There were a lot of headlines regarding celebrities contracting Covid-19 a few weeks ago.
Many high-ranking government officials (including Attorney General Merrick Garland), as well as members of Congress including Joaquin Castro and Susan Collins (as well as New York Mayor Eric Adams), were on the guest list (like Sarah Jessica Parker, Matthew Broderick and Daniel Craig).
Celebrities infected with the disease ranged in age from the 60s to the 80s. 69-year-olds Collins married Garland Pelosi, 82, is the oldest member of Congress.
However, thus far, none of their instances appear to be particularly serious. David Weigel, a reporter for the Washington Post, noted this week:
There is a pattern to these stories. Hospitalizations have remained unchanged in numerous areas where the number of cases has increased in recent weeks. However, hospitalizations began climbing a week after cases occurred in previous Covid waves.
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Chicago and Seattle, Meanwhile, Show Similar Trends
It’s hard to believe. Covid’s answers aren’t always clear, as they often are. Many experts, however, feel that at least some of this is due to the fact that the epidemic is evolving. As a result of these three factors, the proportion of instances that develop into serious illnesses appears to be decreasing.
As long as you’re at least 12 years old, you’re eligible for vaccines and booster shots that are both safe and effective. Children’s Covid continues to have a minor effect on them.
Treating the immunocompromised with Evusheld and Paxlovid for susceptible patients who become sick is becoming more commonplace.
At this Point, The Virus has Already Infected Tens of Millions of People in the United States, Making them Immune.
Severe Covid cannot be cured by following these tendencies. If the number of cases continues to rise, the number of hospitalizations across the country is likely to increase in the following weeks.
In the previous two weeks, the official number of cases has grown by 43 percent, and hospitalizations have surged in a few states, such as Vermont. However, hospitalizations in the United States have not yet increased, most likely due to the same three factors I mentioned earlier.
Hospitalizations may climb in the coming weeks, but if the proportion of cases that lead to serious disease decreases, this is excellent news, according to Dr. Craig Spencer, the Columbia University head of global health in emergency medicine.
As Spencer explained to me, “I haven’t had any Covid patients show up in the E.R. in weeks, and I’m going to work now expecting not to.”
Hospitals would be less likely to be overrun during future Covid surges if cases and severe disease were separated. Patients who require medical attention can get it if hospitals limit overcrowding, another factor that reduces adverse health outcomes.
‘MisLeading’
In the future, this bulletin will focus less on coronavirus cases and more on the number of hospitalizations it reports. As Spencer pointed out, “looking at the data in the same way we’ve been accustomed over the past two years can be deceiving.”
Case numbers still have some relevance, so we won’t dismiss them entirely. However, as the epidemic has progressed, the quality and relevance of the case data has waned.
As a result of the recent closure of numerous testing centres and the migration to at-home testing, it is less reliable. In spite of these issues, the information on Covid hospitalizations and deaths is as accurate as it was earlier in the pandemic.
Vaccines are now widely available to all adults in the United States, making the data less useful because Covid is now a flu-like sickness, even for the elderly and those with compromised immune systems. Paxlovid, a newer therapy, also has a role.
Covid Death Rate
The daily Covid death rate for boosted old people in the county that encompasses Seattle (which keeps precise statistics) has recently hovered around two per million. In a moderate flu season, this is greater than the national death toll, while in a strong flu season, this is lower than the toll.
Severe Covid’s chances for enhanced persons (and children) are very similar to those of severe influenza. When politicians or Broadway stars have the flu, you don’t hear about it in the media as frequently as you might expect.
I can see why Covid is still a major deal in the country. Covid continues to kill approximately 500 Americans per day due to the enormous number of unvaccinated individuals.
For one thing, Covid has ruled our lives for more than two years now, and we can’t easily switch back to our 2019 routines by doing so.
It’s also not logical to assume that the Covid of 2022 will be the same as the Covid of 2020. That isn’t true at all. When it comes to protecting yourself from influenza, vaccines, treatments, and even natural immunity have had a major impact.
