Trends in Disease Severity and Health Care Utilization During the Early Omicron Variant Period Compared with Previous SARS-CoV-2 High Transmission Periods — United States, December 2020–January 2022

Details

• Journal Article:
  Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report
• Personal Author:
  Iuliano, A. Danielle ; Brunkard, Joan M. ; Boehmer, Tegan K. ; Peterson, Elisha ; Adjei, Stacey ; Binder, Alison M. ; Cobb, Stacy ; Graff, Philip ; Hidalgo, Pauline ; Panaggio, Mark J. ; Rainey, Jeanette J. ; Rao, Preetika ; Soetebier, Karl ; Wacaster, Susan ; Ai, ChinEn ; Gupta, Vikas ; Molinari, Noelle-Angelique M. ; Ritchey, Matthew D.
• Description:
  What is already known about this topic? The SARS-CoV-2 B.1.1.529 (Omicron) variant became predominant in the United States by late December 2021, leading to a surge in COVID-19 cases and associated ED visits and hospitalizations. What is added by this report? Despite Omicron seeing the highest reported numbers of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations during the pandemic, disease severity indicators, including length of stay, ICU admission, and death, were lower than during previous pandemic peaks. What are the implications for public health practice? Although disease severity appears lower with the Omicron variant, the high volume of hospitalizations can strain local health care systems and the average daily number of deaths remains substantial. This underscores the importance of national emergency preparedness, specifically, hospital surge capacity and the ability to adequately staff local health care systems. In addition, being up to date on vaccinations and following other recommended prevention strategies are critical to preventing infections, severe illness, or death from COVID-19. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Communicable Diseases Coronavirus COVID-19 Critical Care Disaster Planning Emergencies Emergency Service, Hospital Facilities And Services Utilization Hospitalization Hospitals Occupational Health Public Health Safety

  More +
• Keywords:
  Public health; Emergency preparedness; COVID-19; Health care; Medical treatment; Surveillance; Disease control
• Source:
  MMWR 2022 Jan; 71(4):146-152
• Series:
  Weekly Report: Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR)
• DOI:
  http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm7104e4
• ISSN:
  0149-2195
• Pubmed ID:
  35085225
• Pubmed Central ID:
  PMC9351529
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Georgia ; Maryland ; New Jersey ; OSHA Region 2 ; OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 4 ; Pennsylvania ; Virginia
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  PMRD - Pittsburgh Mining Research Division
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  7 pdf pages
• Contributor:
  Devies, Jourdan ; Gates, Abigail ; Huang, Jay ; Jonson, Heather ; Krawiz, Marc ; Yu, Kalvin
• Volume:
  71
• Issue:
  4
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20064427
• Contact Point Address:
  A. Danielle Iuliano, CDC COVID-19 Emergency Response Team, Atlanta, GA
• Email:
  aiuliano@cdc.gov
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2022
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Collection(s):
  Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:65a06f75fddecc38c5c5f0b0644153c32ccf01dde43baab123b13f7df6c32d1276c35537387a0dbce1401e2a7d89df4064b80c74e7cc8a45f758d18ddd625459
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/120646/cdc_120646_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 523.89 KB ]