Post by Nadica (She/Her) on Jul 20, 2024 6:03:22 GMT
US COVID-19 activity continues to rise steadily - Published July 19, 2024
(Second story in breif)
The latest COVID indicators from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) today showed more rises, with wastewater detections trending upward in all regions of the country, especially the West and South.
The state of the nation's COVID activity this week was marked by President Joe Biden's announcement that he had tested positive for the virus. A letter from Biden's doctor, Kevin O'Connor, DO, yesterday said the president is still experiencing mild upper respiratory symptoms and that he continues to take Paxlovid.
Surge in KP.3.1.1 detections
In its latest variant proportion projections, the CDC reported a big jump in KP.3.1.1 viruses, an offshoot of KP.3 that scientists this week said is poised to become dominant because of its higher infectivity and immune evasion. KP.3 and its relative, KP.3.1.1, together make up more than 50% of variant sequences.
Among early indicators, the national test positivity rose to 12.6% last week, up 1.2 percentage points from the previous week, and were highest in the West and lowest in the Middle Atlantic states. Emergency department visits for COVID were also up slightly.
Along with the CDC's report of high wastewater levels of SARS-CoV-2, WastewaterSCAN, a national wastewater monitoring system based at Stanford University in partnership with Emory University, notes that detections are in the high category, with no significant trend up or downward over the past 3 weeks. It said all regions of the country are in the high category, except for the Midwest, which is at the medium level.
Hospitalizations for COVID are increasing, especially in people ages 65 and older, the CDC said in its weekly respiratory virus snapshot. Deaths from COVID showed no change from the previous week.
(Second story in breif)
The latest COVID indicators from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) today showed more rises, with wastewater detections trending upward in all regions of the country, especially the West and South.
The state of the nation's COVID activity this week was marked by President Joe Biden's announcement that he had tested positive for the virus. A letter from Biden's doctor, Kevin O'Connor, DO, yesterday said the president is still experiencing mild upper respiratory symptoms and that he continues to take Paxlovid.
Surge in KP.3.1.1 detections
In its latest variant proportion projections, the CDC reported a big jump in KP.3.1.1 viruses, an offshoot of KP.3 that scientists this week said is poised to become dominant because of its higher infectivity and immune evasion. KP.3 and its relative, KP.3.1.1, together make up more than 50% of variant sequences.
Among early indicators, the national test positivity rose to 12.6% last week, up 1.2 percentage points from the previous week, and were highest in the West and lowest in the Middle Atlantic states. Emergency department visits for COVID were also up slightly.
Along with the CDC's report of high wastewater levels of SARS-CoV-2, WastewaterSCAN, a national wastewater monitoring system based at Stanford University in partnership with Emory University, notes that detections are in the high category, with no significant trend up or downward over the past 3 weeks. It said all regions of the country are in the high category, except for the Midwest, which is at the medium level.
Hospitalizations for COVID are increasing, especially in people ages 65 and older, the CDC said in its weekly respiratory virus snapshot. Deaths from COVID showed no change from the previous week.