COVID-19 updates: 2 cases of omicron variant confirmed in Canada, officials say

The WHO classified omicron as a "variant of concern."

ByEmily Shapiro, Morgan Winsor, Meredith Deliso, and Ayushi Agarwal
Last Updated: November 29, 2021, 4:21 AM EST

As the COVID-19 pandemic has swept the globe, more than 5.2 million people have died from the disease worldwide, including over 776,000 Americans, according to real-time data compiled by Johns Hopkins University's Center for Systems Science and Engineering.

Just 59.1% of the population in the United States is fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Latest headlines:

Here's how the new developed. All times Eastern.
Nov 24, 2021, 11:23 AM EST

Deaths, hospitalizations predicted to increase in weeks to come

Forecast models used by the CDC suggest that weekly deaths and hospital admissions will rise over the next four weeks -- the first increase in U.S. death rates and hospital admissions since the summer surge.

U.S. Air Force 1st Lt. Jesse Van Tassell, a registered nurse assigned to Monoclonal Antibody Infusion Team Utah, adjusts a patient's intravenous fluids input data at a COVID treatment site in St. George. Utah, Nov. 12, 2021.
Sgt. 1st Class Timothy Hughes/U.S. Army

A member of the Orange County Fire Rescue unit wears a face mask to help curb the spread of COVID-19 outside an emergency room entrance at Orlando Health--Health Central Hospital on Nov. 16, 2021, in Ocoee, Fla.
Phelan M. Ebenhack via AP

Nearly 15,000 more Americans could die from COVID-19 over the next two weeks, according to the forecasts.

The CDC obtains the forecasts from the COVID-19 Forecast Hub at UMass Amherst, which monitors and combines forecasting models from the nation’s top researchers.

-ABC News' Arielle Mitropoulos

Nov 24, 2021, 10:33 AM EST

89% of DHS workers have had at least 1 shot

Nearly 89% of workers at the Department of Homeland Security, an agency that includes airport security workers and the president’s Secret Service detail, have received at least one vaccine dose, according to the White House.

In this May 25, 2016, file photo, bins containing bags needing additional screening are automatically separated on a conveyer belt at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in Atlanta.
David Goldman/AP, FILE

Ninety-two percent of federal workers have received at least vaccine dose, according to the White House. Just under 5% of the federal workforce has requested an exemption or extension to the vaccine mandate.

The White House has not said how many workers have met Biden’s deadline of being “fully immunized” by Nov. 22. That would have required workers to get their final dose on Nov. 8.

Nov 24, 2021, 9:37 AM EST

700K more could die in Europe between now and March: WHO

An additional 700,000 people in Europe could die from COVID-19 between now and March, the World Health Organization said Tuesday.

PHOTO: A medical staff member pushes a trolley bed carrying the body of a deceased Covid-19 patient in the intensive care unit of Lozenets Hospital in Sofia, Bulgaria, Nov. 9, 2021.
A medical staff member pushes a trolley bed carrying the body of a deceased Covid-19 patient in the intensive care unit of Lozenets Hospital in Sofia, Bulgaria, Nov. 9, 2021. Europe remains "in the firm grip" of Covid and aome 700,000 could die in the coming months, the WHO said, as cases creep up, prompting some countries to reimpose tough restrictions.
Nikolay Doychinov/AFP via Getty Images

COVID-19 is now Europe's leading cause of death, the WHO said.

Deadly deaths in Europe neared 4,200 last week, which is twice as many as the daily deaths at the end of September, according to the WHO.

-ABC News' Dragana Jovanovic

Nov 24, 2021, 8:59 AM EST

Fauci says definition of fully vaccinated could 'without a doubt' change

Dr. Anthony Fauci told Reuters Tuesday that the definition of fully vaccinated could change as more evidence emerges on how vaccine protection can wane over time.

A sign requiring visitors to be vaccinated against COVID-19 is posted outside a museum, Nov. 19, 2021, in New York City.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images

"Right now, officially, fully vaccinated equals two shots of the mRNA and one shot of the J&J, but without a doubt that could change," Fauci said. "That's on the table for discussion."

Fauci told Reuters that the "overwhelming majority" of Americans who have been fully vaccinated should now receive a booster shot given the evidence that the additional dose provides "substantial" protection.

-ABC News' Arielle Mitropoulos

Related Topics