COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths continue to drop

Cases, hospitalizations and deaths due to COVID-19 continue to drop this month after a short surge in January driven by the XBB.1.5 subvariant, as the U.S. announces a planned end to the Public Health Emergency later this year.

The subvariant, which quickly became a dominant strain in much of the U.S., especially the northeast appeared to drive a surge which peaked in early January but receded much more quickly than many health officials feared.

After the surge of cases, hospitalizations and deaths the numbers have steadily dropped since then, though hospitalizations are still twice what they were during 2022's low point in early April.

Local cases continue to trickle in. Blaine County Health Department reported last week that from Feb. 14 to Feb. 17 five new cases were reported with no active hospitalizations, although it had reported hospitalizations in prior weeks. Deaths remained at 34.

The department's report said the next COVID-influenza vaccine opportunity is this week, Thursday, at the Blaine County Health Department 9-11:30 a.m. and 1-4 p.m.

People are asked to bring their COVID vaccination card and their insurance card.

It also asks people who test positive on a home test to contact their local health department so it can provide them with resources they may need, such as a letter for their employer, correct timelines for their isolation and quarantine periods and so on.

"We ask this so that we have a better idea of what the level of COVID-19 is in our communities so that we can help protect those individuals that may be at risk for severe disease or complications," the report said.

A post on the Hill County Health Department says people can report their home COVID-19 test results at https://hillcountyhealth.com/covid-19 .

On the state level, the Montana Response COVID-19 web page reported Friday that 790 new cases were reported in the previous week. It reported six new cases in Hill County, 10 in Chouteau County, three in Blaine County and none in Liberty County.

It reports that Montana has seen 328,668 total cases, 14,142 total hospitalizatiosn and 3,651 deaths since the first cases were confirmed in the state in March 2020.

The continuing drop in hospitalizations and deaths comes as the federal government announced earlier this month plans to end the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency, with an end date of May 11.

The move has garnered praise by many but has drawn criticism by some still concerned about the effects of the pandemic on people's health, as well as many who fear how it will affect the uninsured, who saw easier access to health care related to COVID-19under the emergency declaration, as well as people with disabilities who fear the loss of the flexibilities the emergency granted them.

In a statement last month the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said combating the virus remains a public health priority as it still poses a risk to many in the U.S., particularly the immunosuppressed and unvaccinated, and even the majority that survive the disease often see lasting effects.

"It has impacted all aspects of daily life and contributed to a decline in life expectancy. Many people remain at higher risk for severe illness and death," the statement says, "However, we are in a much better place than we were three years ago. Widespread prevention and control measures like vaccination are helping transition to a new era in the pandemic."

The CDC said it will continue to track the virus and share information but when the emergency ends there will be changes.

"Some hospitalization data are now reported daily but may be reported less frequently in the future, and vaccine administration data might be reduced in some areas," the statement said. "To ensure the public continues to have access to COVID-19 data, CDC is working to determine which data products remain critical for monitoring public health, preparedness and patient safety."

COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths in the U.S. were significantly lower in 2022 than in 2020 and 2021, which saw massive, variant-driven surges with the omicron variant being especially virulent.

However, despite the record-shattering number of cases caused by the omicron variant in 2021, deaths did not rise proportional to the number of cases, and data collected on variants and subvariants suggests the virus is becoming less and less potent, even when more easily transmissible variants emerge.

Since the omicron surge health officials have urged caution on the part of the public and pushed for vaccination, as the more chances the virus has to be transmitted the more chances it has to mutate and become more resistant to vaccines.

So far, however, fears of vaccine-resistant variants have not materialized as dramatically as some feared and officials are largely maintaining an attitude of cautious optimism.

While trends vary by country, worldwide, cases, hospitalizations and deaths mirror the U.S. with the past six weeks showing a significant drop in all three, but the World Health Organization seems to be taking a more cautious approach than the U.S.

WHO said late last month that the pandemic remains a worldwide emergency, but it's clearly at a "transition point" with an estimated 90 percent of the world population having developed some level of immunity, either through vaccination or having the virus before.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the organization has developed a list of temporary recommendations to countries including continued pushes for vaccination and incorporating vaccines into routine care, as well as improving disease surveillance and maintaining a strong health care system to avoid a "a panic-neglect cycle."

He also called for countries to continue fighting misinformation and adjust international travel measures based on risk assessment.