When Will Covid End? | Ep 1
· 12.07.2022 · 16:42:04 ··· ··· Tuesday ·· 2 (2)
Austin Wanthana When will Covid end? | Ep. 1
Hopes of Covid-19 Reprieve Fade as BA.5 Subvariant Takes Over
By Jon Kamp and Jared S Hopkins
Covid-19 is circulating widely as the BA. 5 Omicron subvariant elevates the risk of reinfections and dominates case counts, spoiling chances for a summer reprieve from the pandemic across much of the U.S.
Covid-19 levels are high in a fifth of U.S. counties, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s metric based on case and hospital data, a share that has been mostly rising since mid-April. BA.5 is estimated to represent more than half of recent U.S. cases that are averaging just more than 100,000 a day, CDC data show. The true number of infections may be roughly six times as high, some virus experts said, in part because so many people are using at-home tests state health departments largely don’t track.
“We think we’re in a very high level of community transmission, second only to the Omicron peak from the wintertime,” said Jeffrey Duchin, health officer for the public-health agency covering Seattle and King County, Wash.
Nationally, wastewater data tracking the prevalence of the Covid-19 virus through July 6 has recently trended up, according to Biobot Analytics. Such data can provide clues about the pandemic’s trajectory.
New York City last week urged people to resume masking in public, indoor settings and around crowds outside. Los Angeles County’s public health department said rising Covid-19 hospital admissions mean the county also could soon reach high community prevalence and that officials would reinstate a mask mandate if the county stayed at that level for two weeks.
Signs of acute illness remain muted, continuing a hallmark of the spring surge, as treatments plus immunity from vaccines and previous infections reduce risks for many people. But the high prevalence of infection in many areas continues to cause disruptions, including canceled flights and spoiled travel plans, sick children sidelined from camp and child care and hospital employees who can’t report to work.
BA.5’s mutations make it particularly adept at causing repeat infections, even in people who had the version of Omicron that caused the largest recorded spike in cases last winter. There isn’t evidence that it differs from recent strains when it comes to symptoms and severity, virus experts said. There are mixed signals on the subvariant’s impact overseas and it isn’t clear what path it will take in the U.S., Ashish Jha, the White House’s Covid-19 response coordinator, said over the weekend.
Article from the Wall Street Journal in Apple News
Thumbnail Credits: https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/international/2020/10/07/585705.htm
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