People’s CDC COVID-19 Weather Report

The People’s CDC supports people the world over who want to know how to stay safer during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our Weather Report updates shed light on the COVID-19 situation in the United States. 

The Current Situation – “The Weather”: The rising cases from the Northeast have spread across the country, with the very predictable trend of an increase in hospitalization now appearing as well.

Using the CDC transmission levels (not the hospitalization-focused “Community Levels”), we continue to see high case levels in the Northeast. High levels are now spreading throughout the Midwest & West and parts of the South.

Map of the U.S. by county, showing red (high transmission) across New England and scattered in other regions including the Midwest, Nebraska, and the West Coast; the rest is yellow (moderate) and blue (low) transmission.

While the CDC’s graph states less than 25% of U.S. counties have high transmission, the truth is 49% of Americans live in a county with high transmission – and another 22% live in a county with moderate transmission.

Right now, multiple waves of variants are washing over the country. BA2 (pink) has nearly replaced original Omicron while BA2.12.1 (red) is now becoming the major variant across the East.

A map of the U.S. with pie charts over 10 regions. Each regional pie chart indicates a large number of cases are BA2 (pink), but some new slices of BA2.12 appear in red. The red slices are largest in the Northeast (over half) and Ohio regions (nearly 25%).

This phenomenon is happening in other places – for instance, South Africa is being swept by new strains, BA4 & BA5. So far, these variants seem to be better at spreading but do not seem to be causing more severe disease.

A graph with curved colored lines showing the COVID strains activity from November 2021 - April 2022. BA.1 took a large decline to flattening out in mid-March 2022. BA.2 appears to have peaked in the beginning of March and is currently decreasing. BA.4 and BA.5 are increasing, with BA.5 creating a sharper incline. Delta and other strains have greatly decreased in comparison to the above mentioned.

Hospitalizations are a lagging indicator of who was infected 2-3 weeks ago. Hospitalizations, which have been increasing in the Northeast for the past few weeks, are now increasing in every region. 

First line graph from the CDC shows peaks in hospitalizations during each surge for the whole nation, then a rapid decline in Feb 2022, and now a small upturn in April 2022. Second line graph from the CDC shows the same data by age group, with older groups showing higher levels of hospitalization.

These increases are driven by changes among the youngest (<17) & oldest (>70) age groups.

Last week, 2,338 people died of COVID-19 in the U.S. 

New data in a CDC report published last week revealed that by the end of February, 58% of the population & 75% of children <12 have had COVID. They had antibodies specific to a COVID infection – these were not antibodies from vaccination.

A line graph from September 2021 to Febrayar 2022, showing the infection-induced seroprevalence as a percent on the y-axis. Fivelines indicate different ages. The top two lines, for 0-11 and 12-17 year olds, overlap. The next line is for 18-49 year olds, followed by 50-64 years old and then 65 and older at the bottom. All the lines had gradual increases from September to December and then much steeper increases from December to February.

Importantly, the biggest jump occurred during the Omicron wave, when the administration chose to let the virus spread throughout the country, reassuring us using their go-to mantra: “We have the tools.” We did not. Many of us still do not.

Note: this study doesn’t draw on a purely random sample and may underestimate true infections. In particular, people without access to healthcare are more likely to have been left out.

Be prepared, whatever the weather: Vaccination rates remain virtually unchanged, with less than 46% of the population boosted

And while vaccination with boosting offers significant protection from hospitalization and death, it is far from foolproof: A recent analysis showed that more than 40% of the deaths during the Omicron wave were among vaccinated people.

With rising cases and waning vaccine efficacy, it is more essential than ever that we use layers of protection for ourselves and our communities. We continue to recommend the use of N95, KN95, or KF94 masks indoors. Check out Project N95.

Other layers might include minimizing the number of people you encounter, especially indoors; opening windows; using high-quality air filters (cleanaircrew.org); or using rapid testing prior to gatherings.

As cases rise, the role of early treatment becomes even more important. Paxlovid is a pill treatment that people can take by mouth, at home, with a prescription from a health care provider. It reduces hospitalization and death from COVID-19 infection by almost 90%. 

But, it is inaccessible for many. Paxlovid hasn’t been approved for children under 12, we do not have universal access to healthcare in the US, and the current test-to-treat program is failing to address access equitably and failing to distribute existing treatment supplies. That these technologies simply exist does not mean they are being used, and they should not be seen as an excuse to overlook systemic inequities or abandon communal care.

Forecast: As this surge progresses, we expect hospitalizations to continue to rise in much of the country. As in past surges, we expect to see deaths begin to increase in the weeks after hospitalizations increase. Be careful, out there.

On Long Covid: Congratulations to @Patientled for securing $3M for future LC research. Check out their article in The Lancet to learn about common and prolonged Long Covid symptoms.

Tiny Tip: 

#COVIDIsAirborne. Follow @joeyfox85 to become a ventilation expert

https://twitter.com/joeyfox85/status/1519027006830174210

and to learn to stop covid spread in your home:

https://twitter.com/joeyfox85/status/1508527893567131652
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