News From Los Alamos County
January 6, 2023
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The COVID-19 Community Newsletter will move
to bi-weekly distribution beginning this week.
The next newsletter will be January 20, 2023.
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Inside this newsletter, you will find...
The Epidemiology Corner - COVID-19 Update, Contagious XBB.1.5 Variant, RSV & Flu Recede as COVID Spikes, Weekly Survey, COVID-19 data, and more.
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COVID-19 Update:
XBB.1.5 Variant Continues Spreading in US as Post-Holiday Increase in Reported Cases Occurs in County, Especially Seniors...
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COVID-19 Update: Omicron XBB.1.5 Variant Rapidly Spreading in US
Omicron variant XBB.1.5 is rapidly spreading in the US, having increased from 8% to 28% in nationwide prevalence over the past four weeks. This growth pace is similar to that seen with the still predominant BQ.1 and BQ.1.1 (BQ.1x) variants, which are now in modest decline in the US. XBB.1.5 first emerged in the northeastern US, where it quickly outcompeted other variants and now accounts for an estimated 73% of cases. All other Omicron variants circulating in the US are stable or declining in prevalence. See HERE Health experts believe the XBB.1.5 variant is the most transmissible variant yet observed and will likely soon predominate in the US. See HERE In New York City, where the XBB.1.5 variant likely first emerged, it now accounts for roughly 80% of cases, and both case transmission and hospitalization have been increasing over time as XBB.1.5 has surged. See HERE
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Community Level Risk Remains at LOW despite Post Holiday Jump in Reported Cases
For the week ending January 4, the Community Level remained at LOW for Los Alamos County, as it did for the three other counties (Taos, Rio Arriba, Santa Fe) which collectively comprise the regional Health Services Area (HSA) over which CDC hospitalization metrics are calculated. Total reported cases in the county increased week to week from 6 to 23 cases, which translates to a nearly four-fold rise in the weekly county incidence rate from 31 to 119 cases per 100,000. NMDOH reported no new COVID-19 hospital admissions or deaths in the county for the week ending January 1. Incidence rates remained stable week to week in the three neighboring HSA counties. The 4-county HSA hospitalization rate continued trending lower, decreasing week to week from 4.4 to 3.7 new admissions per 100,000.
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Emergency Department Visits for COVID-Like Illness Remain Stable Despite Jump in Reported Cases
NMDOH reports the percentage of emergency department (ED) visits in county residents for COVID-like illness remained stable at 1.9% for each of the two-week time periods ending December 21 and January 4. Statewide, the percentage of ED visits for COVID-like illness has declined to about 4% while ED visits for flu-like illness have declined to roughly 13%. See HERE
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Levels of COVID-19 Virus in County Wastewater Remain at Stable Levels of Detection
Levels of the SARS-CoV-2 virus detected in county wastewater remained at stable low levels over the past several weeks, consistent with ongoing, lower level case transmission. For the week ending December 19, the CDC/Biobot contractor reports that BQ.1x variants comprised the majority of detected virus (82%), with BA.5 variants accounting for the remainder. XBB variants were not detected. See https://biobot.io/data/
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County Seniors Account for Most of Post-Holiday Jump in Reported Cases
For the week ending December 30, a total of 22 cases were reported by NMDOH compared to 7 cases reported for each of the prior two weeks ending December 16 and December 23, respectively. Adults accounted for all cases in the most recent week, with seniors 65+ accounting for 15 of the 22 cases (68%). The incidence of reported cases in seniors (60 cases per 100,000) was markedly higher than at any time over the past two months. CDC reports that 95% of county seniors (65+) have completed their primary COVID-19 vaccination series, but that only 37% have received the updated bivalent booster. See HERE CDC studies have shown the bivalent booster provides strong incremental protection against severe COVID-19 and recommends that all eligible seniors receive a bivalent booster dose and consider additional prevention strategies, including masking in indoor public spaces. See HERE
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New Mexicans Encouraged to Self-Report Positive COVID-19 Home Tests
To assist with more complete case monitoring in New Mexico, NMDOH encourages residents to download the NM Notify app and to report positive COVID-19 home tests on the app, or for a fast and easy way to report your at-home test results online, visit https://makemytestcount.org/.
The NMDOH/CDC COVID-19 incidence data reviewed here are based on PCR-confirmed testing results and do not include data on positive at-home antigen tests. As such, case counts are incomplete and underestimated, but by how much cannot be determined precisely at any given time point.
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People who haven't had COVID will likely catch XBB.1.5 – and many will get reinfected, experts say
Variant XBB.1.5 is very contagious, meaning everyone is at risk even if you've already been infected. As the U.S. enters year 3 of the pandemic, here's an update on the state of COVID.
The newest COVID-19 variant is so contagious that even people who've avoided it so far are getting infected and the 80% of Americans who've already been infected are likely to catch it again, experts say.
Essentially, everyone in the country is at risk for infection now, even if they're super careful, up to date on vaccines or have caught it before, said Paula Cannon, a virologist at the University of Southern California.
The number of severe infections and deaths remains relatively low, despite the high level of infections, she said, thanks to vaccinations – and probably – previous infections. But the lack of universal masking means that even people like her, who do mask, are vulnerable.
The latest variant, called XBB.1.5, grew exponentially over the month of December, from about 1% of cases nationwide to 40% as of Dec. 31, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The variant is likely behind the vast majority of cases in New York and New England.
Its growth is probably due to XBB.1.5's characteristics – it appears to bind even more tightly to receptors in the human body than its predecessors – as well as human behavior, such as traveling and not masking.
What to know about XBB.1.5 symptoms and how long they last
COVID-19 symptoms typically last around five to seven days and can include fever, sore throat, muscle aches, exhaustion, nausea, cough and sinus congestion, among other problems.
Symptoms with XBB.1.5 are the same as with earlier variants and can range from almost nothing to shortness of breath and low oxygen levels that require emergency medical attention.
Early in the pandemic, COVID-19 often cost people their sense of taste and smell, at least temporarily, but that symptom seems less common, possibly because of vaccination or previous infection rather than a change in the virus, said Dr. Peter Hotez, an infectious disease specialist and co-director of the Center for Vaccine Development at Texas Children’s Hospital.
How long does COVID last? How long are you contagious?
It takes anywhere from two to 14 days for exposure to lead to symptoms and a positive test.
People with COVID-19 are contagious as long as they remain positive on a rapid test, typically for about 10 days, but often longer.
The CDC recommends people isolate for at least five days and wear an N95 or similarly protective mask for at least 10 days when around others. Day One is considered the first full day after symptoms start.
A PCR test, which is considered the gold standard for diagnosing COVID-19, can remain positive for months because it detects viral fragments as well as the whole, infectious virus. To confirm the end of the contagious period, experts instead recommend a negative rapid test after 10 days or two within 48 hours if sooner.
Can you get COVID more than once?
Yes. While a previous infection provides some protection, that fades over time and as the virus evolves into different variants.
Some people who had a mild case with a first infection get hit harder the second or third time, while others might suffer less.
How to avoid infection
The methods for avoiding infection haven't changed, though it can be hard to stick with them when no one else is: Get vaccinated, wear a mask and avoid crowded spaces.
First is getting vaccinated. This will protect against severe infection as well as reduce the risk of passing the virus to others, said Hotez, also dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine.
The newer boosters, which take aim at both the original virus and the BA.4/BA.5 variants common this summer, are more protective against XBB.1.5 than earlier boosters. People who are up to date on their COVID-19 shots probably don't shed as much virus for as long, so they're also less likely to pass it on, he added.
Second is wearing a mask. Good quality, well-fitting masks, like an N95 or KN95 can reduce the risk of infection.
Third is avoiding crowded indoor spaces. You're less likely to get infected in large indoor spaces with high ceilings and lots of ventilation than in cramped, airless ones.
What to do if you get sick
It's a good idea to have a plan ready in case you get sick, Cannon said. She suggests every plan include:
- How to isolate from others in your household
- The contact number for a health care provider who can prescribe an antiviral
- Equipment such as rapid coronavirus tests, extra masks, a thermometer and a pulse oximeter to make sure the patient's blood oxygen level doesn't drop below the low 90s
Every U.S. household is eligible for four free coronavirus tests from the government that can be ordered from this link: covid.gov/tests.
For someone over 60 or with medical conditions like obesity that raise the risk for serious disease, the first step after a positive test should be a call to the doctor to get the antiviral Paxlovid, she and others said. The government has pre-bought millions of doses, so they are available for free.
Why it's better not to get infected
Every COVID-19 infection increases your risk for serious disease and for long COVID, which brings sometimes debilitating symptoms that can linger for a year or more.
Vaccination reduces the risk of long COVID by 15% to 30%, according to a study he recently published. Another study he is working on shows Paxlovid reduces the risk by 26%.
All six experts interviewed by USA TODAY this week dismissed the idea that there is somehow an upside to getting infected: Vaccination provides better protection against future infection without the risk.
To read the full article, click HERE!
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RSV recedes and flu peaks as a new COVID variant shoots 'up like a rocket'
As the new year begins, and the depths of winter approach, U.S. infectious disease monitoring the "tripledemic" stew of viruses that have been plaguing the country say there's good news — and bad.
The good news is the worst appears to be over from the RSV surge that's been making life miserable for many children and their parents. RSV cases have been falling steadily since the end of November, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
At the same time, the flu — which also came roaring back this fall after mostly disappearing for the previous two years — looks like it's finally receding in most places, according to the latest data out Friday from the CDC.
The virus posing the biggest threat right now is — you guessed it — the one that causes COVID-19.
COVID 'concerns us most' in the days and weeks ahead
"We're seeing sustained increases of COVID infections across the nation," Dr. Ashish Jha, the White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator, told NPR in an interview. "So COVID is the thing that concerns us most as we look at the days and weeks ahead."
The rate at which COVID is being detected in waste water, which has become a bellwether for the pandemic, has tripled or quadrupled in many parts of the U.S. in recent weeks, Jha says. COVID hospitalizations have jumped 70%, he says. And 300 to 400 people are dying every day from COVID.
To make matters worse, all this is happening as yet another new, even more transmissible variant has taken over in the U.S. Called XBB.1.5., this new omicron subvariant was barely on the radar in late November. But, according to new estimates released Friday by the CDC, XBB.1.5 now accounts for almost a third of all new infections and is dominant variant in the Northeast.
"The current increase in cases that we are seeing, really began around the Thanksgiving holiday when people gathered. And as we went into the bigger holiday season — the Hanukkah/Christmas holiday season — that has accelerated infections further," Jha says.
Because "every major holiday has led to a bump in cases throughout the entire pandemic, it stands to reason that we're going to a clear increase in infections, and cases and hospitalizations, unfortunately, over the next few weeks," he says.
Why omicron subvariant XBB.1.5 is spreading so fast
The prevalence of COVID's omicron subvariant XBB.1.5 "shot up like a rocket," says Sam Scarpino, who has been tracking new variants at Northeastern University. "This variant has displaced other variants in a way that we've never seen before. That's kind of alarming."
The good news is that, so far, there's no evidence the new variant makes people sicker than earlier versions of the virus. And the immunity people have from getting infected and vaccinated should protect most from getting really sick. So no one thinks this winter will be anything like the first two horrific pandemic winters.
But XBB.1.5 can partially sneak around immunity as easily as anything before it. And it has developed something none of its predecessors had: a mutation that lets it infect cells more easily than the others. That makes this version of COVID even easier to catch.
"The question is not whether it's going to cause a surge. It almost certainly will. The question is: How big is the surge going to be?"
So public health authorities are once again urging people protect themselves.
How to protect yourself from COVID subvariant XBB.1.5
"What is clearer now, compared to even a year ago, is that we can really blunt the worst of it by doing the things that we know work," Jha says.
That includes: Getting vaccinated and boosted, especially if you're older. Most of the deaths from COVID are occurring in those ages 65 and older.
Other precautions include: avoiding crowded, poorly ventilated parties, restaurants, bars and other places. Testing before gathering. And, yes, putting that mask back on in risky situations. And, if you do get sick: checking with your doctor about getting treatment quickly.
Fortunately, most of the same precautions that lower your risk of catching COVID will also help protect you against any resurgence of RSV or flu. The winter is still young, and flu is still circulating at fairly high levels in many places, experts note, which means many people are still suffering through fevers, body aches, chills and other symptoms. And the holidays may have jump-started more infections that will continue to surface and spread in coming days as people return home from trips and family gatherings, schools reopen and people go back to work.
The U.S. could see another flu wave later this winter. That's what happened in some parts of the Southern Hemisphere's winter and often occurs in the Northern Hemisphere, too.
To read the full article, click HERE!
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Are you preparing for a COVID spike in cases, and taking precautions?
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Yes. I am wearing a mask, avoiding crowds, and staying up to date with vaccines
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Yes. But I'm not doing everything I could be.
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No. I am not worried about it.
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CDC Announces Negative COVID-19 Test Requirement from Air Passengers Entering the United States from the People’s Republic of China
CDC is announcing today that it will implement a requirement for a negative COVID-19 test or documentation of recovery for air passengers boarding flights to the United States originating from the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and the Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and Macau. CDC is announcing this step to slow the spread of COVID-19 in the United States during the surge in COVID-19 cases in the PRC given the lack of adequate and transparent epidemiological and viral genomic sequence data being reported from the PRC. These data are critical to monitor the case surge effectively and decrease the chance for entry of a novel variant of concern. CDC will continue to monitor the situation and adjust our approach as necessary.
Variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus continue to emerge in countries around the world. However, reduced testing and case reporting in the PRC and minimal sharing of viral genomic sequence data could delay the identification of new variants of concern if they arise. Pre-departure testing and the requirement to show a negative test result has been shown to decrease the number of infected passengers boarding airplanes, and it will help to slow the spread of the virus as we work to identify and understand any potential new variants that may emerge.
Starting at 12:01 AM ET on January 5, all air passengers two years and older originating from the PRC will be required to get a test (such as a PCR test or an antigen self-test administered and monitored by a telehealth service or a licensed provider and authorized by the Food and Drug Administration or the relevant national authority) no more than 2 days before their departure from the PRC, Hong Kong, or Macau, and show a negative test result to the airline upon departure.
- The requirement applies to these air passengers regardless of nationality and vaccination status.
- This will also apply to persons traveling from the PRC via third country transit and to passengers connecting through the United States onward to further destinations.
- Along with applying this requirement to direct flights from the PRC, passengers transiting Incheon International Airport, Toronto Pearson International Airport, and Vancouver International Airport on their way to the United States will be required to provide a negative COVID-19 test if they have been in the PRC in the last 10 days no more than 2 days before their departure to the United States. These three transit hubs cover the overwhelming majority of passengers with travel originating in the PRC and the Special Administrative Regions. We will continue to monitor travel patterns, adjust our approach as needed, and keep Americans informed in a timely manner.
- Passengers who tested positive more than 10 days before the flight can provide documentation of recovery from COVID-19 in lieu of a negative test result.
- Airlines must confirm the negative COVID-19 test result or documentation of recovery for all passengers before they board or deny boarding to the passenger.
The approach laid out, when layered with existing CDC recommendations such as masking during travel, self-monitoring for symptoms, and testing for three days after arrival from international travel, will help make travel safer, healthier, and more responsible by reducing spread on planes, in airports, and at destinations and to be on alert for any potential variants emerging. Our new testing policy, along with expansion of TGS, will help to protect travelers and the health and safety of American communities.
CDC also continues to work with WHO and partner countries to enhance sequencing capacity and improve the global capacity to detect new variants.
This order will become effective on January 5, 2023, at 12:01 AM ET. More information will be made available by CDC in the coming days. For a list of authorized tests, check here.
To read the full press release, click HERE!
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CDC COVID Data Tracker - January 6, 2023
To get today's break down of positive case data, demographics information, vaccine status and more for Los Alamos County or other counties across the United States, click HERE
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NMDOH Epidemiology Reports - Daily and Weekly Data
As part of the COVID-19 pandemic response, NMDOH collects and analyzes statewide data for COVID-19 positive cases, hospitalizations, and deaths. The reports reflect these critical data and are updated weekly - click HERE
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We are listening to you!
Your feedback is helping to shape future newsletters, inform decisions regarding services, and make Los Alamos County healthier and safer. Make sure to participate each week to be heard!
Check out the responses to our last survey:
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Remember, we appreciate your questions! We always try to respond in a timely manner, and if appropriate, we will include those Q&As in future newsletters.
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Have a question? Email us. |
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Los Alamos Testing Information |
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Free COVID-19 at-home antigen tests available again
All U.S. households can order a total of four at-home COVID-19 tests that will be mailed directly to them for free. Tests can be ordered HERE.
Additionally, New Mexico residents can still receive mail order free at-home tests through the Rockefeller Foundation’s Project Act program while supplies last at: https://accesscovidtests.org/.
DOH would like to remind residents with private insurance, as well as Medicare and Medicaid that they can request reimbursement for up to eight tests per month.
Residents can self-report a positive COVID test at Make My Test Count. The reporting of tests on this site is confidential and no personal information is required to use the site.
For more information on how to stay safe and healthy from COVID-19, visit cv.nmhealth.org.
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Los Alamos County COVID Testing Resources
Visit the County COVID Page for information regarding testing, click below:
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Los Alamos Vaccine & Booster Information |
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How do I know if I'm eligible for a vaccine or booster?
Follow these links to review the CDC eligibility guidelines:
Where can I get my COVID-19 Vaccine or Omicron booster?
In addition to the clinics that use the NMDOH scheduling site, Los Alamos has other options available. Click below on the vaccine/booster resources website for more information.
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Los Alamos County COVID Vaccine/Booster Resources
Visit the County COVID Page for information regarding vaccinations/boosters, click below:
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Los Alamos Treatment Information |
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Los Alamos County COVID Treatment Resources
Visit the County COVID Page for information regarding treatments, click below:
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What else would you like to see in this newsletter?
Click below to email us your feedback and questions!
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