The number of patients hospitalized for COVID-19 is on the upswing, having risen each of the past four weeks up through Aug. 12, data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) now show.
A total of 12,613 patients in the United States were hospitalized with COVID-19 for the week ending Aug. 12, according to newly released figures. This is an over 21 percent increase from the previous week.
However, these numbers are just a fraction of the cases reported this same time in 2022 during last year’s summer surge, when reported admissions were 42,813.
Areas Hit Hardest
The Southeastern region that includes Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee has the highest admissions rate, with 4.6 new patients admitted with the virus per 100,000 residents. The incident rate for the country as a whole was three new patients per 100,000.
Uptick in Children
Emergency room visits for children ages zero to 11 years old have sharply increased, tying seniors and, in some regions, surpassing them, according to the CDC. The agency shows visits from kids zero to 1 year old are seeing the steepest rise.
Infection Complications
COVID-19 can result in severe illness in children, particularly when they have an underlying medical condition. The threat is magnified in children requiring special medical needs, such as children with:
- Genetic and neurological illnesses.
- Metabolic conditions.
- Congenital heart defects.
- Obesity.
- Diabetes.
- Asthma.
- Chronic lung disease.
- Sickle cell disease.
Latest Variant
“Globally, there has been a steady increase in the proportion of EG.5 reported,” World Health Organization (WHO) officials reported (pdf). During the last week of July, “the global prevalence of EG.5 was 17.4%.” Officials say this is a significant rise from a month prior, which showed EG.5’s prevalence at 7.6 percent.
The public health risk posed by EG.5, or Eris, is evaluated as low globally. However, it is considered a variant of interest and will be monitored closely.
“While EG.5 has shown increased prevalence, growth advantage, and immune escape properties, there have been no reported changes in disease severity to date,” WHO experts added. “While concurrent increases in the proportion of EG.5 and COVID-19 hospitalizations (lower than previous waves) have been observed … no associations have been made between these hospitalizations and EG.5. However, due to its growth advantage and immune escape characteristics, EG.5 may cause a rise in case incidence and become dominant in some countries or even globally.”