After identifying a new COVID-19 omicron subvariant, — EU.1.1, a descendant of XBB.1.5 — in late June, its growth has slowed, according to the CDC.
Right now, the subvariant accounts for only 1.1 percent of cases in the U.S., data shows. Nationwide, hospitalizations and deaths both continue to decline. The CDC's most recent data shows that hospitalizations decreased by 0.8 percent as of July 1 and deaths decreased by 9.1 percent in the same one-week period.
Here are five other developments related to the virus:
- Researchers found that overexposure to antibiotics could make COVID-19 infections worse in some individuals.
- Experts from Washington University in St. Louis have developed an air monitoring system capable of detecting all COVID-19 variants that could be in a room and alerting individuals in real-time.
- A study by Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta found that AI-powered tools like natural language processing mechanisms can be used to comb through electronic health records and identify COVID-postive patients to aid clinicians with quickly prescribing antivirals in the target five-day timeframe.
- As of July 6, the Joint Commission announced that hospitals no longer need to provide COVID-19 vaccine compliance and hospitals will not be evaluated on this criteria.
- U.S. health officials are urging adults to consider updating their COVID-19 boosters this fall along with also getting up-to-date flu and RSV vaccines to help curb any threat of another 'tripledemic' this coming fall.