U.S. COVID-19 Community Levels by County Map

[L. Coyote]

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/science/community-levels.html#anchor_1646415861797

Maps, charts, and data provided by CDC, updates every Thursday by 8 pm ET

CDC looks at the combination of three metrics — new COVID-19 admissions per 100,000 population in the past 7 days, the percent of staffed inpatient beds occupied by COVID-19 patients, and total new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 population in the past 7 days — to determine the COVID-19 community level. New COVID-19 admissions and the percent of staffed inpatient beds occupied represent the current potential for strain on the health system. Data on new cases acts as an early warning indicator of potential increases in health system strain in the event of a COVID-19 surge.

Using these data, the COVID-19 community level is classified as low, medium, or high.


...... map here .....


COVID-19 Community Level and COVID-19 Prevention

People who are up to date on vaccines have much lower risk of severe illness and death from COVID-19 compared with unvaccinated people. When making decisions about community prevention strategies and individual preventive behaviors in addition to vaccination, health officials and people should consider the COVID-19 Community Level in the county. Layered prevention strategies — like staying up to date on vaccines, screening testing, ventilation and wearing masks — can help limit severe disease and reduce the potential for strain on the healthcare system. CDC recommends using county COVID-19 Community Levels to help determine which COVID-19 prevention measures to use for individuals and communities.

Some community settings such as schools and some high-risk congregate settings such as correctional facilities and homeless shelters might include additional layers of prevention (e.g., physical distancing, contact tracing) based on information and data about the characteristics of the setting. High-risk congregate settings may implement added prevention as needed in the event of a facility outbreak even if COVID-19 Community Levels in the surrounding community are low. Jurisdictions should monitor health equity in vaccine and other prevention efforts and assess hospitalization data where possible to ensure outreach occurs to address any disparities in access to high quality healthcare. Recommendations based on COVID-19 Community Levels may not apply to healthcare settings such as hospitals or long-term care facilities.

[VarryOn]

1. So encouraging!

I expect with spring things will get even better.

[Ms. Toad]

2. Just remember that they changed the definitions.

Low used to be fewer than 50 new cases per 100,000 in 14 days. Low is now fewer than 200 new cases in 14 days.

They have added two new criteria, but those criteria have a 1-2 week lag time, so by the time the community infection rate rises sufficiently to kick the secondary criteria up, increasing the the community level to medium (or high) - especially with the omicron variant that is causing the increase in Europe and Asia, it will be too late to change behavior and prevent the next massive omicron-like wave here.

ETA: From another current thread in DU:

https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/15/health/covid-rising-uk-us/index.html

(CNN)Two weeks after the United Kingdom dropped its last remaining Covid-19 mitigation measure -- a requirement that people who test positive for the virus isolate for five days -- the country is seeing cases and hospitalizations climb once again.

Covid-19 cases were up 48% in the UK last week compared with the week before. Hospitalizations were up 17% over the same period.

The country's daily case rate -- about 55,000 a day -- is still less than a third of the Omicron peak, but cases are rising as fast as they were falling just two weeks earlier, when the country removed pandemic-related restrictions.

[Johnny2X2X]

4. Omicron ripped through the US like a giant tidal wave

I do not expect that variant to rip the the US again in the same way, some other variant might, but not Omicron so soon. Cases in the US have fallen 96% in the last 8 weeks, we just might be past this for the time being.

And also, as stated in other threads, this is a pandemic of the unvaccinated now, well over 92% of the deaths are unvaccinated right now. Another 6% of the deaths are not boosted, less than 2% of the deaths are fully vaxxed and boosted, and those are almost all the very very old or people with serious health problems to begin with.

If you're fully vaxxed and boosted, Covid is not a big threat anymore for you at least. It's still a good idea to be careful to protect others as always though.

[Ms. Toad]

5. Have you looked at the data from Europe and Asia?

The variant causing the current rates to rise as quickly as they were falling 2 weeks ago is Omicron B.A.2, otherwise known as stealth omicron, which isi 30% more transmissible than omicron.

Deaths are only one negative outcome. Even mild COVID is now documented to cause brain damage - whether it is permanent is unclear yet. Earlier long-term consequences- again - even for mild COVID, for at least a year, include an increased risk of heart attacks.

While COVID may not be an immediately lethal threat to those who are vaccinated and boosted. We simply don't know the long term consequences, just as we didn't know during the polio era that even those who fully recovered would frequently develop post-polio syndrome, or that those who got chicken pox were likely to develop shingles later. This disease is 2 years old. Some consequences - even of mild COVID - may not develop for decades. By then, it will be too late to turn back the clock and focus on avoiding COVID in part to prevent long-term consequences, rather than simply focusing on avoiding overwhelming the hospitals.

[Johnny2X2X]

6. They're going through an Omicron surge like we had

Vaccinated people will be fine, unvaccinated people will get really sick and some will die. It's a serious problem for the unvaccinated, the vaccinated shouldn't be afraid anymore.

As far as long term effects, like with every new disease there are unknowns, but there's little reason to think the long term effects will be devastating. And the brain damage needs to be looked at in context rather than fear enticing headlines. Viruses cause changes to the body, and to the brain, colds change your brain, there is no indication there's permanent damage and it's already being linked to an effect from the loss of smell. Now people with more severe Covid are going to have respiratory problems at a higher rate going forward, but that is expected.

And unbelievable number of people in the US had Omicron. But it is declining now and over 80% of our population now has some immunity to it. Covid will come back, but it will not cause as much havoc here because of that immunity. People are done being scared by attention grabbing headlines, most of the country has move on already.

[Ms. Toad]

8. No, they are not.

Their omicron surge passed before ours. They are now going through an new omicron BA.2 suge, a variant of omicron that is nearly as different from omicron as omicron was from earlier versions of COVID.

The most recent studies show it is infecting at least some people who have previously had omicron, athough a recent infection provides more protection. The reinfection rate will only grow over time, as they did after the early optimism about low reinfection with COVID based on the LA study. And only 43% of the country has had omicron (as of late January), so there are still plenty of people out there to infect.

My mother has had two distinct breast cancers, in part because there was no reason to expect X-rays could cause cancer - so when she was a child a chest X-ray was part of her routine physical. 3rd generation DES babies (grandchildren of the women who took it) have a higher rate amenorrhea (skipped periods) and menstrual irregularity and excess of ovarian cancer. We had no reason, at the time, to expect the drug would not only impact the women who took it, but their children - and grandchildren. COVID impacts so many different systems - far more than just respiratory (circulatory, kidney, brain, liver, CNS, just to name a few. As to colds impacting the brain - that impact ends with the diease. So far, in the short period of study, there are persistent changes to the brain - which may be linked to smell - which, for some people is at least a 2-year impact - but may also be linked to longer term cognitive impairment.

It has nothing to do with either moving on OR attention grabbing headines. It has to do with being prudent with a disease for which we have only two years' worth of information. For some things - like the vaccines, for which we also have no long-term information - the risk is worth the minimal potential for long-term consequences. For others - like X-rays, DES, and negligent exposure to COVID, the risk isn't worth the unknown potential for long term consequences.

[Ohio Joe]

3. Encouraging...

Imagine if we had not had the batshit crazy magats.

[marie999]

7. Just great, almost all of North Carolina is in green and my county is in yellow.