Hubbub Weekly Update
- Hubbub World
- Dec 18, 2023
- 3 min read
December 18, 2023
A breather before reaching higher peaks
The respiratory illnesses risk continues to ramp up with COVID-19 prevalence continuing to increase across most states except for the South and Flu prevalence increasing in almost all states. However, RSV has peaked in the South, Mid-atlantic and California.
The Exposure Risk map below got more orange compared to last week showing almost all states have moderate to high risk for respiratory illnesses. If you haven't got your shots yet, there's still time since the elevated levels are not headed down till end of January. And it is always smart to use a good fitting mask to mimize your exposure.
COVID-19
Prevalence
State level prevalence over the past week follows the same contours of the previous week. However, this past week we are noticing a brief pause in the increase of prevalence across many states.
The fifth week of the Winter COVID wave was marked by a brief pause in the increase of prevalence
Trends
〜 This past week saw the South and the central plains register a minor decline in prevalence.
🔺 Meanwhile, states in the Midwest and the Northeast continue to increase in prevalence.
Variants
🦠 JN.1 continues to be the driving force behind the present wave rapidly displacing the H-family transmission chains and adding to the undercurrent of infections from the H-family of variants.
JN.1 is the dominant variant in hotspots across the country
Here's Marc Johnson from University of Missouri, who first predicted the emergence of JN.1 months before it was identified and named, analyzing JN.1 in Missouri. Follow him on X @solidevidence for a balanced analysis of JN.1
hubbub's own analysis of JN.1 and prevalence across the country as in the map below is similar to Marc's analysis with JN.1 adding to the prevalence in all the hotpots on top of the H-family variants.
Vaccine
Surprisingly, COVID vaccine adoption is getting some momentum from all the news of COVID going around and is increasing past 18% for the adult population. Adoption beyond 20% will be a major win for reducing severe outcomes this winter.
It is still worth it to get the vaccine. If you have not got it yet, there is still time, as we still have couple months of very high exposure risk everywhere.
Flu
Flu prevalence is on track to being a normal flu season but incidence is still under 2%.
Flu prevalence continues to increase across almost all states
💉 If you have not received the flu shot already, now would be the time.
RSV
RSV prevalence is still very high in metro areas but starting to peak in almost all states.
RSV prevalence has peaked across the South
bub+ now expanding to Flu & RSV
bub+ subscription is now live bringing a suite of advanced features to the bub Personal Health Safety Assistant:
30-day Forecast for health risks starting with the respiratory illnesses that matter this winter – COVID-19, Influenza and RSV
30-day Guidance for precautions in common scenarios for respiratory illnesses
Community Risk for early warning on illnesses circulating in your community
Risk Alerts via daily email for important health concerns
More features including an AI bot – coming soon
Use promo code GETBUB to get your first month of bub+ free
Week Ahead
📈 COVID-19 and Flu will continue to increase across the country in the coming week. RSV is on the way down.
💉 Get the COVID-19 and Flu vaccines if you have not yet.
😷 Mask up. 👬 Keep distance. 💨 Stay ventilated.
📊 Get bub+ forecasts and alerts to know how to keep safe, when and where: https://bub.hubbubworld.com