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Los Angeles County data suggests that the highly infectious omicron variant strikes down its patients quicker than previous strains of the coronavirus, according to Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer. The county last Thursday recorded 102 fatalities, the highest tally since March 2021. Ferrer said patients with omicron on average appear to be dying within 2-4 weeks after requiring hospitalization, compared with an average of 5 weeks observed with the delta variant. “It looks to us that folks may be progressing faster — folks who have omicron — so we’re seeing a much shorter timeframe,” from infection to death, said Ferrer. “It looks like they get hit pretty hard earlier on.” (Vaziri and Beamish, 1/24)

Deaths from COVID-19 in Los Angeles County have soared over the last week, with officials saying most of the recent fatalities appear to be from the Omicron variant. The spread of the latest coronavirus variant has moved with unprecedented speed since December, although officials have said people who get infected with Omicron generally get less severe symptoms than with the earlier Delta variant. Even so, officials say it is fatal for some. Of 102 deaths reported Thursday — the highest single-day tally since March 10 — 90% involved people who became ill with COVID-19 after Christmas, and 80% were among those who fell ill after New Year’s Day, indicating a high likelihood of Omicron infection, Los Angeles County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said. (Lin II, Money and Alpert Reyes, 1/24)

A sixth Michigan hospital will receive staffing assistance from a federal medical team to help treat COVID-19 patients during the latest surge, state health officials said Monday. Sparrow Hospital in Lansing, where 100% of beds were occupied as of Monday, will be supported by as many as 25 additional personnel for 30 days starting Feb. 7, the state health department said. Teams already are in place at hospitals in Dearborn, Grand Rapids, Muskegon, Saginaw and Wyandotte. (Eggert, 1/24)

Another 70 Ohio National Guard troops arrived Monday to help University of Cincinnati Medical Center staff during the latest COVID-19 hospitalization surge. The troops are among those Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine sent to the state's hospitals to help healthcare staff during the barrage of COVID-19 cases triggered by the omicron variant. The addition of Guard members at UC Health's Corryville facility comes days after a group arrived at Christ Hospital Health System in Mount Auburn. (DeMio, 1/24)

Idaho public health officials activated crisis standards of care for much of southern Idaho on Monday, citing major staffing and blood supply shortages. The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare activated the crisis standards for the southwest, central and south central health districts, which encompass 18 counties including the Boise, Nampa and Twin Falls metro regions. Crisis standards of care allow hospitals to triage health care as needed when they don’t have the capacity to deal with patient influxes. (Boone, 1/24)

Alaska’s largest hospital on Monday reported no available intensive care beds as the state’s health care system grapples with growing pressure from the ongoing COVID-19 surge linked to the highly contagious omicron variant. State health officials on Monday also reported 21 more deaths in Alaskans with COVID-19, three of them recent. Generally, the variant is thought to lead to less severe infections but its impact is being felt in health care worker absences compromising Alaska’s hospital capacity, as well as continued illness, long-term complications, and death. (Hollander, 1/24)

A new Canadian study shows visits for mental health and substance abuse problems by physicians increased 27% during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. The study is published in JAMA Network Open. The study was based on mental health and substance use outpatient records of 34,055 practicing physicians in Ontario, Canada. The number of visits per 1,000 physicians increased by 27% during the first year of the pandemic, and the absolute proportion of physicians with one or more mental health and substance use visits increased to 13.4% during the first year of the pandemic, compared with 12.3% in the prior year. (1/24)

When the Rev. Dale Cudjoe looks back on his workday as a chaplain for Methodist Hospitals he says knowing he maybe was able to help one person through this tough time keeps him going. “It’s just a joy knowing I’m making a difference in somebody’s day. I mean just the fact we are able to help somebody makes it all worth it. If I can help somebody, if I can cheer somebody, then my living won’t be in vain. If I help one person it’s worth it,” Cudjoe said. (Napoleon, 1/23)

For the past two Christmases, Ana Siqueira has received the same unwanted gift: covid-19. And so has her husband.The one-two punch they experienced underscores the coronavirus’s staying power and ability to crack through the body’s defenses. The first time Siqueira got the virus, one of her sons was isolating with covid at home, and Siqueira hadn’t been vaccinated. But the second time, Siqueira, 57, a children’s book author and Spanish teacher from Palm Harbor, Fla., had checked all the boxes. (Rizzo, 1/24)