginning its fourth coronavirus wave, Gottberg said with cases in the country rising at a “rapid rate,” particularly in the Gauteng province, the country's most populous. 

Over 8,000 new daily cases were detected in the country on Wednesday, Gottberg said, with scientists expecting cases to rise to 10,000 a day. “We believe that the numbers of cases will increase exponentially in all provinces throughout the country,” she said.

Only a limited number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the country are being sequenced, Gottberg explained. Of 249 cases sequenced in November, 183 were confirmed to be the Omicron variant, equating to 70-75% according to Gottberg. 

“It does look like there was a predominance of Omicron throughout the country. And Omicron has been identified through sequencing in at least five of our provinces (that are) sequencing data," she told reporters.

The World Health Organization also announced that it will deploy a surge team to the Gauteng province to help with surveillance, sequencing, and contact tracing. 

8:49 a.m. ET, December 2, 2021

Pregnant women are less likely to be vaccinated against Covid-19 and more likely to question vaccine's safety, survey finds

From CNN’s Deidre McPhillips

Women who are pregnant or trying to become pregnant are less likely than others their age to be vaccinated against Covid-19, and more than half say they are not confident in the safety of the vaccine, according to the latest Kaiser Family Foundation Covid-19 Vaccine Monitor survey published Thursday.

  • Less than a third (64%) of women who are pregnant or trying to become pregnant say they have been vaccinated against Covid-19, compared to 73% of others in the same age range who said they are not trying to become pregnant.
  • Only about 40% of women who are pregnant or trying to become pregnant said that they are “very confident” or “somewhat confident” in the safety of Covid-19 vaccines for pregnant women. Another third said that they are “not at all confident” in the safety of the vaccines for pregnant women. 
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says vaccines are safe for pregnant women and urges pregnant people to get vaccinated, both for their own sake and to protect their babies.

Overall, nearly three-quarters (73%) of adults say that they are “very confident” or “somewhat confident” that Covid-19 vaccines are safe for all adults. Only 15% of adults say that they are “not at all confident” in vaccine safety for adults. 

The survey was conducted for two weeks among a nationally representative sample of 1,820 adults in mid-November.

11:13 a.m. ET, December 2, 2021

India reports its first 2 cases of Omicron variant in recent travelers

From Esha Mitra in New Delhi 

Arriving passengers leave a terminal at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai on December 1, 2021.
Arriving passengers leave a terminal at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai on December 1, 2021. (Punit Paranjpe/AFP/Getty Images)

India has reported its first two cases of the Omicron coronavirus variant, the joint secretary of its health ministry Lav Agarwal said in a news briefing Thursday.

The cases were detected in the southern Indian state of Karnataka in two men. One of these was a 66-year-old South African national who had traveled to India and the other was a 46-year-old local doctor, Karnataka’s Health Minister K Sudhakar told reporters Thursday evening.

Earlier, an administrative official in Karnataka’s capital Bengaluru city, Gaurav Gupta, told reporters that the doctor who tested positive had no travel history.

“All primary and secondary contacts have been traced and will be tested as per protocol,” Agarwal said. 

Karnataka’s health minister said five of the doctor’s primary and secondary contacts also tested positive for Covid and have been isolated at a government hospital.

The South African national has returned home to South Africa and his contacts, more than 200, have been found negative of Covid-19. Both the 66-year-old and 46-year-old had received two doses of Covid-19 vaccines, according to Sudhakar.

On Sunday, India revised its travel guidelines following the emergence of the Omicron variant. From December, all international passengers must submit a self-declaration form including their 14-day travel history and a negative Covid-19 PCR test taken within 72 hours prior to their departure. 

Travelers from countries deemed "at-risk" face further testing and surveillance, including a PCR test on arrival and must wait for the results before leaving or catching a connecting flight. They also have to quarantine at home for 7 days and have to take another test on the 8th day.

Correction: An earlier version of this post incorrectly stated the travel history of the cases. Only one of the cases, a South African national, had a travel history. 

6:48 a.m. ET, December 2, 2021

Intent to get booster lags among older Republicans and younger Blacks and Hispanics, US survey finds

From CNN's Deidre McPhillips

The Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine is administered at a pop-up clinic offering vaccines and booster shots in Rosemead, California on November 29, 2021.
The Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine is administered at a pop-up clinic offering vaccines and booster shots in Rosemead, California on November 29, 2021. (Frederic J. Brown/AFP/Getty Images)

About 60% of fully vaccinated adults have already gotten their booster dose of Covid-19 vaccine or say they “definitely” will, according to the latest Kaiser Family Foundation Covid-19 Vaccine Monitor survey published Thursday. 

Another 19% say that they “probably” will get a booster as recommended by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, but nearly one in five (18%) say they “probably” or “definitely” won’t get a booster shot. 

At least half of adults across political parties and racial and ethnic groups already have or say they definitely will get a booster dose, but intent among older Republicans and younger Black people is notably lower than average. 

Among Democrats older than 50, about 87% already have or definitely plan to get their booster shots. But among older Republicans, only 58% said the same.

About two in five young Black and Hispanic adults and said that they already have or definitely will get a booster dose, compared to nearly three in five young White adults who said the same. 

6:39 a.m. ET, December 2, 2021

South Africans urged to get vaccinated immediately with warning that virus peak may come in 2 weeks

From CNN's Tim Lister

Premier David Makhura visits the Lawley Fire Station pop-up vaccination site on August 17, 2021 in Lenasia, South Africa.
Premier David Makhura visits the Lawley Fire Station pop-up vaccination site on August 17, 2021 in Lenasia, South Africa. (Sharon Seretlo/Gallo Images/Getty Images)

The leader of South Africa's most populous province has appealed for unvaccinated people to come forward for their shots immediately, amid what he called a situation of "great concern," especially among younger people. 

David Makhura said that Gauteng province -- which includes the major city of Johannesburg -- was on the cusp of a fourth wave of the coronavirus pandemic. 

Gauteng has seen a sudden spike in cases over the last month. Makhura said that until recently it was thought the increase was down to an existing virus variant but now it was clear that the new variant -- Omicron -- was likely responsible for many of the infections and was spreading rapidly.

In Gauteng, the Omicron variant now comprised 74% of sequences, said South Africa's Network for Genomic Surveillance on Wednesday.

Makhura told a news conference: “We are very concerned with the reports we’re getting from our clinical teams.” Infections were rising rapidly, he said, driven by a resurgence among university students.
“We want to call upon the people of our province to step up their vaccination,” he added. 

Makhura said the good news is that daily vaccination rates had risen this week to an average of more than 50,000 in Gauteng. But there were still 8 million people in the province -- the most densely populated in South Africa -- unvaccinated. He stressed the risk of thousands of people leaving the province during the Christmas holidays and carrying the variant with them. 

He also said people needed to get their second doses, and that there was no shortage of vaccines. And he indicated that if vaccination take-up did not improve, there would have to be consideration of mandatory vaccination program

Makhura also suggested that the evidence so far was that for the vaccinated at least the symptoms of the variant were mild and hospital admissions were not very high.

Other officials at the news conference said they expected the peak of the current wave of infections in Gauteng to come within two to three weeks -- at a daily rate of 45,000 cases. But they cautioned this depended on a number of factors. 

6:25 a.m. ET, December 2, 2021

Greece confirms first Omicron case

From CNN’s Chris Liakos

Greece has reported its first case of the Omicron coronavirus variant on the island of Crete, Greek Health Minister Thanos Plevris announced Thursday morning.

The patient in question traveled to the country from South Africa on November 26, according to Theoklis Zaoutis, the head of Greece’s public health organization. On arrival the man took a rapid test which came back negative. Following daily testing, he tested positive on November 29, and the Omicron variant was detected today.

His symptoms remain mild and he has been placed under quarantine, along with his contacts.

Zaoutis added that although there are still gaps in our knowledge and more information is needed about the new variant, “vaccines remain the main weapon,” while urging everyone to get their shots.

Greece recently announced mandatory vaccinations for citizens over the age of 60. Citizens who have not booked their first dose by January 16 will face a monthly €100 ($113) fine.

5:59 a.m. ET, December 2, 2021

Americans split down party lines on workplace vaccine requirements and Biden’s pandemic handling

From CNN’s Deidre McPhillips

President Joe Biden speaks on US supply chains in Washington, DC on Wednesday, December 1.
President Joe Biden speaks on US supply chains in Washington, DC on Wednesday, December 1. (Ting Shen/Bloomberg/Getty Images)

Americans are divided -- largely down party lines and vaccination status -- in their opinions on workplace vaccine requirements and how well President Joe Biden is handling the pandemic overall, according to the latest Kaiser Family Foundation Covid-19 Vaccine Monitor survey published Thursday.

Only slightly more than half (52%) of adults support the Biden administration’s policy that would mandate workers in companies with at least 100 workers to be vaccinated against Covid-19 or face weekly tests, while 45% oppose it.

The federal policy is on hold as it is debated in a federal appeals court, but more than a third of workers at large companies said they already have a vaccination requirement and another 17% want their employers to impose one.

Vaccine requirements are much less common at smaller companies; only about 11% of people working at smaller companies said a vaccine requirement was already in place and another 20% would want their employer to impose one.

Most Republicans (79%) oppose the federal policy, while most Democrats (86%) favor it. Opinions are similarly divided by vaccination status, with most vaccinated adults in favor and most unvaccinated adults against.

General perceptions about how well Biden is handling the pandemic overall are also split by political party and vaccination status.

Nearly nine in 10 Republicans say they disapprove, while more than eight in 10 Democrats say they approve. Similarly, nearly eight in 10 unvaccinated adults disapprove, while more than half of vaccinated adults approve, according to the survey.

Overall, nearly half of adults surveyed said the government has not done enough to help small businesses or low-income people during the pandemic. About 40% of those surveyed said the government has not done enough to help Black people, Hispanic people or rural residents.

The latest KFF Covid-19 Vaccine Monitor survey was conducted over two weeks in mid-November. All fully vaccinated adults became eligible to receive a booster dose at the end of the survey period, but the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued guidance encouraging all vaccinated adults to get boosters, and information about the new Omicron variant become public, after the survey ended.

Results came from a survey of a nationally representative sample of 1,820 adults.