"JN.1 represents more than 96% of COVID cases now. Emergency department visits and hospitalizations for COVID continue to decrease again this week. Emergency department visits for COVID are highest for babies under age 1 and for people 65 and older at this time. Flu is having a small resurgence due to Influenza B, especially in children.
"Although wastewater SARS-CoV-2 virus levels are still in the “HIGH” level for the U.S, they are going down. We are at 740,000 new COVID infections daily in the US, which translates to every 1 in 45 Americans is currently infected. SARS-CoV-2 virus levels are highest in South Dakota, Virginia and Georgia.
"The CDC is following a new variant called BA.2.87.1 that has been seen in 3 provinces in South Africa. Some people are worried that BA.2.87 could have the potential to cause a new COVID wave if it picks up more mutations. JP Weiland feels that BA.2.87 will most likely not be a problem because it has not had exponential growth like BA.2.86 did. For now, COVID cases are expected to continue to decrease over the next months.
"An article in the Washington Post this week stated that the CDC was planning on dropping isolation recommendations for COVID infections, similar to new recommendations in California and Oregon. Epidemiologists and public health scientists immediately responded on Twitter that if the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention drops isolation for COVID positive individuals, this would not be in line with controlling or preventing disease.
"Like California, the CDC is expected to allow COVID positive people to return to work if they have no fever and their symptoms are improving like what is done with colds and flu. But, COVID is not a cold and it is not the flu. We know from that the SARS-CoV-2 virus can be readily spread even when infected people have no symptoms at all. COVID has long term consequences that colds and the flu do not have. Cognitive slowing and exhaustion from Long COVID is affecting many people around the world. Several large studies show that there is an increase in chronic diseases like heart disease (heart attacks, arrhythmias), stroke and diabetes in the year after a COVID infection. According to a video from Bernie Sanders this week, Long COVID is now the third most common neurological disorder in the U.S. That is huge."
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