Coronavirus Daily News Brief – May 10: Here are FLiRT Symptoms, CDC Ends Covid Hospital Admission Reporting

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Good afternoon. This is Jonathan Spira, director of research at the Center for Long Covid Research, reporting. Here now the news of the pandemic from across the globe on its 1,521st day.
In news we cover today , we present a list of symptoms associated with the new FLiRT sublineages, the CDC stopped reporting Covid-related hospitalizations, and, covid cases may climb significantly this summer
THE LEDE
Are We FLiRTing with Another Wave of Covid Cases Come Summer?
Once again, the emergence of a new set of SARS-CoV-2 subvariants, known colloquially as FLiRT, has sparked concerns over a potential summer uptick in cases after a remarkably calm astronomical spring. It’s worth mentioning that the onset of astronomical summer is just three weeks away.
The FLiRTy new variants, known as KP.1.1 and KP.2, have recently overtaken JN.1 as the dominant omicron sublineage in the United States. According to the latest data from the U.S. Centers from Disease Control and Prevention, the two currently account for one in four infections nationwide.
I’ve mentioned before in this space that the fat lady of the Covid opera has yet to sing and it’s never more apparent that this is the case than when a new subvariant appears and people react like the Deetz family after Beetlejuice starts to frighten them out of house and home.
In looking at the current data as well as past trends I believe that a full-blown surge is unlikely just from the FLiRT subvariants, although clearly the number of cases will rise noticeably.
As with all new subvariants, these have greater transmissibility than prior ones and, when combined with more travel, more family gatherings, and more people trying to escape the heat of summer, we are nonetheless looking at a perfect stormlet if not a perfect storm.
TODAY IN THE FIRST YEAR OF COVID HISTORY
On May 10, 2020, as the total number of coronavirus infections worldwide surpassed the four million mark and the death toll in the United States hit 80,000, the virus itself spread through the top ranks of the White House. Katie Miller, the vice president’s press secretary and a spokeswoman for the White House coronavirusefforts, tested positive for the virus, as did a valet to President Trump.
Two of the nation’s top public health officials had to self-quarantine for two weeks after they came into contact with someone who has tested positive, including Dr. Robert Redfield, head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Dr. Stephen Hahn, commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration.  Dr. Anthony Fauci, who heads the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said he had begun a “modified quarantine” after coming into contact with someone he referred to as a “low risk” contact.
In New York State, the epicenter of the virus in the United States, Governor Andrew Cuomo reported that the number of new hospitalizations, new intubations, and new confirmed cases was down.  New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy gave a similar report.
In the United Kingdom, Prime Minister Boris Johnson outlined a roadmap for easing a lockdown in an address Sunday evening.  The measures included a 14-day self quarantine for visitors and residents returning to the country. He unveiled a new slogan via Twitter Sunday morning, “Stay Alert. Control the Virus. Save Lives.”
Health officials in northeastern China reported a flare-up of cases near the Russian border.  Eleven new cases were traced to a single individual who had tested positive Thursday, although officials did not know how she contracted the virus.
Finally, in Singapore, a four-legged robot dog politely asked visitors to one of the city’s parks to “keep Singapore healthy” and “please stay one meter apart”
UNITED STATES
The symptoms associated with the new FLiRT subvariants are as follows: Sore throat, Cough, Fatigue, Congestion, Runny nose, Headache, Muscle aches, Fever or chills, New loss of sense of taste or smell, Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, Nausea or vomiting, and Diarrhea.
The sublineages are known as KP.1.1 and KP.2,
Hospitals are no longer reporting Covid admissions so the final data from the CDC for this was the number of people admitted to hospital in the United States due to SARS-CoV-2 in the period ending April 27, 2024 was 5,098, a figure that was down 11.1 %
OTHER HEALTHCARE NEWS
Health officials in Hong Kong are reporting a sharp rise in new cases of influenza. The Centre for Health Protection reported a positivity rate of 14.54% for seasonal influenza A or B. The figure was above the baseline threshold of 9.21%. It also surpassed the previous week’s figure of 10.63%.
PANDEMIC STATISTICS
CURRENT U.S. COVID STATISTICS AT A GLANCE
In the United States, in the week ending May 4, 2024, the test positivity rate was, based on data released on May 10 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was 3.1%, a figure is up 0.1 percentage points from the previous 7-day period, and the trend in test positivity is +0.1% in the most recent week. Meanwhile, the percentage of emergency department visits that were diagnosed as SARS-CoV-2 was 0.3%, and the trend in emergency department visits is -7.6%.
The number of people admitted to hospital in the United States due to SARS-CoV-2 is no longer being reported as of the end of May. Meanwhile, the percentage of deaths due to SARS-CoV-2 was 0.7%, a figure that is virtually unchanged from the previous period.
VACCINATION SPOTLIGHT
Some 70.6% of the world population has received at least one dose of coronavirus vaccine at press time, according to Our World in Data, an online scientific publication that tracks such information.  So far, 13.57 billion doses of the vaccine have been administered on a global basis and 3,391 doses are now administered each day.
Meanwhile, only 32.7% of people in low-income countries have received one dose, while in countries such as Canada, China, Denmark, France, Italy, the United Kingdom, and the United States, at least 75% of the population has received at least one dose of vaccine.
Only a handful of the world’s poorest countries – Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia and Nepal – have reached the 70% mark in vaccinations. Many countries, however, are under 20% and, in countries such as Haiti, Senegal, and Tanzania, for example, vaccination rates remain at or below 10%.
In addition, with the beginning of vaccinations in North Korea in late September, 2023, Eritrea remains the only country in the world that has not administered vaccines in any significant number
Finally, as of April 14, 2024, only Turkmenistan in Central Asia is only state that has not reported any cases of SARS-CoV-2 infections whatsoever, although it is strongly suspected that the virus is present there. Meanwhile, the last territory in the world to have its first ever SARS-CoV-2 infection was Tokelau, a dependency of New Zealand that reported its first five cases on December 21, 2022.
Where Has All the Data Gone?
We regret to inform that, as of April 15, 2024, the Global Daily Statistics data in the Coronavirus Daily News Brief are no longer being updated. Over the past 15 months, as more politicians and governments sought to place SARS-CoV-2 in the rear-view mirror, pandemic data reporting sputtered out and we are now at the point where it is simply not feasible to provide statistically valid case data on a global scale.
We are developing potential new and authoritative sources that we will present once they have been properly vetted, so stay tuned to this space. In the meantime, our Long Covid and pandemic coverage will remain much the same.
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Anna Breuer contributed reporting to this issue.
The Coronavirus Daily News Brief is a publication of the Center for Long Covid Research. www.longcov.org
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