Amal Allam wrote Sunday, December 24, 2023 03:36 PM
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) revealed that influenza and Corona infections are expected to accelerate in the coming weeks, because travel and gatherings during holidays, low vaccination rates, and the new Corona virus variant that appears to spread more easily will be the reason behind the increase in infections.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that high levels of influenza-like illness were reported last week in 17 states, compared to 14 states the week before.
“People are traveling a lot this season, they want to see their families,” said Dr. Manisha Patel of the CDC, “and all of this leads to the spread of viruses, and health officials are also monitoring a constantly evolving version of the coronavirus, known as JN.1.” The Omicron variant was first detected in the United States in September and now accounts for an estimated 20% of cases.
The Centers for Disease Control expects it to reach 50% in the next two weeks, Patel confirmed. Health officials say it may spread easier or be better at evading our immune systems, but there is no evidence that the strain causes more severe illness than other recent strains. Current evidence suggests that vaccines and antiviral drugs work against it.
As for influenza, early signs suggest that current vaccines are well matched to the strain that causes the most illness, and that strain typically does not cause as many deaths and hospitalizations as some other versions.
But the bad news is that vaccinations are down this year, officials say, and about 42% of U.S. adults had gotten a flu shot by the first week of December, down from about 45% at the same time last year, according to the CDC. .
Americans have also been slow to get other vaccines. Only about 18% have gotten an updated coronavirus shot that became available in September. In nursing homes, about a third of residents have gotten coronavirus vaccines.
Only 17% of adults aged 60 or older have received new doses against another respiratory virus. Respiratory syncytial virusIt is a common cause of mild, cold-like symptoms but can be serious for infants and the elderly.
The CDC last week took the unusual step of sending a health alert to US doctors urging them to vaccinate their patients against viruses. North Carolina is currently seeing heavy traffic of respiratory infections in emergency rooms, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data published this week.
2023-12-24 13:37:21
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