United States: As COVID-19 cases increase in Europe, health officials in the United States are preparing for an anticipated winter COVID-19 spike.
Prior to this winter’s omicron outbreak, growing illnesses in America lagged behind those in Europe.
According to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, cases began to trend, increasing across Europe from early September (ECDC). The ECDC noted that “widespread increases were being recorded in all indices” in its most recent report.
The sources claim that Dr Jeff Duchin, the King County Health Officer for Washington state, stated in a news conference that a rise in COVID activity in Europe was being caused by fading immunity, growing gatherings, and a return to pre-COVID activity.
Major increases in Europe have historically served as a reliable indicator of what the U.S. might expect to see in the next four to six weeks, so he said this should serve as a clear warning for us.
According to data from the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center, there are more than 38,000 new cases of COVID per day in the United States.
Falling temperatures, however, have raised worries about accelerated transmission and the impending possibility of a more contagious variety.
The incidence of omicron sublineages has been rising in the United States, with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reporting recent increases in BA.4.6 and BQ.1.1.
This occurs at a time when limitations for masking and mitigation have either been lowered or eliminated outright.
To help stave off another spike, the White House is pushing Americans to acquire their omicron-specific bivalent booster, although slightly more than 15 million have done so.
