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The omicron strain of the COVID virus and its descendent lineages are still dominant globally but have declined in relative prevalence, according to the World Health Organization.
In the week through Jan. 22, they accounted for 53.9% of prevalence among sequences submitted to a central database, down from 74.2% in the week through Dec. 25, the agency said in its weekly epidemiological update.
Pooled recombinant variant sequences rose to 24.6% from 8.8%, mostly due to XBB.1.5, which is dominant in the U.S. where most sequences were reported.
The WHO is currently tracking four omicron descendent lineages closely, namely BF.7; BQ.1 and its lineages; BA.2.75 and its lineages; and XBB and its lineages.
“These variants are included on the basis of signals of transmission advantage relative to other circulating variants and additional amino acid changes that are known or suspected to confer fitness advantage,” said the update.
Globally, the WHO counted nearly 10.5 million new cases in the 28 days through Feb. 5, down 89% from the previous 28-day period. The agency changed its reporting schedule last week to every 28 days from weekly in order to help smooth out fluctuations and delays in reporting numbers.
The period saw more than 90,000 deaths, down 8% from the previous 28-day period.
The WHO again cautioned that the true number of infections and reinfections are higher as shown by prevalence surveys, mostly because of a reduction in testing and surveillance in many countries. That includes the U.S., where President Joe Biden plans to end the twin pandemic emergencies on May 11. Those federal emergencies were put in place to give the government extra powers to deal with the crisis.
U.S. cases, hospitalizations and deaths are steadily declining. The seven-day average of new U.S. COVID cases stood at 39,978 on Wednesday, according to a New York Times tracker. That’s down 15% from two weeks ago. The daily average for hospitalizations was down 17% to 29,358. The average for deaths was 460, down 16% from two weeks ago.
Cases are climbing in 20 states, led by Wyoming, where they are up 209% from two weeks ago. On a per capita basis, Alabama leads with 29 cases on average per 100,000 residents.
Coronavirus update: MarketWatch’s daily roundup has been curating and reporting all the latest developments every weekday since the coronavirus pandemic began
Other COVID-19 news you should know about:
• AstraZeneca PLC
AZN,
AZN,
the Anglo-Swedish pharma company, posted weaker-than-expected sales for the fourth quarter, mostly due to lower sales of COVID vaccine Vaxzevria, Dow Jones Newswires reported. The company said that it expects sales of all of its COVID products, including treatments, to decline significantly in 2023, with minimal revenue coming from the vaccine. Product sales declined 6% in the fourth quarter due to lower sales of Vaxzevria.
• The pandemic greatly accelerated a long-running pattern in giving by foundations and charities for health and natural disasters, a new analysis of nine years of data shows, the Associated Press reported. Some 90% of the $5.2 billion donated in 2020, the most recent year for which data is available, went to dealing with immediate disaster needs. In other years, about half of disaster grantmaking went to such purposes, while the rest went to helping communities prepare for hurricanes, droughts, life-threatening infectious diseases and other problems, as well as to recovery and rebuilding.
• The Maine Community College System has ended a requirement that on-campus students receive the COVID vaccine, the AP reported separately. The MCCS board ended the requirement, with the change effective immediately. MCCS President David Daigler said high vaccination rates in the state and improved outcomes for people who contract COVID played a role in the decision. Better access to a broader range of preventative and treatment options for COVID also played a role, he said.
Here’s what the numbers say:
The global tally of confirmed COVID-19 cases topped 672.3 million on Wednesday, while the death toll rose above 6.84 million, according to data aggregated by Johns Hopkins University.
The U.S. leads the world with 102.7 million cases and 1,113,324 fatalities.
The CDC’s tracker shows that 229.6 million people living in the U.S., equal to 69.2% of the total population, are fully vaccinated, meaning they have had their primary shots.
So far, just 51.4 million Americans, equal to 15.5% of the overall population, have had the updated COVID booster that targets both the original virus and the omicron variants.
