Abigail Shimniok

The new COVID-19 variant, BA.2.86, has been on the rise as the temperature has decreased and flu season has started.
“BA.2.86 may be more capable of causing infection in people who have previously had COVID-19 or who have received COVID-19 vaccines,” the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported. “Scientists are evaluating the effectiveness of the forthcoming, updated COVID-19 vaccine.”
Over 19,000 new coronavirus hospitalizations were reported this week in the U.S. Of those, only 478 of them were in Wisconsin. The CDC estimated that nearly one in ten new COVID-19 cases in the U.S. are from the BA.2.86 variant according to their COVID Data Tracker.
With the rise of the new variant, the CDC also found that within the last two weeks, there has been a 10% increase in people being hospitalized for COVID-19. Wisconsin’s uptick in COVID cases has also increased 2.6% in the last week according to the data provided by the CDC.
The deaths due to COVID-19 remain low in America as new medication and vaccines are made; however, the deaths in Wisconsin due to the coronavirus have increased significantly within the last week. Wisconsin’s death rate due to COVID has changed nearly 3% compared to last week’s reports as the respiratory illnesses within Wisconsin are increasing due to the cold conditions.
“The CDC has been monitoring increases in respiratory illness reported recently among children, including potential elevated rates of pediatric pneumonia in parts of the
United States,” the organization reported. “These reported increases do not appear to be due to a new virus or other pathogen but to several viral or bacterial causes that we expect to see during the respiratory illness season.”
As the cold season comes, the human body’s immune system weakens, leaving everyone susceptible to bacterial lung infections like COVID-19, the Flu or RSV.
The CDC and the Wisconsin Department of Health Services both recommend everyone stay up to date with COVID-19 vaccines. They also suggest to stay home if they have symptoms of coronavirus and speak to a medical professional if there are any concerns about COVID-19.