CDC reports that Omicron variants BQ.1 and BQ.1.1 (BQ.1x) now dominate in the US, accounting for 44% of cases nationwide, and up to 60% of cases in the Northeast US, including New York City. See HERE. Health authorities expect the BQ.1x variants to reach peak prevalence over the upcoming holiday season, raising concerns about a winter surge in cases as more time is spent indoors congregating and mitigation measures remain relaxed. See HERE. In New Mexico, average weekly reported COVID-19 cases have nearly tripled in number in just six weeks since the end of September. Over the same six-week time period, the burden of statewide emergency department (ED) visits has increased several fold not only for COVID-like illness, but also for influenza-like illness. A third respiratory illness, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection, has also increased substantially in the US over this time, and is now causing a surge in hospitalizations in some areas of the nation, particularly among young infants, a group at particularly high risk of severe disease. See HERE.
Original source found here.
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