Weekly hospital visits for COVID-19 surged by 88 percent last week, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday, adding that the NB.1.8.1 subvariant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus has become the dominant strain spreading domestically.
Hospitals reported 19,097 visits for COVID-19, as weekly cases have increased for five consecutive weeks, CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) said.
Of the 93 severe COVID-19 cases confirmed last week, 88.2 percent were not vaccinated with the JN.1-adapted COVID-19 vaccine, he said, adding that four people died.
Photo: CNA
Among the 330 severe COVID-19 cases reported this year, as of Monday, 74.2 percent were people aged 65 or older, 84 percent had underlying health conditions and 90 percent did not get the JN.1-adapted vaccine, Gou said.
Virus surveillance data from the past four weeks showed that the NB.1.8.1 subvariant has become the dominant strain locally, followed by the XEC and LP.8.1 subvariants, he said.
Aside from the Americas, global test positivity rates for the SARS-CoV-2 virus have been increasing, with the LP.8.1 subvariant being reported as the dominant strain globally, he said.
The youngest severe case last week was a 10-month-old girl who did not have underlying health issues, but was also not vaccinated, CDC physician Lin Yung-ching (林詠青) said.
She first had cold-like symptoms, then developed a loss of appetite, shortness of breath and croup, Lin said.
The girl has been hospitalized in an intensive care unit for four days and is still undergoing treatment, he added.
Local COVID-19 infections are rapidly increasing, with weekly hospital visits and severe cases reaching the highest this year, CDC Deputy Director-General Philip Lo (羅一鈞) said.
“We estimate that the peak will be in mid or late June,” he said. “Estimated hospital visits during the peak period are projected to be between 55,000 and 56,000 per week.”
The estimated peak weekly visits are only about half the number of the peak period during the previous wave of infections in summer last year, but people should still not let their guard down, Lo said.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare and the CDC have also made preparations in response to the growing infections, including making sure there are enough vaccines, medication and test kits, he said.
More than 17,000 people got vaccinated against COVID-19 last week, the highest weekly number in three months, and several local health departments have reported increased vaccine demand, he said.
Although 31,000 doses have been distributed this week, the CDC plans to distribute more on Friday, he said, adding that about 3.1 million doses are available.
The CDC also secured medications, including Remdesivir, Paxlovid and Molnupiravir, for the estimated usage of between five months to a year, while it also has open-ended contracts to import more if needed, Lo said.
The Food and Drug Administration last week asked domestic manufacturers to increase production of rapid test kits for at-home and hospital use, and it also contacted the nation’s four major convenience store chains and pharmacy chains to make test kits more accessible for purchase, he said.
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