As the COVID-19 pandemic has swept the globe, more than 5.5 million people have died from the disease worldwide, including over 846,000 Americans, according to real-time data compiled by Johns Hopkins University's Center for Systems Science and Engineering.
About 62.8% of the population in the United States is fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to data from theĀ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Latest Developments
Report shows omicron's rapid spread in NYCĀ
Omicron became the dominant variant in New York City within five weeks after it was first detected, according to aĀ new reportĀ releasedĀ Thursday by the city's health department.Ā
ĀBy comparison, it took 20 weeks for the delta variant to become dominant.
ĀThe report, which detailsĀ preliminary findings on the city's omicron wave, found that there have been lower hospitalization rates butĀ more total hospitalizationsĀ compared to the delta waveĀ due to "significantly greater case numbers."
Unvaccinated New Yorkers were more than eight times more likely to beĀ hospitalized than those who were fully vaccinatedĀ early in the omicron wave, the report found.Ā Black New Yorkers and people ages 75 and older also were more likely to be hospitalized.
Study finds higher risk of COVID-19 complications forĀ unvaccinated pregnant women
Unvaccinated pregnant women with COVID-19 and their newborn babies have a higher risk of complications from the disease compared with those who are vaccinated, a new study found.
In the study,Ā published Thursday in Nature Medicine,Ā researchersĀ from Public Health Scotland looked at vaccination rates and COVID-19 outcomes in 131,875 pregnant women in Scotland between Dec. 8, 2020, and Oct. 31, 2021, when the delta variant was dominant.
Ā MORE: COVID deaths for pregnant people spiked during delta: DataThey found that 90.9% of COVID-19 hospital admissions, 98% of intensive care admissions and all 450 newborn deaths were in unvaccinated pregnant women.Ā
The studyĀ reiteratesĀ the importance of pregnant women getting vaccinated against the virus due to a greater risk of dangerous health complications from COVID-19. AĀ growing body of researchĀ has shown the vaccines to be safe and effective for pregnant women.
-ABC News' Dr. Siobhan Deshauer, Sony Salzman and Dr. Alexis Carrington
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