Thanks for visiting my weekly COVID-19 update! Data sources used for this report appear at the bottom of the page.
Friday, September 30, 2022 – 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
- Confirmed COVID Infections in the US are about about 64% below the level of August 1.
- The test positivity rate is now 38% lower than it was on August 1.
- Daily testing in the US has fallen 40% since August 1.
- Roughly one out of every 3 people in the United States has had a confirmed case of COVID-19.
Hospitalization and Deaths
- The number of people in the hospital at any one time due to COVID-19 in the United States has never fallen below 10,000 since the pandemic began. There are currently over 20,000 people hospitalized due to COVID.
- The seven-day average for daily deaths is about 10% below the level of August 1.
- The 30-day total for deaths in the US remains above 12,000 people.
- So far in 2021, the disease has killed 227,765 people in the United States.
- RIGHT NOW, the disease is killing over 410 people a day in the United States. That’s about one death every 3 minutes.
- Roughly one out of every 310 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 98 people a day. COVID is still killing FOUR TIMES as many people a day as the flu.
Georgia 🍑
Infections and Positive Test Rates
- Daily confirmed cases in Georgia are about 80% below the level on August 1.
- The test positivity rate in Georgia is 70% lower than it was on August 1.
- Daily testing in Georgia is about 35% lower than the level of August 1.
- About one out of every 5 people in Georgia has had a confirmed case of COVID-19.
Hospitalizations and Deaths
- Daily hospitalizations in Georgia are about 75% lower than the level of August 1.
- Daily deaths in Georgia are 10% below the level of August 1.
- The disease is killing about 13 people a day in Georgia.
- About one out of every 320 Georgians has DIED from this disease.
Useful News
Here are this week’s links:
Vaccines
- Autumn Covid-19 vaccine roll-out to ‘double your defences’ ahead of uncertain winter
- The Omicron Booster: Your Questions Answered > News
- Pfizer or Moderna: Which new omicron-specific Covid booster should you get?
- Is it safe to get COVID booster and flu shot at the same time? What experts say
- Millions have now taken the updated COVID-19 booster
- Study suggests B-cell responses to booster vaccines are impeded by recent SARS-CoV-2 infection
Variants
- What comes after Omicron? New variants are emerging.
- BA.2.75.2: the new Omicron strain showing a worrying ability to evade immunity
- BA.2.75.2 Variant: What We Know About ‘Centaurus,’ Vaccines | Time
- Preparing for the BF-7 COVID-19 variant and flu season
- COVID Variant Tracker Shows BA.4.6, BF.7 on the Rise as BA.5 Cases Slowly Decrease
- BA.2.75.2 variant is worrying experts. Here’s why
Testing, Treatments, Prevention, Long COVID, and Other News
- Rising Covid-19 cases in the UK may be a warning for the US
- ‘The tools are getting picked off’: An ever-mutating mix of COVID variants means fewer and less effective treatments this fall
- COVID-19 variants: Will existing rapid antigen tests be able to detect new strains?
- Mounting evidence shows autoimmune responses play a significant role in long Covid
- Blood test could identify long-COVID risk and allow early intervention
- Researcher: Paxlovid is ‘Game Changer’ in Treatment of COVID-19
- Long COVID Could Cost the Economy Trillions, Experts Predict
Georgia Pandemic News
- Many consider the pandemic over, but some Georgians remain vigilant
- Georgia Department of Public Health: COVID cases have plummeted
- Georgia officials push COVID-19 vaccinations and boosters ahead of possible winter surges – WABE
- CDC lowers covid spread threat to ‘low’ across Northwest Georgia; free test site closed Saturday.
- Atlanta Urgent Care Provides COVID-19 Booster Information for Patients
- New covid cases are down, Northwest Georgia loses 5 residents to the disease in the past week
California & San Diego Pandemic News
- Lawmakers hoping to extend COVID sick leave pay for California workers
- California loosening mask recommendations as COVID levels remain low
- California enjoys ‘good COVID weather,’ but winter could bring surprises
- California coronavirus updates: Flu season could be headed to the U.S. early
- COVID still kills in California, but the demographics of its victims are shifting
- California ends mandatory COVID-19 testing for most unvaccinated state workers
- SD Countys COVID Hospitalizations Increase To 196
Last Week’s News
Here are last week’s news items:
Vaccines
- Updated COVID booster tied to strong Omicron immune response
- Pfizer, US revise contract for donated vaccines as world demand plummets
- When should you get the omicron booster? Your questions, answered.
- ‘Should I get my omicron booster and flu shot at the same time?’ and other questions about fall vaccines, answered
- Omicron booster finds few takers
- Moderna’s bivalent COVID-19 vaccine also creates antibodies against BA.4, BA.5 variants, says its chief medical officer
- U.S. CDC expects Omicron COVID boosters for kids by mid-October
Variants
- Just in time for fall, there’s a brand new COVID variant making headway in the U.S.
- Why Omicron Might Stick Around
- Scientists were worried about a particular variant this fall. They didn’t expect its offspring
- Here Are the COVID-19 Variants Being Tracked by the CDC, Including New BF.7
- BF.7 could be the next dominant COVID variant. Here’s what that would mean
- New COVID-19 variant’s spread draws concern from CDC
- Omicron Subvariant Mutation May Cause Severe Neurological Complications in Children
Testing, Treatments, Prevention, Long COVID, and Other News
- Scientists Warn of Spike in Long COVID Cases Across the United States
- A Colorado teen’s long COVID isn’t just persisting — after 2 years, it’s getting worse
- Kids are pouring into N.J. hospitals. A spate of respiratory illness is filling pediatric beds.
- Is It Covid or the Flu? How to Tell Symptoms Apart
- How “long covid” is shedding light on postviral syndromes
- New analysis supports Paxlovid use
- 11 COVID Questions People Still Have, Answered
Georgia Pandemic News
- New COVID-19 boosters now available across Georgia
- Opinion: Parents shaped COVID-19 policies more than politics
- Central Georgia health experts urge vaccination as flu season arrives
- 7 more covid deaths in Northwest Georgia over past week even as new cases drop.
- Former South Georgia pastor, tax preparer sentenced to federal prison for COVID-19 relief fraud
- New Covid-19 testing kiosks open at Georgia Southern University
- Report: Georgia ranked 37th for life expectancy thanks to COVID, drug overdose deaths
California & San Diego Pandemic News
- California easing COVID-19 mask recommendations
- California ends COVID test mandate for unvaccinated workers
- Bivalent COVID-19 Vaccines Available As Cases Continue Downward Trend
- Is San Diego in for an early and tough flu season? Doctors are concerned
- San Diego County COVID-19 Hospitalizations Hold Steady at 207
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