Thanks for visiting my weekly COVID-19 update! Data sources used for this report appear at the bottom of the page.
Friday, May 5, 2023 – Here is this week’s COVID-19 update with the latest numbers, analysis, and links to useful news. Stay safe, take your Vitamin D, wear a good mask, get vaccinated, and don’t be a spreader 😷!
Related Links
Here are some related items you might find useful:
- Why I’m Taking Vitamin D in the Age of COVID-19
- Find a Test-to-Treat (with Paxlovid) location near you
- Find a vaccine or booster at vaccines.gov
- Order free COVID tests
- A timeline of events related to COVID-19 starting in December of 2019
Updated Numbers
Updated Charts
Interactive Maps
Observations on This Week’s Numbers
United States 🇺🇸
Infections and Positive Test Rates
- Weekly confirmed COVID infections in the US continue on a downward trend.
- Confirmed COVID infections in the US are about about 85% below the level of January 1.
- The test positivity rate is now 50% lower than it was on January 1.
Hospitalization and Deaths
- The number of people hospitalized EACH WEEK due to COVID peaked on January 3 and has fallen steadily since then.
- The number of people in the US who are hospitalized from COVID each week has never fallen below 10,000 for the entire duration of the pandemic. This disease is still hospitalizing over 10,000 people every week.
- The seven-day average for daily deaths is 60% below the level of January 1.
- So far in 2023, the disease has killed 42,536 people in the United States. At this time last year it had killed 169,111 people.
- In 2022, the disease killed 262,312 people in the United States. (For comparison, the total killed in 2021 was 470,997 people.)
- The disease is currently killing about 1,100 people a week in the United States. That’s about one death every 9 minutes.
- One out of every 300 Americans has been killed by COVID-19.
NOTE: According to government statistics, over the past ten years, influenza has killed an average of 36,000 people a year. That equates to about 690 people a week. COVID is STILL killing about TWICE as many people a week as the average flu season.
Georgia 🍑
Infections and Positive Test Rates
- Daily confirmed cases in Georgia are about 85% lower than the level on January 1.
- The test positivity rate in Georgia is about 70% lower than the level of January 1.
- Daily testing in Georgia is about 50% lower than the level of January 1.
Hospitalizations and Deaths
- Daily hospitalizations in Georgia are about 85% lower than the level of January 1.
- Daily deaths in Georgia are 65% lower than the level of January 1.
- The disease is killing about 3 people a day in Georgia.
Useful News
COVID Vaccines
- Opinion | Should you get a second bivalent booster? Here’s what to consider.
- Opinion: Will you need the latest COVID booster? It depends
- COVID vaccine protection against infection drops after 6 months, protection against severe disease strong: Study – ABC News
- CDC, FDA updates COVID booster vaccine guidelines, recommendations
- 2nd bivalent COVID-19 vaccine booster: Who should get it | American Medical Association
COVID Variants
- Arcturus COVID-19 Variant: What Is Different From Past Variants
- A new COVID variant is here, and pink eye is one of the leading symptoms
- What to Know About Arcturus, The Newest COVID Variant
- The ‘Arcturus’ COVID Variant Is Already in the Bay Area. What We Know About XBB.1.16 | KQED
Testing, Treatment, Prevention, Vitamin D, Long COVID, and Other News
- Covid global health emergency is over, WHO says
- WHO Officially Calls End to Global COVID-19 Health Emergency
- Covid Remained a Leading Cause of Death Among Americans in 2022
- NIH study identifies features of Long COVID neurological symptoms
- Still dealing with long COVID? This treatment may help
- Why viral reservoirs are a prime suspect for long COVID sleuths
Georgia Pandemic News
- Georgia hospitality employment regains pre-pandemic strength as travel resumes
- How and Where to Get COVID-19 Vaccines and Boosters in Georgia
- Covid vaccination totals in Northwest Georgia stall as pandemic eases
California & San Diego Pandemic News
- Long COVID in California: ‘A pandemic of loneliness and social isolation and rejection’
- San Diego County’s COVID Hospitalizations Holding Steady
- San Diego organizations prepare for end of COVID public health emergency
- Where Things Stand With COVID-19 In LA And California | LAist
- UC San Diego Health Spotlights SMART Health Insurance Cards
Last Week’s News
Here are last week’s news items:
COVID Vaccines
- Pfizer bivalent vaccine reduces Covid death risk by 68%: Study
- New bivalent booster vaccines highly effective in reducing Covid deaths and hospitalisations, study finds
- White House launches $5B program to speed next-gen covid vaccine development
- Scientists Laud $5B ‘Project Next Gen’ to Fund New COVID Vaccines
- How Often Should People Get COVID Boosters?
- How Close Are We to a Combination COVID-Flu Vaccine?
COVID Variants
- New coronavirus variant Arcturus, or XBB.1.16, is spreading: What to know
- ‘Arcturus,’ a highly transmissible COVID variant eyed by the WHO, appears to have a new symptom. Here’s what you need to know
- New Covid variant sparks fear as India sees huge surge of infections
- ‘Arcturus,’ a COVID variant sweeping India, is now in the U.S., the CDC says—and it’s coming in hot. What it means for the future of the pandemic
- New COVID variant Arcturus may be 1.2 times more infectious than Kraken strain
- New Covid Arcturus variant found in the UK
- CDC: COVID Variant XBB.1.16 Brings New Symptom in 2023
Testing, Treatment, Prevention, Vitamin D, Long COVID, and Other News
- Biden signs bill ending national COVID-19 emergency
- Hope for long COVID treatment breakthrough after study’s ‘really positive’ findings
- Long COVID risk likely lower from a second infection than a first
- Risk of Long COVID Drops With Second Infection, Study Says
- Long COVID may be due to the virus sticking around after infection
- Study shows vitamin D may have key role in fighting off COVID-19 pneumonia
- Free COVID testing will fade with US health emergency in May
Georgia Pandemic News
- Track Covid-19 in Georgia: Latest Data and Maps
- Opinion: We can’t afford a return to these pre-pandemic norms
California & San Diego Pandemic News
- Track Covid-19 in San Diego County: Latest Data and Maps
- San Diego County’s COVID Hospitalizations Fall to 129
- San Diego Unified Offers Vaccines At Schools
Notes Regarding Data Sources
United States Data
Metrics for confirmed infections, deaths, and tests performed in the United States come from the CDC’s official COVID Data Tracker site.
Georgia Data
All tables and graphs appearing on this page for the State of Georgia use official data from the State of Georgia Department of Public Health’s COVID-19 Status Report.
Data Sources
United States Data
- The COVID Tracking Project (prior to March 7, 2021)
- CDC: COVID-19 Cases in U.S.
- CDC: COVID Data Tracker
- https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#vaccinations
- CDC: United States Laboratory Testing
- United States Coronavirus – Worldometer
World Data
State of Georgia Data
- COVID-19 Daily Status Report | Georgia Department of Public Health
- COVID Vaccine | Georgia Department of Public Health
- U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: Georgia