COVID Re-surges and Wave Increases Once Again
Currently, in the United States there is a wave increase of constant virus transmissions, and the new variant called JN.1 has become the most dominant strain at the moment. Especially, in holiday festivities where families, communities, groups, and overall public events where people gather together.
These are the type of events and places where people are the most exposed, susceptible and at risk to contract the virus, and not anymore just the Coronavirus but also many of the different variants and mutations that keep coming up after COVID-19, and like it was mentioned before, right now the population is facing high numbers of transmissions from the JN.1 virus strain. However, the number of infections is not as high as they were in the year of 2022.
The New Variant, JN.1
This wave of people being infected and sweeping the United States is being led by JN.1, which is a highly transmissible virus and is showing up in people who have been already vaccinated or that have even been infected before. In fact, wastewater detection levels indicate that this wave of infections could be the largest since the 2021 Omicron variant, infecting nearly two million Americans every day.
This particular mutation has been the cause for about 44 percent of infections nationwide by mid-December, which is quite a rise compared to seven percent in late November. Moreover, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), “the wastewater viral activity for COVID-19 is the highest it’s been since the Omicron surge in 2022.” This shows that society should still be taking precautions and be mindful of those that are the most vulnerable to these viral infections.
In terms of symptoms, JN.1 doesn’t seem to cause more severe sickness than previous mutations. And its symptoms are mostly similar. They can include:
- Sore throat.
- Congestion.
- Cough.
- Fatigue.
- Headache.
- Fever or chills.
- Loss of sense of taste or smell.
- Nausea or vomiting.
- Shortness of breathe.
- Diarrhea and more.
Hospitalizations Statistics
In fact, currently there have been an average of at least 1,400 COVID-related deaths each week, since the week of Thanksgiving. Also, according to the CDC there were 29,000 COVID hospitalizations in the week before Christmas, the most recent data compared with 39,000 the previous year.
However, despite the large spike in cases, COVID-related hospitalizations and deaths are in low numbers fortunately. Nonetheless, according to CDC experts they have noticed that vaccines are also low, only about 19 percent of adults have received the latest shot, which this is a factor that a lot of people have to take into consideration to prevent the spreading of these viruses.
Preventing the Spread of COVID and Variants
The reality of this rise in cases regarding the JN.1 variant is that they increased due to the holiday gatherings. Also according to doctors and public health officials the transmissions increased after people returned to work and school this week. However, although the statistics are going up with the JN.1 variant, according to Caitlin Rivers, an epidemiologist at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, “We’re not seeing the signs that would make me think that we’re heading into another severe wave, so far, we’re in relatively good shape.”
Furthermore, on the other hand, Dr. Rivers also claimed, “still, there are few masks in sight, and just a fraction of the most vulnerable people have received the latest COVID shots.” This proves that if more people get their vaccine, the probabilities of infections and transmissions can decrease and prevent others from getting sick.
She also did mentioned the following, “It’s not too late, we have not even reached peak yet for COVID, and once you reach peak, you still have to get down the other side. That leaves plenty of time for the vaccine to provide some protection.” With these statements she does provide hope to the society of decreasing the transmissions of COVID and its variants. But, people do have to ensure to get their vaccines to prevent further spreading.
Written by Jeanette Sanchez
Sources:
Semafor: US sees largest COVID wave since omicron
The Hill: US sees COVID resurgence as JN.1 variant becomes dominant
The New York Times: Covid Has Resurged, but Scientists See a Diminished Threat
The Washington Post: Another covid wave hits U.S. as JN.1 becomes dominant variant
AL News: COVID variant JN.1: 3 most common symptoms and order they appear
Featured Image Susan Jane Golding Courtesy of Flickr Page-Creative Commons License
Inset Image Keith Reed Courtesy of Flickr Page-Creative Commons License
