export_ofoct.com

[00:00.19] The World Health Organization (WHO) says holiday gatherings and the spread of a new COVID-19 variant led to increased hospitalizations and deaths last month.

[00:16.93] WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Wednesday that nearly 10,000 deaths were reported in December.

[00:27.82] He added that hospitalizations during the month jumped 42 percent in nearly 50 countries.

[00:40.57] Tedros said, “Although 10,000 deaths a month is far less than the peak of the pandemic, this level of preventable deaths is not acceptable."

[00:49.07] Tedros said it was “certain” that cases of COVID-19 were increasing in other places that have not been reporting case numbers.

[00:59.96] Tedros said the JN.1 variant is now the most common in the world.

[01:06.07] Since it is an Omicron variant, current vaccines should still provide some protection.

[01:13.77] Health officials in the U.S. say there is no evidence that JN.1 causes more severe disease than recent variants.

[01:24.13] In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that there have been at least 110,000 hospitalizations and 6,500 deaths from the flu since October.

[01:43.79] The agency added that COVID-19 illnesses were not increasing as quickly flu illnesses.

[01:51.76] Still, COVID-19 is putting more people in the hospital than the flu.

[01:59.46] Maria Van Kerkhove is the technical lead at WHO for COVID-19.

[02:06.36] She said there is an increase in respiratory diseases around the world due to COVID-19, flu and pneumonia.

[02:16.99] “We expect those trends to continue into January through the winter months in the northern hemisphere,” Van Kerkhove said.

[02:26.29] She added there have also been increases in COVID-19 in the southern hemisphere, where it is now summer.

[02:35.85] WHO officials suggest that people get vaccinated, wear face coverings, and make sure air can move in and out of indoor areas.

[02:48.07] Michael Ryan is the head of emergencies at the WHO.

[02:53.38] He said, “The vaccines may not stop you from being infected, but the vaccines are certainly reducing significantly your chance of being hospitalized or dying.”