COVID-19 watch
Tracking Hardship - January 13, 2023
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The XBB.1.5 edition. New COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations, and deaths are on the rise in many parts of the country. Hospitalizations in particular are at the highest level they’ve been in almost 11 months. Some of this increase was anticipated due to the aftermath of the holidays – a time when many family members and friends gather indoors. But the increase in caseloads is also due to the rapid emergence of XBB.1.5, which is more transmissible than any other omicron subvariant we’ve seen so far.
“The implications of XBB.1.5 are also much bigger than just this formidable variant,” writes Eric Topol, a well-respected Professor of Molecular Medicine at Scripps Research. “The virus is talking to us, and it is telling us that it has many more ways to evolve. It is revealing that it not only can fake out or elude our immune response, but can also get better at penetrating our response.”
Vaccination rates are not what they should be in the U.S., particularly among the elderly, and some treatments don’t work against the new subvariants. Moreover, immune-compromised people are very much at risk.
Congress, unfortunately, is not seriously considering new funding to help boost the vaccination rate, develop new vaccines, or pursue new, effective therapeutics. “We’re doubling down on our efforts here to do more,” White House Covid Response Coordinator Ashish Jha told Politico. “But we’re doing all this with a fraction of the funding we had last year because Congress failed to do its duty of funding an effective vaccination program.”
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Hospitalizations from COVID-19 were up 10% from the previous two weeks as of Thursday, January 12, while deaths increased by a whopping 61 percent. 45,842 hospitalizations were reported, along with 564 deaths. Tweet this.
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XBB.1.5, the most transmissible descendant of the omicron variant, accounted for 2% of COVID-19 cases in the U.S. in early December. By the first week of January, that figure was up to 27%. XBB.1.5 made up more than 70% of cases in the Northeast. Tweet this.
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Just 38% of seniors have gotten the most recent booster. The remaining 62% are at heightened risk of infection, including becoming seriously ill or even dying. Tweet this.
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President Biden last year proposed $88.2 billion over five years to build up biodefense and pandemic preparedness. And he proposed $9.25 billion to fund new vaccines and therapeutics. Congress largely ignored his request. Tweet this.
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The amount of dollars the federal government provided to help pharmaceutical companies develop COVID-19 vaccines. Now Moderna is reportedly considering charging $110 to $130 for one dose of its vaccine. Last year, the federal government paid roughly $27 per shot. Tweet this.
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