Omicron is on the rise, and the U.S.’s largest cities are getting slammed with it.
New York City just reported its highest-ever number of Covid-19 cases at more than 21,000. The rate of Covid-positive tests also doubled to about 8% in the city in just a matter of days. According to the CDC, 13% of all Covid cases reported last week were Omicron infections.
William Lee is the VP of Science at a population-genomics company and shared that “It’s growing so much faster as a proportion of cases than any of the previous variants of concern did.” Lee also guessed the Omicron would be the dominant U.S. variant within a week.
Covid-related hospitalizations have increased 4% this week, with deaths up 8% week-over-week. Broadway shows, professional sporting events, and other gatherings have been postponed in response. That’s concerning for the recovery narrative, which was strong until Omicron started its world tour. 😔
The good news? Preliminary data shows that hospitalized Covid patients have less severe symptoms, ventilator use has declined among hospitalized patients, and there are fewer people admitted to ICUs with severe symptoms. This data indicates that Omicron likely causes less severe infections than previous mutations.