Nothing like several years ago….
But they ARE Up…..
Several people I know or have heard about have had the virus and despite the media graphic’s….
The virus is making another round….
I even see more people wearing masks again….
(And then there is China opening back up?)
The good thing is self-test kits are plentiful…..
And the current strains seem less stronger…
The latest surge, likely worsened by holiday gatherings, comes as the number of vaccines administered hits a three-month lull despite ongoing pleas from public health officials. Roughly 15 percent of the U.S. has received an updated booster shot, according to the CDC, and only 38 percent of those over 65 years old have received the booster, leading public health officials to ponder the possible effects of the new strain.
POLITICO spoke with two infectious disease experts about what the new Omicron strain, XBB1.5, which now accounts for about 40 percent of U.S. cases and appears to be particularly prevalent in the Northeast, means for the country and how we got here.
The variant doesn’t seem to be driving up hospitalizations and deaths — but the risk to individuals is real.
Though Covid hospitalizations appear to be on the rise nationwide, experts don’t project this Omicron subvariant alone to cause a spike — forecasts from early data suggest they’ll remain fairly steady, Céline Gounder, an infectious disease specialist and senior fellow at the Kaiser Family Foundation, said.
Holiday travel, social gatherings and colder weather are factors in the rising hospitalization rate.
“This may be more transmissible, but it’s not necessarily translating into more hospitalizations and deaths in the population at large,” she added.
The prediction matches the data from Singapore, where a related subvariant recently became dominant but didn’t result in a spike in hospitalizations and deaths — though that country’s vaccination rate is higher than that of the U.S….
COVID deaths in New York state spiked 30% last month — to the highest tally since early 2022 — nearly three years after the virus first ravaged the state, a Post analysis shows.
There were 915 deaths linked to coronavirus and its variants in the Empire State in December — about 30 a day — compared with 664 deaths in November.
The monthly death toll hit levels unseen since since February 2022, The Post review of state Health Department data found — and comes despite widely available vaccines and antiviral drugs to treat COVID-19.
Public health experts said the rising rate is proof COVID can still be considered a pandemic rather than a rear-view-mirror nuisance…..
More….