THIS WEEK'S OVERALL USA SUMMARY - October 15, 2022:
Weekly flu cases, while still low, have risen for the 6th week [page 38, 39]. Weekly Monkeypox cases rose this week but are declining overall; decline attributed to Monkeypox not being airborne (unlike Flu and COVID) and to behavioral changes. The covid wave fell again [page 5, 7] but with high weekly cases and deaths this is an active virus going into winter; and the 4 and 2 week etc case trends suggest a possible rise [page 5]. Three new sub variants are now rapidly rising; BQ.1, BQ.1.1 and BD.7 and UK and CDC say they may evade antibody defenses. Experts suggest a winter flu and covid wave may appear as indoor gatherings and little mask protection increase transmission.
OUR LOCAL GEOGRAPHIC AREA:
Grant County covid hospital admissions were 0, and covid ED visits fell [pages 21, 22, 23]. But the Grant County 2 week trend rose a bit [page 5, 16]. Silver City and Hurley covid cases fell, but Bayard week on week cases rose a bit [page 17, 18]. Deaths in Grant County 0, Luna 0, Sierra 0, Dona Ana 2 [page 15].
OUR STATE:
NM daily hospital beds fell then rose [page 13, 14, 24]. Deaths fell in NM [page 14, 15]. New NM cases and positivity rose [page 13, 14]. While the case and positivity rise may be small, it suggests a delicate state as we enter colder months.
NEIGHBORING STATES:
AZ cases, beds, and positivity fell. CO cases and beds rose, positivity fell. TX cases, beds, and positivity fell [page 9, 10, 11],
NATIONALLY:
Recent US new cases, beds, positivity and deaths fell [page 8]. But beware of a winter covid and flu wave.
HOSPITALS:
US daily hospital admissions (7 day average): continued trending down [CDC] [page 25]
COVID inpatient beds fell in AZ and TX, CO rose again, NM fell but then rose [HHS] [page 24]
Grant County ED covid like visits fell per HHS (data lags) [page 20] and NM DOH [page 23]
COVID admissions in Grant County were 0 in the last 7 days per NMDOH [page 21]
COVID VARIANTS:
US: BA.5 still dominant but BQ.1.1 BQ.1 BF.7 new and fast rising are now 16% of new cases
ACTIVE PATHOGENS
COVID: weekly cases: 264,661; deaths 2,324 a week. Covid is still very active in its current decline.
UK infections from subvariant BQ.1.1 are doubling every week. BQ.1.1 seems to be the first COVID variant against which antibody therapies don't seem to work. BQ.1.1, BQ.1 and BF.7 are rising in the US now at 16% of cases
INFLUENZA: see [page 38, 39] (NM & CO do not report yet). Map and data see: [page 38, 39]
-- This week: Weekly: cases = 1899, admissions = 1322, deaths = 9
-- Last week: Weekly: cases = 1357, admissions = 885, deaths = 5
MONKEYPOX: see [page 40, 41].
-- US weekly cases: this week: 740 previous week: 726 week before that: 1005
-- NM weekly cases: this week: 8 previous week: 3 week before that: 0
NOTES AND NEWS:
10/15/22: The BQ.1 and BQ.1.1 pair have been dubbed "escape variants," because of their ability to essentially dodge immunity. They are thought to completely resist existing monoclonal antibody drugs. In an Oct. 13 tweet, Eric Feigl-Ding, PhD, epidemiologist and former faculty member at Boston-based Harvard Medical School, described the strains as "two of the most evasive variants known to date." The good news is that the updated omicron boosters are believed to offer protection against the strains, since they're descendants of BA.5, he said. SOURCE: Beckers
10/14/22: In just over a month since a new COVID variant, BQ.1 was first named, that strain and BQ.1.1 sub variant have already grown to make up more than 10% of new infections across the country.
10/06/20: CDC will start mid October doing only weekly reporting of cases and deaths.
09/29/22: FLU shots Silver City: Walgreens, CVS, and Walmart walk-ins available. Albertsons requires an appointment.
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.