The worldwide spread of COVID-19 over the last three weeks has increased by over 49% to around 871,000/day, as measured by official new cases reported. Fatalities officially attributed to COVID-19 have also taken off over the recent nine days to over 1,800/day, increasing by a similar 49%. Currently, France, the U.S. and Germany present over 30% of all the official cases worldwide.
The expansion of the presence of the novel coronavirus, however it is measured, minimally means a larger vat of mutational activity. Of the top four offshoots of the Omicron variant, BA.5 and BA2.75 are the virus “of the day.” And both are performing as expected, circumventing previous vaccinations and/or infections. While vaccinations are still reducing the severity of the new infections, the vast pools of viral mutations are exactly what one doesn’t want to have around, as immune systems are compromised around the world from increasing malnutrition.
