Coronavirus vaccine and COVID variant updates for 12-13-2021

<p>This is Vaccine 411, the latest coronavirus vaccine information for December 13th, 2021.</p><p><br></p><p>While our Johns Hopkins number is not quite there yet, and with more deaths in 2021 than in 2020, the United States has now reportedly reached over 800,000 coronavirus-related deaths. Ahead is a potential surge in cases due to winter and the highly transmissible, but by all reports milder, Omicron variant. The new death toll is more than the entire population of North Dakota. It took 111 days for U.S. deaths to jump from 600,000 to 700,000, but the next 100,000 deaths took only 73 days. The death rate in the US was more than three times higher than Canada and 11 times more than Japan.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>There are the health costs of COVID, and then there’s the long-term economic tragedy. The World Health Organization and World Bank reports that more than half a billion people globally were pushed into extreme poverty in 2021 due to healthcare costs during the pandemic.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>The Director of the CDC says the pandemic and mask requirements won’t last forever. The main signs they’re looking for are when hospitals are no longer filled with COVID patients and daily deaths start to plummet. As for mask mandates like the one in New York City, the Director said, “Masks are for now, they’re not forever. We have to find a way to be done with them.”</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned Britain faces a “tidal wave” of infections from Omicron and announced a huge increase in booster vaccinations to defend against it. Everyone 18 and older can get a third shot by the end of this month. It’s believed Omicron cases are doubling every two to three days in Britain.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Were you nervous about getting one vaccine shot? Or the second one? Did you wonder if the booster shot would be too much? Well how about 10 COVID vaccine shots in one sitting? New Zealand health authorities are checking out claims a man did just that, taking shots for other people for money. A vaccinologist said o