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The rise in COVID-19-related hospitalizations is accelerating, with the daily average in the U.S. climbing above the 80,000 mark to a three-month high, as the parabolic surge in new cases continues to set post-pandemic records.
While the pace of the climb in hospitalizations is much slower than that for cases, as studies have shown the omicron variant to be less severe than other variants and as more people get vaccinated, U.S. health officials have warned that if new cases keep climbing unchecked, there may still be a lot of severe disease in hospitals to come.
And data shows that children are being hospitalized for COVID-19 in record numbers, as vaccination rates in those who are eligible are much lower than that of adults.
The seven-day average of hospitalizations rose to 81,847 on Thursday, according to a New York Times tracker. That’s up from 79,084 on Wednesday, up 19% in two weeks and up 75% since since the November low. It has reached the highest level since Sept. 28. Read MarketWatch’s daily “Coronavirus Update” column.
During the week ended Dec. 28, an average of 378 people aged 17 and under were hospitalized with the coronavirus, up 66% from the week before, the Associated Press reported. The previous post-pandemic high was 342 in early September.
The rise in hospitalizations is accelerating.
New York Times
The latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that 188.08 million adult Americans are fully vaccinated, or 72.8% of that population. But only about 33% of eligible children, aged 5 to 17 years, are fully vaccinated, according to a MarketWatch analysis of CDC data.
Meanwhile, the daily average of new cases leapt to 344,543 on Thursday, NYT data showed. That represents a 14% jump from Wednesday, a near-tripling (up 181%) in two weeks, a four-fold increase since Dec. 1, and was 37% above the previous pandemic peak of 251,232 on Jan. 11.
The daily average death toll was 1,221 on Thursday, down 5% in two weeks, but up 34.5% from the November low of 908.
The U.S. states showing the highest daily average of hospitalizations per 100,000 people were Ohio at 46 and Delaware at 45, while New York led in cases with 298, followed by New Jersey with 224. Michigan and Tennessee were tied for the most daily average deaths per 100,000 people at 0.96.
CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said this week that compared with vaccinated people, those who are unvaccinated people are 10 times more likely to be infected with the coronavirus, 17 times more likely to be hospitalized and 20 times more likely to die.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
If there is something to be hopeful for next year, as 2021 draws to a close, South Africa, where the first reports of the omicron variant emerged, said the latest wave had crested without a big surge in deaths, according to a Reuters report.
Read more about ‘muted’ New Year’s Eve celebrations around the world.
More numbers and news
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The U.K. has approved Pfizer Inc.’s
PFE,
+1.90%
Paxlovid oral antiviral for people with mild to moderate COVID-19 and have at least one risk factor developing severe illness. The U.K.’s Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency said, however, that it was too early to know whether the omicron variant has any impact on Paxlovid’s effectiveness. Last month, the U.K. regulator had approved Merck & Co. Inc.’s
MRK,
+0.14%
Lagevrio. - Maine was the only U.S. state showing a decline in the weekly trend for new COVID-19 cases, according to data aggregated by Johns Hopkins University. Florida’s weekly trend was flat, while the other 48 states showed rising trends.
- 68.8 million Americans have received booster doses of COVID-19 vaccines, or 33.4% of the population. according to CDC data, while 58.2% of people 65 years of age or older have received booster shots and 48.2% of people at least 50 years old have been boosted.
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The CDC said it has started investigating, has investigated and is still observing, and is currently monitoring 93 cruise ships after cases of COVID-19 have been reported. On Thursday, the CDC warned people to avoid traveling on cruise ships, but stopped short of ordering a pause in sailings. In midday trading on Friday, shares of Carnival Corp.
CCL,
-2.24%
dropped 1.7%, Royal Caribbean Group
RCL,
-0.80%
fell 0.5% and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd.
NCLH,
-2.31%
shed 1.7%.
Global tallies
The global tally for the coronavirus-borne illness rose to 286.78 million as of midday Friday, while the death toll grew to 5,432,684, according to JHU data.
The U.S. remains the world leader in total cases, with more than 54.29 million, and in deaths, at 824,376.
India is second by cases after the U.S. at 34.84 million and has suffered 481,080 deaths, as of the latest count. Brazil has the world’s second highest death toll at 619,249 and is third in cases at 22.28 million.
In Europe, Russia has had the most fatalities at 302,671, while the U.K. has had the most cases with 12.82 million.
