Six COVID-19 updates from the last week:
1. The nation's seven-day average for new COVID-19 cases is falling, but deaths continue to rise and now are eclipsing levels seen during the delta wave, data from the CDC and Baltimore-based Johns Hopkins University show.
2. Rather than altering the definition of "fully vaccinated," the CDC is emphasizing the importance of staying up to date with COVID-19 vaccination schedules.
3. The word "endemic" is one of the most misused of the pandemic, contributing to a dangerous complacency about COVID-19's potential future toll, according to Aris Katzourakis, PhD, professor of evolution and genomics at St. Hilda's College Oxford in the U.K.
4. A new version of the omicron variant, known as BA.2, has been reported in 40 countries. Here's what we know about it as of Jan. 24.
5. More than 1.1 million COVID-19 cases were reported among children for the week ending Jan. 20, according to data from the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children's Hospital Association.
6. Here's a compilation of some key U.S. COVID-19 metrics from both the delta and omicron surges.