It has been over two and a half years since COVID-19 first arose in the United States, and the virus continues to spread while scientists still find new variants. The discovered COVID-19 variants consist of the Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, and Omicron variants, and of course, the origin of it all, COVID-19.
The main variant currently circulating is Omicron, as it has several sub-variants (BA.1 BA.2 BA.3 BA.4 BA.5), which are considerably more contagious than other variants, but thankfully less life-threatening. The Beta variant is rarely found in the U.S., and the Alpha variant is the first known variant of COVID-19, but it isn’t circulating at the moment. The Alpha variant is nearly 50% more contagious and is more likely to put victims in the hospital. The Delta variant appears the same as the original COVID-19, but it makes the victim sicker at a faster rate and isn’t circulating at the moment. The peak for COVID cases was in January 2022, and the height for deaths was in January 2021. Since January 2022, COVID cases have dropped by about 700,000, while fatalities caused by COVID dropped by about 2,000 in the U.S. As proof, on September 25th, 2022, there were six fatalities and 5,275 cases. On the other hand, January 13th, 2022, had a near-record high of 868,707 new cases and 2,257 fatalities. Certain days have varying numbers of cases and deaths based on which variants were most likely spreading at the time.
According to the CDC, “Sometimes it may not be practical for you to stay away from a person who has COVID-19 or you may want to help take care of them. In those situations, use as many prevention strategies as you can, such as practicing hand hygiene, consistently and correctly wearing a high-quality mask, improving ventilation, and keeping your distance, when possible, from the person who is sick or who tested positive.” So, wash your hands often, and follow the CDC’s recommendations to stay safe.
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