As the holidays arrive and travel reaches its peak, coronavirus infections (COVID-19) are once again on the rise across the country. But this winter’s wave of coronavirus infections started later than usual, with some experts warning there could be a “silent” surge in infections during the holiday season.
They call it a “silence” because this winter wave follows a long period of unusually low coronavirus activity this fall, with many people having contracted the virus in the past two weeks. This is because they are unaware that their levels are rapidly increasing. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show.
As a result, people may be unaware of their increased risk of infection and may not test if they have only mild symptoms, potentially spreading the virus at holiday gatherings or while traveling.
As of December 14th, Viral activity in wastewater The infection rate of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, is “high” or “very high” in 21 states, according to data from the CDC.
“There’s a good chance that many people will get sick in the coming weeks and won’t even know it. Most people aren’t tracking CDC data, so we don’t know if we’re riding a wave or not. The only way to know is if you get sick,” said Dr. Michael Holger, associate professor at Tulane University School of Medicine and Public Health. An expert in tracking COVID-19 trends told TODAY.com.
Holger added that the country is entering its 10th coronavirus wave since the pandemic began, although data does not yet show the U.S. is in the midst of a major coronavirus surge. .
But there is great uncertainty about how bad this winter wave will be and how long it will last. “This is a very dangerous time in terms of a lot of people interacting indoors, so we don’t really know how quickly the infection will spread,” Holger said.
Risk of “silent” infection during the holidays
CDC data shows wastewater levels of COVID-19 infections are lower than they were at this time last winter, but have risen sharply over the past two weeks. And experts say the number of infected people is likely to continue to rise.
“As of Friday, Dec. 20, levels of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in wastewater are moderate nationally,” Dr. Jonathan Yoder, deputy director of CDC’s Division of Infectious Disease Control and Innovation, told TODAY. told .com. Last week’s wastewater data was “low” nationally. The highest levels are in the Midwest.
“Nationwide, COVID-19 levels in wastewater have increased through December after being at low levels in October and November,” Yoder added.
The CDC currently does not track the total number of new coronavirus cases in the United States, instead using wastewater surveillance, test positivity rates, and emergency department visits to estimate infection levels.
COVID Test positivity rate is 5.6%That’s an increase of 0.5% from the previous week, according to CDC data. There has also been a slight increase in the number of emergency department visits and deaths related to the coronavirus.
“The problem with this winter wave is that it’s very different from previous waves,” Holger explains. Over the past few years, coronavirus infections have followed a similar pattern. The number of infections increases in November and increases steadily, reaching a peak around late December or early January.
“Normally, people would have been alerted for about a month by now because they saw friends and family members infected,” Holger said.
“People seem to be lulled into a kind of false sense of security because transmissibility was unusually low for November,” he added.
Holger said the rise in coronavirus infection levels was about a month later than usual, putting the country in “uncharted territory”.
“You can think of the beginning of the wave as a kind of silent infection period where people aren’t really aware of it. It coincides with the beginning of holiday travel,” he explains. .
Mr. Hoerger is the director of the Pandemic Mitigation Collective. New coronavirus infection prediction modelAs of December 16, 1 in 64 people (1.6%) in the United States were actively infected, and the number of new infections per day was approximately 750,000 and increasing. I’m predicting.
This wave of coronavirus infections is slow and coming “out of nowhere,” he wrote in X.
Other experts agree that the number of infections is expected to rise in the coming weeks.
“We expect that all of these holiday gatherings and travel and everything else will create an opportunity for an increase in infectious diseases, not just COVID-19 (influenza) and respiratory syncytial virus,” said Dr. William Schaffner, a professor of infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. “I’m working on it,” he said. today.com.
“Most of these infections are so mild that people either don’t get tested or blow it off as a cold, so (the infections) are silent,” Schaffner added.
A surge in coronavirus cases late this summer gave Americans some immunity, but that immunity is likely beginning to wane, experts say. And currently circulating variants, including descendants of the XEC and FLiRT families, are highly contagious.
“These current variants are causing a lot of mild infections, but they’re largely undetected,” Schaffner said, adding that even people with mild or asymptomatic symptoms can still spread the virus to others. added.
“The transmissibility of these viruses is contributing to what we call a silent epidemic,” Schaffner said.
Areas where the new coronavirus is spreading in the US
According to the report, sewage virus activity for the coronavirus is currently “very high” in five states and “high” in 16 states. Latest CDC data. As of Dec. 14, the states with the highest coronavirus wastewater levels are:
- arizona
- arkansas
- District of Columbia
- illinois
- Indiana
- iowa
- Kansas
- kentucky
- maine
- Massachusetts
- minnesota
- missouri
- nebraska
- new hampshire
- new mexico
- ohio
- pennsylvania
- rhode island
- south carolina
- south dakota
- wyoming
“If you see elevated levels of viral activity in COVID-19 wastewater in your area, it may indicate an increased risk of infection,” Yoder says.
But regional variations in wastewater data also depend on the number and specific locations of wastewater monitoring sites being monitored, Holger says. Some states have no data, while others have limited coverage. “Discount regional differences,” says Holger.
Overall, experts say fewer tests and slower reporting could make it difficult to accurately track the level of coronavirus infections.
Symptoms of COVID-19 in 2024
According to experts, the symptoms caused by the main circulating variants, XEC and KP.3.1.1, are very similar to those caused by previous Omicron subvariants.
Common COVID-19 symptoms include:
- sore throat
- traffic jam
- snot
- cough
- fatigue
- headache and body pain
- fever or chills
- shortness of breath
- nausea and loss of appetite
- diarrhea
- loss of taste or smell
Symptoms vary from person to person. Even a mild infection can be “debilitating” for several days, Schaffner said.
The latest COVID-19 variants appear to cause milder illness, but can still cause severe illness requiring hospitalization. Certain people are at higher risk of developing serious illness. These include people over the age of 65, people with underlying health conditions, and people with weakened immune systems.
Every time a person is infected with the new coronavirus, There is a risk of developing a long-term novel coronavirus infectionAccording to the CDC, symptoms can last or come back for weeks to months after infection.
Are new coronavirus boosters effective?
The CDC recommends updated 2024-2025 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccines for everyone 6 months of age and older.
The new mRNA COVID vaccines are monovalent, meaning they target one variant, in this case the KP.2 “FLiRT” variant. The currently circulating strain is closely related to KP.2, and the new booster should offer good protection, TODAY.com previously reported.
but, Taking a new vaccine So far, vaccination rates have been low, with just 21% of U.S. adults vaccinated, according to the latest data from the CDC.
“The best prevention is to get vaccinated. Although vaccinated people can occasionally become infected with the virus that causes COVID-19, “Staying up-to-date on vaccines greatly reduces your risk of becoming seriously ill, hospitalized, or dying from COVID-19,” Yoder said.
How to protect yourself from coronavirus disease (COVID-19)
According to the CDC, it is important that people take steps to protect themselves and their families when levels of coronavirus infections are rising.
To avoid infection and prevent the spread of COVID-19 to others, you can take the following actions:
- Get the latest information on COVID-19 vaccinations.
- Get tested for symptoms and exposure.
- Please stay home if you are sick.
- If you are at high risk, seek treatment for COVID-19.
- Please wear a mask.
- Let’s keep social distancing.
