Coronavirus Watch: Omicron makes people sick faster, study says

Omicron makes people sick faster than earlier coronavirus variants, according to a study released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Paste BN's Karen Weintraub and Ken Alltucker report that most cases of omicron appear to be relatively mild, and people generally get COVID-19 symptoms three days after being exposed to the virus. That's compared to about four days with delta and five or more with the original virus.

People are probably contagious sooner after exposure – and maybe even before they test positive for infection, the study concludes. Read more here.

Meanwhile, the FDA says preliminary study results of some antigen tests – so-called rapid tests – suggest that the tests can detect the omicron variant but may have reduced sensitivity. The FDA said the tests remain a valuable tool but that the agency will "further evaluate the performance of antigen tests."

It's Wednesday, and this is Coronavirus Watch from the Paste BN Network. Here's more news to know:

• More than 4,000 flights have been either canceled or delayed across the nation so far on Wednesday. Thousands of flights have been delayed or canceled over the past several days as airlines grapple with winter weather and staffing shortages.
• National hospitalizations are rising in about half of states – and some are rising with alarming speed. Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Louisiana, Michigan, New Jersey, New York and South Carolina all rose more than 20% week-over-week. Louisiana admissions are up 107.5% week over week.
• More than 13,000 National Guard members have been activated in 48 states to support the COVID-19 response, from vaccinations and testing to clinical care and other tasks, White House COVID Response Coordinator Jeff Zients said.
• It's too early to say whether a second booster, or fourth shot, will be needed to combat the pandemic, Dr. Anthony Fauci said. The Biden administration's chief medical adviser said at a White House briefing that there is not enough data yet on whether the effect of the third shot is diminishing over time.
• More kids are being hospitalized with COVID-19, but some experts say the omicron variant does not appear to be more severe in kids than previous strands. Instead, they blame the explosion in all cases and the delay in vaccination for young people, since vaccines for them were released well after adults began getting jabs.

Today's numbers: The U.S. has reported more than 53.3 million COVID-19 cases and 821,700 deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. Worldwide, there have been more than 283.9 million cases and more than 5.4 million deaths. About 73% of people in the U.S. have received at least one vaccine shot, and about 62% are fully vaccinated, according to the CDC. Among U.S. adults, 85% have received at least one shot, and about 73% are fully vaccinated.

Tracking the pandemic: See the numbers in your area here. See where cases are rising here. See vaccination rates here. And here, compare vaccinations rates worldwide and see which countries are using which vaccines.

– Grace Hauck, Paste BN breaking news reporter, @grace_hauck