With help from BA.5, new COVID hospitalizations quadrupled since April

According to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, daily COvid-19 hospitalizations are four times higher than four months ago.

The data shows the high transmission of coronaviruses in a population that is mostly unboosted.

The seven-day rolling average for new hospitalizations in the US fell to 1,420 per day as the US fell into a brief lull in the wave. Wave after wave of subvariants. The current BA. 5 hospitalizations have floated back up. The rolling average is close to 6000. More than 37,000 people are hospitalized in the US with Covid-19.

Increased hospitalizations have not led to an increase in deaths. According to the CDC, the average number of daily deaths is over 300.

The burden of COVID-19 remains high in a lot of the country, allowing for more disease, hospitalization, and opportunities to be generated.

The CDC's community transmission data shows that 94 percent of US counties have high levels of transmission. According to the CDC's COVID-19 community levels metric, 46 percent of the counties have high community levels. The CDC says that people should wear masks indoors. Medium community levels are found in 35 percent of counties.

Despite high transmission levels and masking recommendations, Americans have largely abandoned COVID-19 Mitigation efforts. The vaccine and booster rates are not high. More than one third of Americans have not received the two vaccine doses that are required for full immunity. A majority of people haven't received a booster dose needed to be considered up to date on their vaccine.

Anthony Fauci called the figures discouraging in a radio interview. If Americans don't get vaccinations or boosted, they're going to get into trouble.

The subvariant with the largest growth advantage has increased its dominance in the US. At the end of July it accounted for 81 percent of all infections, but it now accounts for 85 percent.