I won't repeat the  Worldometer  data for yesterday, but you should know that, while the new deaths in the U.S. dropped from 1658 to 1264, the new case figure slightly rose from 131K to 133K.  The scary jumps are the Omicro variant-induced new cases in South Africa:   Tuesday  4300 Wednesday  8600 Thursday  11,500  The latest news about COVID-19, although there won't be anything conclusive about the Omicron variant for several weeks: Having had previously contracted this ailment won't necessarily protect you much from the Omicron variant.  Hawaii's only case was to someone who previously had contracted COVID-19 who did not travel, meaning that this variant has already been established here. While vaccines appear to still be working, the efficiency has almost surely dropped. If you are younger than fifty, the odds are very, very low that you will die if you get infected. The unvaccinated and those over 65 will be significantly aided by Paxlovid, the new Pfizer PILL to av

                                       From  Worldometer  (new  COVID-19 deaths yesterday):          DAY    USA    WORLD     Brazil      India      South Africa June     9    1093     4732         1185        246       82 July    22     1205     7128         1293      1120     572 Aug    12     1504     6556        1242        835     130 Sept     9     1208      6222       1136       1168       82 Oct     21     1225      6849         571        703       85 Nov    25      2304    12025        620        518      118 Dec     30      3880    14748       1224       299      465 Jan      14       4142     15512        1151        189      712                  Feb      3       4005    14265       1209       107      398 Mar     2        1989      9490        1726       110      194 April   6          906     11787         4211       631       37 May    4         853     13667         3025     3786      59   June   1         287    10637         2346      3205       95  July   7          2