It’s a major wave now, with an estimated new 900,000 infections per day, as my friend Jay Weiland estimated based on the 2 sources of US wastewater data (definitely worth following him at X or Threads). The slope of rise of SARS-CoV-2 levels is still steep, so we haven’t yet reached the plateau. It’s already towered beyond 4 prior waves of the US pandemic.
State-of-the-Wave
It’s related to the variants KP.3 and KP.3.1.1, which together now account for more than half of new cases in the US. And KP.3.1.1 is on the move, overtaking KP.3 as shown by the new CDC data below. A big jump in the past 2 weeks.
Fortunately, the rise in levels of the virus, still going up in all 4 major US regions (most recent CDC data below) has not been linked with as much severe Covid (absolute increase) as was seen in prior waves, but compared to last week there was a relative increase of 25% of deaths and 12% increase in emergency room visits due to Covid. No matter how you look at it, this is not a benign wave, folks.
God's plan I guess. It's brunch time.
I'm in a volunteer leadership position at Burning Man, and every year for the last two years, COVID absolutely rips through the event staff. I'm up to date, but my last shot was in December. The new one won't be out until after the event. I went in a few days ago to get a booster before I head out there, and the pharmacist tried to talk me out of going through with it like I was trying to get a face tattoo. He kept repeating "there's no evidence this shot does anything at all for new variants unless you're over 65." When I pointed out that if it helps at all for people over 65, it's likely to do something for under-65, he said "in the absence of clear evidence, we think the best course of action is to not vaccinate."
I just kept repeating over and over again that I understood the state of evidence but was requesting the shot anyway. He did eventually give it to me, but god damn medical professionals are out here straight up discouraging folks from getting boosters.
Bet he thought kids were magically immune to COVID too, due to that awful Emily Oster propaganda saying so.
covid is like in videogames where the game won't let you use weapons on kids
I left click while pointing at a child. It literally won't let me spread respiratory illnesses.
I don't understand the reluctance to offer two shots a year. Ideally they would be matched to what's going around, but still, it all helps a bit. There was fear that multiple vaccines would train our immune system to fight the old strains, but the last study I saw indicated it's makes the protection more comprehensive. I still haven't seen anything indicating that getting infected by covid 4-6 months after a vaccine is any better than two vaccines.
Yep, everything I've seen suggests that the gains are modest but real, and that if you're going into a very high-risk environment, having an additional shot is likely to offer at least some protection.