| CORONAVIRUS: If you breathe oxygen shared by any human, you are susceptible. Omicron is not just a new phase of the pandemic but almost a new disease — a viral lock picker that manages to infect cells even when swarmed by vaccine-weaponized antibodies. Omicron, spreading at lightning speed, is killing a smaller fraction of its human hosts than delta did last year. U.S. COVID-19 fatalities, however, include 250 children ages 4 and younger as of last week’s data, the elderly, patients of all ages weakened by other diseases — and people who have for various reasons not received COVID-19 jabs and booster doses. Daily COVID-19 case reports have roughly quintupled over the past month. About 650,000 new cases are being identified each day, more than twice as many as during last winter’s peak. It’s an undercount since the total tally does not include many results indicating the infections flagged by at-home antigen tests rather than labs (The New York Times). Stop and think about that kind of spread: Picture every single resident of cities as large as Baltimore and Charlotte, N.C., testing positive for COVID-19 each day. That’s what January in the United States is like during the pandemic. The Hill: Omicron fuels unprecedented spike in new U.S. infections. The Wall Street Journal: Labs are limiting COVID-19 test access as demand soars. The Associated Press: Where are the COVID-19 rapid home test kits Biden promised to send to households? 
© Associated Press/Elaine Thompson Public health experts who predicted the U.S. winter surge and still hope it ebbs in a matter of weeks acknowledge that omicron is very, very difficult to outrun. Among the biggest hurdles: schools. At the moment, there are not enough rapid screening tests available to meet the test-to-stay protocol recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and embraced in some public school systems. Officials are concerned more school closures are ahead (The Hill). “Omicron may infect 40 percent of the public on this wave; many won't escape it,” former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb told CBS’s “Face the Nation” on Sunday. “What's driving the pandemic right now is the fact that we're probably only diagnosing somewhere between 1 in 5 and 1 in 10 actual infections, and there's a lot of people walking around with mild illness or asymptomatic infection who don't know it, who are spreading it.” Many of those Americans who are getting tested regularly for their jobs or are required to show negative test results to travel or return to schools and universities are surprised when they test positive. They have socialized with friends, lived among family members and gone to work. Many got vaccinated, raced to get booster doses, upgraded from cloth masks to KN95 versions — and they still contracted the coronavirus. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) is among the notables who tested positive for COVID-19, she announced Sunday (The Hill). She was at least the fourth breakthrough infection flagged among lawmakers just over the weekend. There will be more. 🎾 And speaking of COVID-19 and celebrities, an Australian judge on Monday reinstated tennis great Novak Djokovic’s visa to allow him to play in the Australian Open despite his unvaccinated status. However, the Australian government is threatening to cancel the visa once again, jeopardizing his chances to win a record 21st Grand Slam title. The tournament is set to start on Jan. 17 (The Associated Press). Medical ethicist Ezekiel Emanuel, professor and a vice provost at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine who advised Biden and former President Obama on health care policy, predicts the United States will not reach the goal of 70 percent of the population fully vaccinated without mandates to get the shots (The Hill). The Office of Management and Budget now says it’s up to the discretion of government agencies to adopt strict measures aimed at federal employees who remain unvaccinated against COVID-19. The rate of vaccination compliance is high across the federal government and agencies say they do not expect disruptions from any suspensions or firings that result (The Hill). The courts will decide who has authority over COVID-19 vaccine mandates for National Guard troops ahead of a looming Pentagon deadline in June requiring COVID-19 vaccinations for guardsmen. Texas and Oklahoma, which are battling vaccine mandates in court, maintain that states have authority over the guard (The Hill). The Hill: Japan announced that U.S. troops will be required to remain on base except when necessary as a precaution to try to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. ******** CONGRESS: The full Congress returns to Washington for the first time in 2022 and will be greeted by a Democratic agenda that’s become increasingly narrow as the chances of striking a Build Back Better deal grow dimmer in the eyes of the majority party. According to The Hill’s Alexander Bolton, Senate Democrats are increasingly pessimistic over the ability to ever win Manchin’s support and believe that he has little desire to make a deal with Biden on the administration’s cornerstone agenda item. Since the Christmas recess ended, negotiations with the West Virginia centrist have stayed dormant. Adding to the trouble, repeated remarks by Manchin since then have raised serious doubts among the party faithful over the possibility of Manchin ever supporting an interaction of the mammoth social spending and climate bill. The comments have also confused his colleagues and muddied the water for future talks. “It’s not like a normal negotiation and that’s what is frustrating Biden and frustrating everybody,” said one Democratic senator who requested anonymity to discuss doubts about whether Manchin is negotiating with a real end goal in mind. Sen. Dick Durbin (Ill.), the No. 2 Senate Democrat, told reporters that he is “still in the dark” on Manchin’s endgame, adding that he has “no idea” if Manchin wants a deal and that he has no more clarity about whether he can get to “yes” than when talks began in late summer. Axios: Democrats on Manchin: “Like negotiating via Etch A Sketch.” The Associated Press: As spending bill stalls, Biden climate goals remain elusive. No deal on a Build Back Better bill also means something else for Democrats: that the main avenue to rolling back the cap on the state and local tax deduction has been shut off, a major blow to top Democrats from the tri-state area and other high-tax regions. Before Manchin put a dagger in the package last month, lawmakers still had yet to reach a deal on rolling back the deduction. However, its inclusion in any future iteration is very much up in the air as, with both moderates and progressives complaining that any alteration will help the wealthiest, complicating whether the provision can get consensus (The Hill). What happens in the next month and a half will provide the backdrop to March 1, when Biden is set to deliver the State of the Union address. The Associated Press: Biden shied away from news conferences, interviews in his first year in office. More in Congress: Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) said on Sunday that he will not cooperate with the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol after it asked him to voluntarily comply with an interview request and answer questions about his discussions with Trump during that day. Jordan labeled it an “unprecedented and inappropriate demand.” The Ohio lawmaker has admitted that he spoke with Trump during the day and is considered a material witness by the panel. A committee spokesperson said it would respond to Jordan more in the “coming days” and is considering appropriate next steps (Politico). Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) on Sunday said the panel already has a “powerful and substantive narrative” months into its probe of the fatal riot. Kinzinger made the comment when asked how much information the panel would report today if the investigation were to conclude (The Hill). The Hill: Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.): Stephanie Grisham told Jan. 6 panel about “a number of names that I had not heard before.” The Washington Post: Trump’s cable Cabinet: New texts reveal the influence of Fox hosts on the previous White House. Jordain Carney, The Hill: Democrats, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) set for showdown over Russian pipeline. | 
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