The number of people in the United States hospitalized with Covid-19 is about to surpass the figure reached during this summer’s spike, federal data show, as a confluence of factors — from the continued evolution of the coronavirus to holiday gatherings — drives transmission.
Notably, the number of people hospitalized with Covid — roughly 40,000 — is still far below the winter waves of 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 (the wave driven by the original Omicron variant) as well as the Delta wave in summer and fall 2021. But it seems clear that the anticipated winter wave has begun, at least in parts of the country.
Hospitalizations among people 60 and older — those most vulnerable to severe outcomes from a Covid case — have been taking off since mid-November, federal data show. Read More