COVID updates: Team USA figure skater Vincent Zhou tests positive at Olympics

He is undergoing additional testing to see if he can compete.

ByMorgan Winsor, Emily Shapiro, Nadine El-Bawab, and Ivan Pereira
Last Updated: February 6, 2022, 11:48 PM EST

As the COVID-19 pandemic has swept the globe, more than 5.7 million people have died from the disease worldwide, including over 902,000 Americans, according to real-time data compiled by Johns Hopkins University's Center for Systems Science and Engineering.

About 64% 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 news is developing. All times Eastern.
Feb 01, 2022, 3:24 PM EST

Unvaccinated 23 times more likely to be hospitalized with omicron than those vaccinated, boosted

A new study from Los Angeles County's health department estimates that during the city's omicron surge, people who were unvaccinated were 3.6 times more likely to get COVID-19 and 23 times more likely to be hospitalized compared to people who were vaccinated and boosted.

A woman receives a dose of the Covid-19 vaccine at a L.A. Care Health Plan vaccination, in Los Angeles, Jan. 19, 2022.
Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images

The unvaccinated were 2 times more likely to get COVID-19 and 5.3 times more likely to be hospitalized compared to people who were vaccinated but not yet boosted, according to the study, which was published in the CDC's weekly journal, MMWR. 

-ABC News' Sony Salzman

Feb 01, 2022, 2:55 PM EST

US daily case rate drops below 500,000 for 1st time in weeks

The U.S. daily case rate has dropped below 500,000 for the first time in nearly one month, falling by 37.4% in the last two weeks to an average of 497,000 cases per day, according to federal data.

However, experts continue to caution that case levels remain much higher than previous surges, with the U.S. still reporting millions of new cases every week.

A healthcare worker administers a Covid-19 test at a drive-thru Covid-19 testing site located in Guirado Park in Whittier, Calif., Jan. 25, 2022.
Caroline Brehman/EPA via Shutterstock

Alaska now leads the nation in new cases per capita followed by Kentucky, Washington, Oklahoma, Minnesota, California and North Dakota.

The number of COVID-19-positive Americans requiring hospitalization continues to steadily fall, with now under 129,000 virus-positive Americans currently receiving care -- down by about 31,000 patients from 12 days ago, according to federal data.

-ABC News' Arielle Mitropoulos

Feb 01, 2022, 11:35 AM EST

WHO: 'Worrying' increase in COVID deaths in most regions

Since omicron was first identified 10 weeks ago, nearly 90 million COVID-19 cases have been reported around the world -- more than all the COVID-19 cases reported in 2020, according to the World Health Organization.

Now most regions of the world are "starting to see a very worrying increase in deaths," WHO director-general Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned Tuesday.

"This virus will continue to evolve, which is why we call on countries to continue testing, surveillance and sequencing. We can’t fight this virus if we don’t know what it’s doing. And we must continue to work to ensure all people have access to vaccines," he said.

-ABC News' Christine Theodorou

Feb 01, 2022, 10:18 AM EST

Vaccines for kids under 5 might come this month: Report

Pfizer and BioNTech are expected to ask the FDA to authorize their vaccine for kids under 5 as soon as Tuesday. If the FDA grants authorization, the vaccine may be available for children ages 6 months to 5 years by the end of February, The Washington Post reported. 

Pfizer is expected to ask for authorization with two doses as the company continues to wait for data on three doses, the report said. 

Vaccines are currently authorized for people 5 and older. 

-ABC News' Eric M. Strauss and Cheyenne Haslett

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