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The latest figures, overlaying the interval between Christmas Eve and at present, present JN.1 making up 61.6% of all instances within the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). For comparability, in the course of the two-week interval ending November 11, JN.1 made up simply 3% of all instances. By the week of December 9, it was as much as 21%.
Wastewater monitoring, which is now the most effective metric for monitoring the virus since fewer individuals go to a health care provider for testing, suggests present viral exercise for COVID-19 is “very high,” with the very best viral load being discovered within the Midwest.
[Source: CDC]
The vacations usually present an increase in COVID instances as family and friends collect, however the will increase might proceed in January as kids return to high school and adults return to work. Some well being services, reminiscent of a few of these in Los Angeles County and New York City, are involved sufficient in regards to the uptick in instances that they’re requiring guests to put on masks as soon as once more.
Hospitalizations for COVID diagnoses are up 16.7% in the most recent week (ending December 23), based on the CDC, with a ten% enhance in deaths.
Whereas regarding, each of these numbers are notably under the place they stood the earlier yr: 10,000 fewer individuals have been hospitalized with COVID within the lead-up to the 2023 holidays than in 2022, and the typical weekly deaths have been practically twice as excessive final yr.
JN.1 is a subvariant of the Omicron—and the CDC notes that current vaccines, assessments, and coverings nonetheless work towards it.
“Right now, the unfold of JN.1 doesn’t seem to pose further dangers to public well being past that of different current variants,” the CDC wrote on December 22. “CDC is carefully monitoring COVID-19 will increase domestically and internationally and can talk if the scenario modifications.”
The rise in instances could be extra than simply seasonal, nonetheless. The JN.1 variant has extra mutations than different current strains of COVID. As well as, the variety of people who find themselves staying updated on their vaccinations is waning. The CDC estimates just 19% of adults are updated on their boosters—and simply 8% of kids. (Evaluate that to almost 70% of adults who’ve obtained a flu shot this yr and 44% of kids.)
JN.1 signs are just like a chilly for a lot of sufferers, with a sore throat and congestion being continuously reported, fairly than the lack of style or odor. Some sufferers additionally current with a dry cough. Extreme instances can carry shortness of breath, chest ache, or blue- or gray-ish coloration of lips and beneath nail beds.
Well being officers advise getting the latest booster shot to guard your self and plenty of additionally counsel carrying a masks in crowded indoor gatherings and on planes and public transportation.
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