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COVID-19: Here Are Symptoms For New Strain That's Surged To Leading Cause Of US Infections COVID-19: Here Are Symptoms For New Strain That's Surged To Leading Cause Of US Infections
Covid-19: Here Are Symptoms For New Strain That's Surged To Leading Cause Of US Infections As a new COVID-19 subvariant has become the leading cause of infections in the US, details on reported symptoms have started to emerge. Click here for a new, updated story - COVID-19: Rapid Spread Of Highly Mutated JN.1 May Mean It's More Contagious Than Other JN.1, an offshoot of the highly transmissible Omicron variant and one of its subvariants, the BA.2.86 strain known as Pirola, now accounts for 44 percent of US cases, according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released on Friday, Dec. 22. JN.1 has more than doubled its prevalence in on…

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by Joe Lombardi
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COVID-19: JN.1 Subvariant Becomes Fastest Growing In US As WHO Issues New Advisory COVID-19: JN.1 Subvariant Becomes Fastest Growing In US As WHO Issues New Advisory
Covid-19: JN.1 Subvariant Becomes Fastest Growing In US As WHO Issues New Advisory A new COVID-19 subvariant has become the fastest-growing in the US, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Click here for a new, updated story - COVID-19: Here Are Symptoms To Watch For With New Subvariant Spreading Fast JN.1, an offshoot of the highly transmissible Omicron strain and one of its subvariants, the BA.2.86 strain known as Pirola, now accounts for 21.4 percent of US cases, according to brand-new data. It's estimated that it makes up one-third of cases in the Northeast. The World Health Organization declared JN.1 to be "a variant of interest"…

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by Joe Lombardi
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Surge In COVID-19, Flu, RSV Hospitalizations Leads To Winter Virus Warning By CDC Surge In COVID-19, Flu, RSV Hospitalizations Leads To Winter Virus Warning By CDC
Surge In Covid-19, Flu, RSV Hospitalizations Leads To Winter Virus Warning By CDC The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is sounding the alarm, warning that low vaccination rates for COVID-19, influenza, and RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) could strain healthcare systems across the nation in the weeks ahead. Hospitalizations among all age groups in the last month increased by 200 percent for influenza, 51 percent for COVID, and 60 percent for RSV, the CDC said. Meanwhile, coverage for the seasonal 2023-2024 flu shot is low in all age groups compared with the same period of the 2022–2023 season. Just 17 percent of adults had received the updated COVID vac…

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by Joe Lombardi
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COVID-19: 'We're Going Back Up Again,' CDC Director Says Amid Post-Thanksgiving Increases COVID-19: 'We're Going Back Up Again,' CDC Director Says Amid Post-Thanksgiving Increases
Covid-19: 'We're Going Back Up Again,' CDC Director Says Amid Post-Thanksgiving Increases Key metrics in weekly data indicate the first major nationwide COVID-19 uptick in months following the Thanksgiving holiday. Speaking at a Congressional hearing on Thursday, Nov. 30, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Dr. Mandy Cohen said: "We are going back up again, which we expected after a lot of travel and gathering at Thanksgiving." Nationwide, in the latest data for the week ending Saturday, Nov. 25, there was a 10.6 percent increase in emergency room visits and 10 percent increase in hospitalizations. In addition, the test positivity rate went up 1.2 perc…

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by Joe Lombardi
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COVID-19: Cases Of Highly Mutated Pirola Strain Triple In 2 Weeks COVID-19: Cases Of Highly Mutated Pirola Strain Triple In 2 Weeks
Covid-19: Cases Of Highly Mutated Pirola Strain Triple In 2 Weeks Nationwide cases of the so-called COVID-19 Pirola subvariant have tripled in two weeks. The strain officially known as BA.2.86 has been particularly prominent in New York.  It now makes up 9 percent of COVID cases in the US, according to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). World Health Organization (WHO) authorities said they consider BA.2.86 to be part of the Omicron variant family, but that could change if the strain spreads more widely even though Pirola's 30 mutations are from the BA.2 lineage, which was the dominant Omicron strain …

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by Joe Lombardi
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COVID-19: Symptoms Now Number 11; Here's Latest Rundown From CDC COVID-19: Symptoms Now Number 11; Here's Latest Rundown From CDC
Covid-19: Symptoms Now Number 11; Here's Latest Rundown From CDC When COVID-19 cases first were identified in the United States in March 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) listed just three symptoms for the novel coronavirus: Fever Cough Shortness of breath Now, nearly five years later, the virus remains an everyday part of American life, with about 1,000 deaths from the disease nationwide each week. As COVID has evolved, mainly from the highly contagious Omicron strain and several of its subvariants, the CDC's updated list of symptoms for the virus now numbers 11. They are: Fever or chills Cough Shortness of breath or difficu…

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by Joe Lombardi
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COVID-19: Here Are Symptoms For New Variant That's Now Most Dominant In US COVID-19: Here Are Symptoms For New Variant That's Now Most Dominant In US
Covid-19: Here Are Symptoms For New Variant That's Now Most Dominant In US A new COVID-19 variant has quickly become the most dominant in the nation just as respiratory virus season arrives. According to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), HV.1 now makes up 25.2 percent of COVID cases in the US, just ahead of the EG.5 variant (21.9 percent). The EG.5 strain, known as Eris, was first identified in August. It remains the most prominent strain worldwide at about 46 percent of cases across the globe.  HV.1 was also first identified over the summer but in low numbers. Like EG.5, HV.1 is an offshoot of the highly contag…

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by Joe Lombardi
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COVID-19: New Data Reveals How Many Americans Have Gotten Updated Vaccine Shots COVID-19: New Data Reveals How Many Americans Have Gotten Updated Vaccine Shots
Covid-19: New Data Reveals How Many Americans Have Gotten Updated Vaccine Shots New data is shedding light on how many Americans have received a dose of the new COVID-19 booster shot for 2023-24. The updated vaccine has now been available for about a month and a half. More than 1,200 people are dying of COVID each week in the United States  four years after the pandemic started, the CDC says. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended the newest vaccine targeting Omicron subvariants being provided by both Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna for everyone 6 months of age and older. Another updated vaccine, this one from Novavax, b…

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by Joe Lombardi
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COVID-19: Here's How Many Americans Have Gotten Updated Vaccine Compared To Last Year's Booster COVID-19: Here's How Many Americans Have Gotten Updated Vaccine Compared To Last Year's Booster
Covid-19: Here's How Many Americans Have Gotten Updated Vaccine Compared To Last Year's Booster More than seven million Americans have received a dose of the newly released COVID-19 booster shot for 2023-24, according to federal authorities. In mid-September, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommended the newest vaccine targeting Omicron subvariants being provided by both Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna for everyone 6 months of age and older. Another updated vaccine, this one from Novavax, became available this month and is recommended for those aged 12 and over.  The rollout of this year's booster was marked early on by some distribution of…

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by Joe Lombardi
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COVID-19: This Group Has Been Most Affected By Virus In 2023, CDC Says COVID-19: This Group Has Been Most Affected By Virus In 2023, CDC Says
Covid-19: This Group Has Been Most Affected By Virus In 2023, CDC Says New data is revealing what group of Americans was most affected by COVID-19 in the fourth year of the pandemic. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said late last week that those age 65 and above accounted for 62.9 percent of COVID-related hospitalizations from January to August of this year. Among that group, only 23.5 percent had received the recommended COVID booster vaccine, and "the vast majority had two or more underlying health conditions," according to the CDC. Those 65 and older accounted for 87.9 percent of COVID-related deaths and 61.3 percen…

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by Joe Lombardi
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COVID-19: Highly Mutated Pirola Variant Now Identified In 10 States COVID-19: Highly Mutated Pirola Variant Now Identified In 10 States
Covid-19: Highly Mutated Pirola Variant Now Identified In 10 States A newly identified COVID-19 strain with around 30 mutations has now been identified in 10 states. Cases of the BA.2.86 strain, known as Pirola, have been confirmed in:  Colorado, Maryland, Michigan, New York,  Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, Washington. The Michigan case, the first in the US, was an older woman who had recently returned from Japan who reportedly had mild symptoms. Related story - COVID-19: These Are Most Likely Symptoms Of New Pirola Variant Spreading In US At a World Health Organization (WHO) news briefing late last month, authorities said …

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by Joe Lombardi
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COVID-19: Increase In Cases Sparks Concern At Start Of School Year COVID-19: Increase In Cases Sparks Concern At Start Of School Year
Covid-19: Increase In Cases Sparks Concern At Start Of School Year There's always plenty of anxiety at the start of a new school year, but that's especially true now due to increased COVID-19 cases. COVID-related hospitalizations have increased in the US for six straight weeks, with a 19-percent increase reported in the most recent week, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The White House announced that First Lady Jill Biden tested positive for COVID on Monday morning, Sept. 5, and is experiencing “mild symptoms." Three school districts in Kentucky and Texas briefly suspended in-person classes after surges of COVID cases. T…

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by Joe Lombardi