5 July 2024 Punjab Khabarnama : The United States and the United Kingdom are experiencing slight increases in COVID-related hospitalizations caused by new FLiRT variants. Experts state that fluctuations in COVID cases are becoming more common as the disease has not yet become seasonal. This summer, the United States, United Kingdom, and Germany are witnessing minor spikes in COVID-19 cases, accompanied by a gradual rise in hospitalizations. According to the latest data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, emergency room visits have risen by over 23% between June 16 and June 22.
In recent weeks, there has been a 14.3% increase in deaths caused by COVID. However, the percentage of all deaths in the US attributed to COVID is still low, at 0.8%, and all indicators are significantly lower than previous surges. Media sources in the UK have also stated that COVID hospitalizations in England rose by approximately 20% in June.
Louis, US, emphasized the importance of taking the increase in hospitalizations seriously. He stated that it is always prudent to be prepared for the worst while remaining hopeful. Al-Aly also mentioned that the surge in the US followed a COVID wave in Singapore. However, he expressed concern that many countries are not monitoring and reporting these statistics, leaving us unaware of the situation.
The positive update is that hospitalizations due to COVID are still significantly lower than the levels seen during the previous winter. Additionally, the severity of infections appears to be less compared to earlier stages of the pandemic, as stated by Paul Hunter, a medical professor at the University of East Anglia in the UK. Nevertheless, Hunter emphasized that these surges in COVID cases have become a regular occurrence in our lives, considering that the presence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus is expected to persist for many generations. He mentioned that fluctuating numbers of cases will continue to be a part of our future, at least throughout our lifetimes.
The increase in COVID cases is believed to be caused by FLiRTs, a group of new subvariants that are descendants of the dominant JN.1 variant. JN.1 is itself a descendant of omicron but with additional mutations. The FLiRT group includes KP.2, KP.3, and JN.1.7.1. According to Hunter, these variants are named after their specific mutations, which are Furin-like cleavage site, L452R, and T478K. Despite the silly name, it has become widely used.
Hasta ahora, las pruebas indican una disminución de la inmunidad de la población al COVID. Según Hunter, la inmunidad esterilizante después de una infección o vacunación solo dura en promedio de cuatro a seis meses, por lo que la inmunidad adquirida a través de infecciones durante el invierno o la campaña de vacunación de otoño ya se ha perdido en su mayoría. La inmunidad de la mayoría de las personas al COVID proviene de una combinación de infecciones y vacunas. Esta llamada inmunidad híbrida ha brindado una mejor protección contra la infección y enfermedad grave que cualquiera de ellas por separado.
Al-Aly stated that if a person is 75 years old and received their autumn booster last year, managed to avoid infection during winter, but did not receive the spring booster, they would have minimal sterilizing immunity remaining. Al-Aly also mentioned that when asked if one can still experience long COVID with the new variants, the answer is highly likely to be yes.