The number of COVID-19-related cases in our household peaked last Monday as our daughter, aged 15, was undergoing treatment for the illness. My wife also started experiencing symptoms similar to hers. It happens that this was also the time when the Texas seven-day average number of cases reported rose in Texas. Worldometer data shows that the Omicron Wave crested in Texas around January 18. According to the New York TimesDatabase, January 17 was the peak of the average.
Both sources show the nationwide average falling sharply since January 14, the day after I published a post headlined “There’s Good Reason To Think the Omicron Wave Will Peak Soon.” It is hard to claim that I am clairvoyant, as many other people said the same thing at the time, using local, state, regional, and global trends, as well as experience from countries with the omicron variant.
South Africa was the first country to be identified with omicrons in November. Since then, new cases have dropped significantly. Similar patterns were observed in other African countries that are covered under President Joe Biden’s omicron-inspired travel bans. The United Kingdom also saw similar trends. While the average daily number of new infections per day increased by more than three times between December and January 5, but it has fallen by half since then.
Worldometer reported that between January 14th and yesterday, the U.S. average case rate fell 29%. According to The TimesThe database which contains “probable COVID-19” cases and laboratory-confirmed infected individuals shows a lower drop of around 14 percent.
“In New England and the Northeast” [newly reported cases]Have peaked at [are]”Starting to come down quite sharply,” Anthony Fauci (Biden’s most senior COVID-19 advisor), noted on ABC. The Week yesterday. “There are still some…Southern states and Western states that continue to go up. But if the pattern follows the trend that we’re seeing in other places, such as the Northeast, I believe that you will start to see a turnaround throughout the entire country….It’s a large country, and [there is]It is not uncommon for there to be a wide range of vaccines in one area compared with another. [But]All of them will ultimately go in the same direction.”
Hans Kluge was the World Health Organization’s European regional director. He also seemed cautiously optimistic. Kluge today noted that Omicron seems to be causing less severe diseases. He stated that “omicron presents plausible hope for normalization” and stability, due to the natural acquired immunity and vaccination. Kluge said that, “with millions of new infections in the world over the past weeks and winter seasonality, and with declining immunity, it seems almost certain that new COVID-19 varieties will emerge and return.” He said, however that the “new wave” could not be resorted to existing pandemic-era measures or population lockdowns.
The TimesThe database displays the average seven-day COVID-19 hospitalizations in America. This lagging indicator, which includes patients who have tested positive for COVID 19, continues to increase until January 20th, then dips slightly in the last few day, suggesting a possible downward trend. The seven-day average daily death rate, which includes “probable” deaths, continues to increase through yesterday when it reached nearly 2,200. The Worldometer however, placed that average at below 1,900 yesterday. This is a slight decrease from January 20.
Fauci explained that hospitalizations may cause more suffering and pain in the areas of the country where they have not received boosters or vaccinated fully. “But we do know that…even with omicron, boosting makes a major, major difference in protecting you from hospitalization and severe outcomes. Things are looking promising. It’s important not to be too confident. They look as though they are moving in the right direction at this point.”
As There are reasonsRon Bailey, the reporter for NBC News reported that an analysis by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has revealed that booster shots can reduce hospitalizations among Americans who are infected. The results compare to those who had not been vaccinated. Bailey recently reported from Canada that people aged 60 to 69 who were not immunized are about 58 times more likely to have COVID-19-related hospitalizations than individuals in the same age bracket who had received three vaccine doses. They had 560 times the likelihood of needing intensive care.
Our 15-year-old daughter—who has received two vaccine doses but but was unlikely to experience severe effects from COVID-19 in any case, given her age and health—ran a fever for a few days. She experienced body aches and dizziness as well as headaches, nausea, vomiting, and sore throat. After a few days in her bedroom, she went back to school. She apparently contracted her infection from another student, who was positive, but brought it to school because he was feeling fine.
Because my wife is an older woman and has taken immunosuppressive medication, we were particularly concerned about her triply vaccinated status. The symptoms she experienced were fever, congestion and sore throat. She also had dizziness. Still dizzy after her initial symptoms, she seems to have recovered.
My wife, though this isn’t evidence, thanks to the fact that it was anecdotal, she is thankful that she had been vaccinated. Multiple studies have shown that the coronavirus variant is more mild than the earlier versions. The omicron vaccine seems to be more effective than the Delta variant which could cause severe symptoms.
The symptoms of COVID-19 were mild in our 28-year-old daughter. She lives far away and was triply vaccinated. We have received 3 vaccines each, with no results so far. After my wife was infected with the virus, she is mostly well. My concern for our daughter, who has not been, is how it will impact her college, social, and personal lives. For me, I’m more concerned about cancelling Wednesday night poker. Here’s what normalization and stability looks like at our home.