Covid Hospitalizations And Deaths See Double Digit Spike After Holiday — Amid Surge In Respiratory Illnesses

Arianna Johnson, staff at Forbes, specialized in the latest updates in science, tech, and healthcare, reports a significant rise in COVID hospitalizations and deaths following the holiday season. Based on recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), COVID hospitalizations surged by 20% a week after Christmas. COVID-related deaths, as well as flu hospitalizations and deaths, also saw an increase, confirming experts' prediction of a challenging season for respiratory diseases due to festive gatherings and travel.

There were 34,798 hospitalizations related to COVID within the week ending on December 30, 2023, marking an increase of 20.4% from the preceding week, according to the CDC. COVID-associated deaths also rose by 12.5% during this period, with the most significant numbers being recorded in New Jersey, Massachusetts, Missouri, and Oklahoma.

The new Omicron COVID variant JN.1 accounted for 61.6% of all COVID cases in the two weeks between December 24, 2023, and January 6, up 22.8% from the prior two-week period. Furthermore, 39 states witnessed high to very high levels of respiratory diseases like COVID, flu, and respiratory syncytial virus - an increase from the 34 states reported the previous week.

Flu cases also rose by 17.5%, with 20,066 related hospitalizations, up over 5% from the earlier week, as per CDC data.

Healthcare professionals from Los Angeles' Cedars Sinai Hospital had warned of a tough "tripledemic" holiday season back in November 2023 due to the simultaneous rise in COVID, flu, and RSV cases, a common trend during the winter.

With the increase in hospitalizations due to respiratory diseases, several healthcare systems have reinitiated mask mandates. Hospitals in areas such as New York City, Illinois, and Massachusetts have started requiring masks for patients, visitors, and staff due to increasing respiratory cases.

The COVID variant JN.1 has notably contributed to the surge in nationwide COVID cases, spreading rapidly across the United States. From being just 3.3% of all cases during the two-week period ending on November 11, 2023, it has grown almost 60% over two months.

Designated a "variant of interest" by the World Health Organization in December 2023, JN.1 indicates potential emerging risks to global public health. It emerges from the highly mutated Pirola strain, which spread quickly during the previous fall. Despite concerns about the variant's resistance to updated monovalent COVID vaccines, Moderna, Novavax, and Pfizer BioNTech report their shots still provide some protection.

The CDC referred to JN.1 as the "fastest growing variant in the United States" due to its rapid spread. The WHO also recognized its growth but stated that current evidence suggests a relatively low risk to public health.