COVID Hospitalizations Continue to Rise , Despite Overall Cases Remaining Low.
ABC reports that the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC) has warned that hospitalizations due
to COVID-19 continue to increase in the United States.
As of the week ending August 5,
the number of hospitalizations
increased 14.3% from 9,026 to 10,320.
ABC reports that despite the double-digit
percentage jump, the absolute number
of hospitalizations remains quite low.
In January 2022, amid a surge
of the Omicron variant, weekly
hospitalizations peaked at 150,674.
We have to remember that we're still
dealing with numbers that are far less
than what we've seen for the pandemic, Dr. John Brownstein, epidemiologist and chief innovation
officer at Boston Children's Hospital, via ABC.
We have to zoom out to look at our
experience for the entire pandemic,
to understand that what we're dealing
with now is far from any crisis that
we've experienced with previous waves, Dr. John Brownstein, epidemiologist and chief innovation
officer at Boston Children's Hospital, via ABC.
ABC reports that deaths from COVID
also increased slightly in July.
Proportionately, it makes sense that
when you have increased transmission,
you will see proportionately some
increase in hospitalizations, and you
will see some increase in deaths, Dr. John Brownstein, epidemiologist and chief innovation
officer at Boston Children's Hospital, via ABC.
But there's a decoupling that is happening
between cases and hospitalizations, where
a jump in cases doesn't necessarily mean
as big a jump in hospitalizations and deaths, Dr. John Brownstein, epidemiologist and chief innovation
officer at Boston Children's Hospital, via ABC.
ABC reports that all subvariants
currently in circulation are related
to XBB, an offshoot of Omicron. .
According to the CDC, the latest EG.5 variant now
makes up approximately 17% of all new cases.