After dipping the previous week, the number of COVID-19 cases in Nebraska increased again last week.
The state recorded 3,892 cases for the week ending Dec. 21, up 42% from the 2,739 reported the previous week, according to data from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Cases generally have been trending upward since late October, although the weekly counts have yo-yoed in recent weeks. The state recorded 3,619 cases the week ending Dec. 8.
Nationally, reported cases were relatively flat for the week heading into the Christmas holiday, and hospitalizations had begun to level off after rising more sharply in November.
However, case counts are widely considered to be underreported, with many people either not testing or using at-home tests that aren’t reported to health departments. Holiday gatherings and travel likely will add to those case counts.
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Dr. James Lawler, a co-executive director with the University of Nebraska Medical Center’s Global Center for Health Security, noted last week that test positivity rates nationwide had increased 60% and hospitalizations 55% since mid-October.
In Nebraska, an average of 261 people were hospitalized with COVID-19 last week, up from 255 the week before. That’s the highest level since March, when the state was coming down from last winter’s omicron peak.
Meanwhile, influenza activity continued to be very high in Nebraska, according to the CDC. The state saw a gain of more than 500 confirmed cases from the week before. However, outpatient and emergency department visits for influenza-like illness, which include flu and other infections that cause fever, cough or sore throat, were down last week. Hospital admissions for flu still were high at 386, but that figure was down 32 from the week before.
Cases of respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, still were high but continued to slowly trend downward last week after hitting a peak in early November.
Health officials continue to encourage people to get flu shots and the latest updated booster for COVID-19. So far, only 14.6% of people age 5 and older nationwide have gotten those shots, according to the CDC.
Lawler noted that two studies published by the CDC last week indicated that the newest booster provided very good protection against the need to seek care in an urgent care center, emergency room or hospital. The newest booster targets the virus variants and subvariants that currently are circulating.
The second study indicated that the boosters are 84% effective in preventing hospitalization in those older than 65 compared with those who were unvaccinated.
However, he said, it also indicates that those over 65 who haven’t received a booster in a year or more probably don’t have much immunity from previous vaccinations, “and you really need to get a booster.”
“The good news is they are proving to be very effective for preventing not only hospitalization but any illness that results in people presenting for health care,” Lawler said.
Nebraska recorded 10 COVID deaths in the past week, bringing the pandemic total to 4,684. The state has reported more than 553,000 cases.