COVID-19 updates: Classes in Chicago canceled for 4th day

Chicago Public Schools has been in talks with teachers over COVID-19 safety.

As the COVID-19 pandemic has swept the globe, more than 5.4 million people have died from the disease worldwide, including over 837,000 Americans, according to real-time data compiled by Johns Hopkins University's Center for Systems Science and Engineering.

About 62.5% of the population in the United States is fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.


0

Testing company detects 1st case of 'flurona' in California

A testing company confirmed Wednesday the first known case in Southern California of "flurona," in which someone is infected with COVID-19 and the flu at the same time.

911 COVID Testing told KABC the case was detected at the Getty Center in Brentwood -- a suburban neighborhood in the city of Los Angeles -- in a teenage boy.

The minor was returning from vacation with his family in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.

Steve Farzam, the testing company's chief operating officer, said the patient has symptoms but was not hospitalized. Since his test, one of his parents has also tested positive for COVID-19, but not the flu.


White House confident it can deliver 500 million COVID tests this month

The White House said Wednesday it is confident it can deliver millions of rapid COVID-19 tests to Americans in January.

Last month, the administration announced it was planning to distribute 500 million free at-home rapid tests across the country to combat the surging omicron variant.

However, a website has yet to be launched where people can order the tests and the U.S. is currently producing less than half of the tests needed -- 200 million a month.

During a virtual briefing, Jeff Zients, the White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator, said the government not only has the capacity to deliver 500 million tests, but it also won't dip into the current supply on pharmacy shelves.

"With all the companies that now have been authorized, there’s the capacity for the U.S. government to purchase the 500 million now and not disrupt, or in any way cannibalize, the tests that are on pharmacy shelves and on websites and used and other settings," he said.

-ABC News' Cheyenne Haslett


CDC says it's not changing definition of 'fully vaccinated'

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said Wednesday the definition of being fully vaccinated against COVID-19 is not changing to include booster shots.

"Individuals are considered fully vaccinated against COVID-19 if they've received their primary series. That definition is not changing," she said during a virtual briefing of the White House COVID-19 Response Team.

This means Americans are considered fully vaccinated if they have gotten two shots of either the Pfizer-BioNTech or the Moderna vaccine or one shot of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

However, Walensky did urge those who have been fully vaccinated to stay "up to date" on additional doses they may be eligible for based on their age and which vaccine they received.


1 in 15 people in England tested positive for COVID last week

About 1 in 15 people in England tested positive for COVID-19 in the week ending Dec. 31, 2021, according to new data published Wednesday by the UK's Office of National Statistics -- a jump from 1 in 25 the week before.

This means that an estimated 3,270,800 people in the country caught the virus last week, with the most infections occurring among those between ages 17 and 24, the ONS said.

Additionally, 1 in 20 people contracted COVID last week in Scotland and Wales as did 1 in 25 people in Northern Ireland.

The ONS noted that these estimates do not include people who tested positive in "hospitals, care homes and/or other communal establishments."


New York orders 40 hospitals to halt elective surgeries

The state of New York has told 40 hospitals they must turn away nonessential, nonurgent elective surgeries for the next two weeks in response to low bed capacity. Most of the hospitals are located in upstate New York.

The determination was made after the hospital locations were added to the list of "high risk regions" by the state department of health due to 90% of beds being occupied according to the seven-day average.

"We will use every available tool to help ensure that hospitals can manage the COVID-19 winter surge," acting State Health Commissioner Dr. Mary Bassett said in a statement Saturday. "I want to remind New Yorkers that getting vaccinated and boosted remain the best way to protect against serious illness and hospitalization from COVID-19. Vaccination also protects our hospital system. We cannot return to the early months of the pandemic when hospitals were overwhelmed."

All of the hospitals in three regions -- Mohawk Valley, Finger Lakes and Central New York -- are included in those 40 facilities.