Post-Holidays Covid Surge Sends More To Hospital Across US
The Boston Globe also reminds us that the virus "everyone wants to forget" is still killing people, with data showing a jump in deaths in Massachusetts. But in more upbeat news, the San Francisco Chronicle reports the percentage of adults experiencing long covid symptoms is declining.
San Francisco Chronicle:
Cases, Hospitalizations Jump Nationwide Following Holidays
The seven-day average of weekly new COVID-19 cases in the U.S. increased 16.2% to 67,243 compared with the previous average of 57,847, according to data published Friday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Vaziri, 1/6)
The Boston Globe:
Latest Numbers Show Jump In COVID-19 Deaths As Expected Winter Surge Arrives
The virus that everyone wants to forget is surging, reminding us that life is not yet back to normal. During the week that ended Wednesday, 129 Massachusetts residents died of COVID-19, double the toll during the last week of November. Sixteen people died on Christmas Day, and eight on New Year’s Day, according to the latest data from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. (Freyer, 1/6)
In news concerning long covid —
San Francisco Chronicle:
Percent Of Adults Experiencing Long COVID Is On The decline
The proportion of American adults who say they are currently experiencing symptoms associated with long COVID is decreasing, according to new data from the U.S. Census Bureau published Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Vaziri, 1/6)
Stat:
A Writer Gives Voice To Long Covid And Mothering From Bed
Kristin Houlihan, 38, got sick in March 2020 with a virus she assumes was Covid. She wasn’t sick, in a flu-like sense, for long. But then, some symptoms never went away: night sweats, extreme temperature swings after meals. She spent the next year or so living life, raising her children, but also noticing that some things were different. She’d come home from doing groceries and be “unusually tired,” or be shaky after taking her kids to the park. (Cueto, 1/9)
On how RSV numbers are slipping —
NPR:
RSV Recedes And Flu Peaks As A New COVID Variant Shoots 'Up Like A Rocket'
The good news is the worst appears to be over from the RSV surge that has been making life miserable for many children and their parents. RSV cases have been falling steadily since the end of November, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. At the same time, the flu — which also came roaring back this fall after mostly disappearing for the previous two years — looks like it's finally receding in most places, according to the latest data out Friday from the CDC. (Stein, 1/6)
CIDRAP:
US Flu Markers Decline Further, But 13 More Pediatric Deaths Reported
Flu activity is still high, but it continues to drop in most regions, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said today in its weekly report, which covers data ending Dec 31. Most markers declined, including the percentage of outpatient visits for flulike illness, which dropped from 6.1% to 5.4%. Also, the percentage of respiratory samples at clinical labs testing positive for influenza declined from 19.8% to 15.0%. (Schnirring, 1/6)
Meanwhile, China's covid wave could hit U.S. medical supply chains —
NBC News:
China’s Covid Wave Threatens Another Snarl Of U.S. Medical Supply Chain
U.S. hospitals, health care companies and federal officials worked to lessen their dependence on China for medical goods after the first wave of Covid infections in 2020 laid bare the major role China plays in manufacturing such crucial items as masks, latex gloves and surgical gowns, along with the key drugs and components in many medical devices. (Pettypiece, 1/8)
