By Mark Van Sumeren
February 28, 2022 – On Friday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) updated its masking guidance for the country. Previously, guidance relied solely on community transmission rates. The new rules elevate the importance of Covid’s impact on hospital demand.
70% of the country’s population gained some freedom from masking requirements under the new guidance, reflecting the continued waning severity of the virus. Previously, most of the country fell under the CDC’s strictest masking constraints.
Cases, hospitalizations, and deaths with Covid continued to drop last week – further evidence of Omicron’s waning impact in this country.
New cases dropped to the lowest level seen in seven months (July 28, 2021). Since peaking under Omicron six weeks ago, new cases nosedived 90%. An ensemble forecast predicts another 65% drop in the next three weeks.
The strain on hospital resources eased too. Covid admissions plunged to only one-fourth of the level posted in mid-January. Covid patient days dropped to only one-third the rate experienced a month ago.
Covid admissions and patient census reached the lowest levels seen since last November.
Further, flu visits trended lower than any year from 2007-8 to 2019-20. Only last year’s historically low flu season resulted in a lower visit rate than this season.
Deaths with Covid fell 40% in the last four weeks. The ensemble forecast anticipates that deaths will fall another 30% in the next three weeks. Fewer people succumbed to Covid last week than during any seven days since December 31 to January 6.
Vaccines proved to be an effective deterrent to severe infections during the peak of the Omicron wave. According to the CDC, full vaccination lowered the risk of infection by 2.4x and the risk of death by 14x. Adding a booster shot brought the risk level down 3.2x and the risk of death down 41x, compared to being unvaccinated.