U.S. Health Officials Tracking COVID Increase in U.Ok.

March 20, 2022

U.S. well being officers are watching the regular climb in COVID-19 instances within the U.Ok., which tends to sign what might occur subsequent within the U.S., in keeping with NPR.

Daily instances counts have elevated 38% previously week, in keeping with the newest information from the U.Ok. Health Security Agency. Hospitalizations are up about 25% as nicely.

“Over the last year or so, what happens in the U.K. usually happens here a few weeks later,” Anthony Fauci, MD, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, advised NPR.

“And right now, the U.K. is seeing somewhat of a rebound in cases,” he mentioned.

Health officers within the U.Ok. have famous the newest improve is probably going as a result of contagious BA.2 Omicron subvariant, the current loosening of coronavirus restrictions and waning immunity from vaccinations and infections.

“All three of those factors we have here in the United States,” Fauci mentioned. “So I would not be surprised if, in the next few weeks, we see either a plateauing … of cases or even [the curve] rebounds and slightly goes up.”

Right now, COVID-19 instances within the U.S. have dropped to their lowest ranges since July 2021, in keeping with the newest CDC information, with fewer than 30,000 each day instances. At the identical time, the speed of decline in instances has slowed considerably and is starting to plateau.

Public well being specialists are additionally pointing to wastewater surveillance information that reveals an uptick in viral exercise throughout the nation. The CDC’s wastewater dashboard signifies that about 35% of websites that monitor wastewater are seeing a rise, with constant progress in Florida, Rhode Island and West Virginia.

“The power of wastewater surveillance is that it’s an early warning system,” Amy Kirby, this system lead for the CDC’s National Wastewater Surveillance System, advised NPR.

“We are seeing evidence of increases in some communities across the country,” she mentioned. “What looked like noise at the beginning of the week is starting to look like a true signal here at the end of the week.”

The wastewater system doesn’t distinguish between Omicron and subvariants equivalent to BA.2. However, different CDC information has discovered a rise in BA.2 instances within the U.S., making up a few quarter of recent COVID-19 instances.

The BA.2 variant has roughly doubled every week for the final month, which suggests it might turn out to be the dominant coronavirus pressure within the U.S. in coming weeks, in keeping with USA Today. Cases look like spreading extra rapidly within the Northeast and West, making up about 39% of instances in New York and New Jersey final week.

BA.2 additionally accounts for almost 39% of instances throughout the Northeast, together with Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont, USA Today reported. In the West, which incorporates Arizona, California and Nevada, the subvariant makes up about 28% of recent instances. In the higher West, which incorporates Alaska, Oregon and Washington, about 26% of instances are BA.2.

The excellent news is that BA.2 “doesn’t seem to evade our vaccines or immunity any more than the prior Omicron [variant]. And it doesn’t seem to lead to any more increased severity of disease,” Rochelle Walensky, MD, the CDC director, advised NPR’s Morning Edition on Friday.

The results of BA.2 will possible rely on the immunity profile within the U.S., together with how lengthy it’s been since somebody was vaccinated, boosted or recovered from an an infection, she mentioned.

Health officers are watching different international locations with BA.2 will increase, equivalent to Germany, Italy and the Netherlands. Many European international locations have been reporting an uptick however not implementing main restrictions or shutdowns, USA Today reported.

The BA.2 variant possible gained’t result in a serious surge in extreme illness or strict COVID-19 measures, Fauci advised NPR, however some coronavirus protocols might must be carried out once more if instances develop dramatically.

“We must be ready to pivot and, if necessary, to go back to stricter mitigation with regard to masks,” he mentioned.