[Editor's Note: Apologies for forgetting to add the full report. I forgot to add the code for it. Sorry! It's there now.]
THIS WEEK'S SUMMARY - August 13, 2022:
This week, the 4 week, 2 week, and 2 day trends were all good except for Grant County [page 5, 7].
OUR LOCAL GEOGRAPHIC AREA:
Grant County cases rose [page 15] and doubling times may be an issue [page 5, 7]; workplace cases oscillated [page 18, 19]. Recent GRMC Covid admissions fell from 3 to 2 in the last week [page 22, 24]; covid-like ED visits oscillated [page 23, 26]. Silver City, Bayard and Hurley daily cases fell then rose but week on week they were lower [page 16, 17]. Grant and Luna Counties had 0 deaths [page 14]. Covid omicron variants are still significant.
OUR STATE:
NM daily hospital beds fell or leveled [page 12, 27]. Deaths fell again [page 12, 14]. Workplace reports fell. Omicron sub variants increased [page 38]. NM case doubling times are not an issue [page 5, 6].
NEIGHBORING STATES:
AZ cases and beds trended down (only weekly reporting), as did CO and TX. Refer to [page 8, 9, 10].
NATIONALLY:
Recent new cases and positivity fell, hospitalizations oscillated [page 7]. Deaths leveled [page 7].
HOSPITALS:
US daily admission 7 day avg was 5619 on 07/10, now 6139 on 08/07 (2nd weekly decline) [page 28]
COVID inpatient beds fell in AZ, CO, NM, and TX [page 27]
COVID admissions: Grant County fell from 3 to 2 in the last week [page 22] but ED covid like visits having fallen, then rose a bit [page 23, 26]
VARIANT GROWTH:
In AZ, CO, NM, and TX, BA.5 rose. Sub variant BA.2.75 has been found in AZ and TX [page 38]. Sub variants evade people's natural or vaccinated antibody defenses, however memory T-cells usually limit serious cases and deaths. Underlying conditions are a concerning factor [page 37].
SOMEWHAT RECENT NEWS:
08/12/22: CDC loosens and revises covid guidance. Detailed yet easy to read.
https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2022/p0811-covid-guidance.html
07/21/22: Major study looked at every prominent vaccine in the world and found that despite this variant, all of these vaccine platforms elicit solid immune responses. Boosters are effective against BA.5.
07/16/22: T cells played a critical role in shielding us from the worst ravages of COVID-19 when antibodies have been less effective, Harvard Medical School's Ekaterina Pesheva wrote.
07/15/22: The BA.5 omicron subvariant is 4 times more resistant to COVID-19 vaccines. Unvaccinated people: have a 5 times higher chance of contracting the virus, chances of hospitalization are 7.5 times higher, and chances of death are 14 to 15 times higher, said Dr. Gregory Poland, head of the Mayo Clinic's Vaccine Research Group.