140,982 Hospitalized Nationwide in US
New Cases Triple Previous Peak
7 Million Cases in Europe First Week of New Year
WHO "Not Yet Considered Endemic"
[Asia Economy Reporter Cho Hyun-ui] Due to the rapid spread of the new COVID-19 variant Omicron, the number of hospitalized patients in the United States has soared to the highest level since the pandemic began. In Europe, there are even predictions that more than half of the population could be infected with Omicron within two months.
The New York Times (NYT) reported on the 11th (local time), citing data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), that the number of COVID-19 hospitalized patients in the U.S. was 145,982 as of the previous day. This surpassed the previous record of 142,246 set on January 14 last year, exceeding it after about a year. The average daily number of hospitalized patients over the past seven days was 135,559, an 83% increase compared to two weeks ago.
As the number of new COVID-19 cases in the U.S. continues to break records daily, the number of severe patients requiring hospitalization has also surged to record levels. According to data from Johns Hopkins University, the average daily number of new cases over the past seven days was approximately 754,200, about three times the peak during the worst winter of COVID-19 in the U.S. last year.
A significant portion of the severe patients currently hospitalized after the Omicron-driven pandemic are under 60 years old. In contrast, the number of patients aged 60 and over, who are considered high-risk for COVID-19, is below the levels seen last winter.
The NYT explained, "Although the Omicron variant is known to cause less severe symptoms than previous variants such as Delta, the surge in confirmed cases has caused the number of hospitalized patients to surpass last winter's peak."
With medical overload and staff shortages due to infections among essential workers, testing personnel are also insufficient. Therefore, voices are emerging that hospitalization rates, rather than positivity rates or new case numbers, are the most appropriate indicator to assess the severity of the pandemic. This is why Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), recently mentioned, "We need to focus more on hospitalization rates."
Similar to the U.S., Europe, where new cases have surged again due to Omicron spread, is expected to see more than half of its population infected with Omicron within two months.
Hans Kluge, director of the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Europe, said on this day, "The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington School of Medicine predicts that more than 50% of the European population will be infected with Omicron within the next 6 to 8 weeks."
Omicron is spreading in 50 out of the 53 countries under the jurisdiction of the WHO European Office. In the first week of the new year alone, more than 7 million infections were reported in Europe, more than doubling in just two weeks.
Kluge warned, "Twenty-six countries in the European region report that more than 1% of their population is testing positive for COVID-19 each week," adding, "The window of opportunity to prevent healthcare systems in these countries from being overwhelmed is closing."
He also said, "Omicron, which quickly became the dominant variant in Western Europe, is currently spreading in the Balkans and Eastern Europe," and "Countries with low vaccination rates will see more casualties."
The WHO warned that COVID-19 should not yet be treated as an endemic disease like the flu.
Catherine Smallwood, WHO senior emergency planner for the European region, emphasized, "The reason Omicron is being seen as a much milder infection across Western Europe and Israel is due to high vaccination rates," but added, "However, there is still great uncertainty regarding Omicron. It is not yet time to call it an endemic disease."
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