New COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations rise as omicron wave continues

“We believe cases in major metropolitan areas on the coasts are likely to peak over the next two weeks,” Chris Meekins, health policy expert and health care analyst at Raymond James, told investors Monday. “The Midwestern regions will likely be left behind by a few weeks.”

Although omicron infections are considered milder, the sheer volume of cases still means hospitals are filling up. It takes about two weeks after that the cases start to increase to see an increase in hospitalizations.

The United States is expected to reach a record number of hospitalizations for COVID-19 within days, Meekins said.

There is a difference between people hospitalized for COVID-19 and people who test positive for the virus in hospital.

“These two things are happening at the same time,” said Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said friday during a press briefing, later adding: “These hospital screening programs have been going on for months now. So I don’t think that’s a reason for [increased] Number of cases. “

Other COVID-19 news to know:

• Citigroup Inc. is moving forward with its COVID-19 vaccine mandate. According to a report in Bloomberg News, Citi employees must be vaccinated by January 14 or will be placed on unpaid leave, with their last day of work set for January 31.

• The American public is losing confidence in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as we approach the third year of the pandemic. He has been criticized for a series of messaging missteps, according to Axios, including the change in isolation policy and its scattered recommendations on booster shots.

• It is still not clear how well rapid antigenic tests can detect omicron. An expert told the Wall Street Journal that vaccinated and stimulated people may not test positive for three or four days after infection, depending on the “peak virus concentration”. Another expert said people can be contagious before they have enough virus to test positive.

• However, some rapid tests are easier to use than others, aaccording to the ECRI institute, who formally evaluated seven tests. The easiest test to use? The On / Go.

Here’s what the numbers say

The average number of new cases of COVID-19 in the United States is now 677,243 per day, according to a New York Times tracker. Average daily hospitalizations are 130,006, up 80% from two weeks ago, and average daily COVID-19 deaths is 1,559, up 16% from two weeks ago. New cases are increasing in the United States, but are highest in the northeastern states, including New York, New Jersey and Rhode Island.

About 207.6 million people in the United States, or 62.5% of the population, are fully vaccinated, according to Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, while 75.3 million people received a COVID-19 booster injection. It is 36.3% of the population.