Medical professionals in the United States are finding a startling trend in the fight against COVID-19: ICU patients are not as dangerously sick as in prior years.
Wake Forest University School of Medicine infectious diseases professor Dr. Christopher Ohl said in an NBC News report, "We're seeing that ICU patients with COVID pneumonia respond faster to treatment, die less, and leave earlier. It doesn't seem as ill as two years ago."
This encouraging development goes beyond Dr. Ohl. ICU physicians across the US have observed similar findings as COVID-19 hospitalizations rise. Though severe infections and lengthy hospital stays are decreasing,
Infectious disease researcher and Duke University School of Medicine associate professor Cameron Wolfe said, as quoted in the report, "They seldom have the horrible hyper-inflammatory condition we saw a few years ago. We still see it, but less dramatically."
According to the CDC, 17,400 Americans were hospitalized with COVID-19 in the week ending August 26, up 15.7% over the previous week. This increase follows a record-low COVID-19 hospitalization rate.
Several variables may explain why hospitalized COVID-19 patients had milder symptoms than in prior years. Newer omicron subvariants, which Dr. Ohl called "not as nasty" as delta or the original strain that swept the nation, are a significant factor.
In 2020, seriously sick COVID-19 patients had uncommon symptoms, including blood clots and a week of mild illness before quickly worsening and being admitted to the ICU. Now, such cases are rarer.
Obesity and type 2 diabetes no longer cause hospitalizations, unlike the early COVID pandemic, Dr. Joshua Denson of Tulane University School of Medicine. He believes that a threshold was crossed "where, even with these new variants, it doesn't seem to be affecting that population like it did before."
WHO: COVID Still a Persistent Threat
The WHO has named the Omicron EG.5 lineage a "variant of interest. This rating emphasizes COVID-19's ongoing hazard to public health.
Despite its modest public health risk, Omicron EG.5 has received attention for some problematic traits. The variety is more common, grows faster, and may avoid the immune system. These qualities suggest Omicron EG.5 may become the dominant variety soon, requiring strict monitoring and surveillance.
As global health authorities move from emergency response to disease prevention, control, and management, monitoring new variations is crucial. The WHO's variation tracking and classification activities are crucial.
The WHO emphasizes basic respiratory hygiene and COVID-19 prevention measures. These include following WHO vaccination guidelines, keeping at least one meter from others, avoiding crowds, wearing properly fitted masks when physical distance is not possible, and washing your hands often with alcohol-based hand rub or soap and water.
Updated COVID Vaccines to be Available Soon
In line with these developments, Moderna and Pfizer have reported good results with their upgraded COVID-19 vaccines against BA.2.86, a highly mutated coronavirus subvariant. This subvariant, Pirola, has generated worries regarding the re-emergence of the infection.
Moderna revealed that their revised vaccination increased neutralizing antibodies against the subvariant by 8.7-fold compared to human clinical trials, according to CNA.
Moderna Infectious Diseases chief Jacqueline Miller said, "We think this is news people will want to hear as they prepare to go out and get their fall boosters." She said the data should reassure regulators.
In preclinical mouse research, Pfizer and BioNTech found a significant antibody response to BA.2.86.
The public will get access to these enhanced COVID-19 vaccines in September or early October.
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