Nearly 10,000 COVID deaths reported globally last month, fueled by holiday gatherings and new variant

GENEVA —  The head of the World Health Organization said Wednesday that holiday gatherings and the spread of the most prominent coronavirus variant globally led to increased transmission of COVID-19 last month.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said nearly 10,000 deaths were reported in December, while hospital admissions during the month jumped 42% in nearly 50 countries — mostly in Europe and the Americas — that shared such trend information.

“Although 10,000 deaths a month is far less than the peak of the pandemic, this level of preventable deaths is not acceptable,” the WHO director-general told reporters from the agency’s headquarters in Geneva.

He said it was “certain” that cases were on the rise in other places that haven’t been reporting, calling on governments to keep up surveillance and provide continued access to treatments and vaccines.

Tedros said the JN.1 variant was now predominant in the world. It is an Omicron variant, so current vaccines should still provide some protection.

Maria Van Kerkhove, technical lead at the WHO for COVID-19, cited an increase in respiratory diseases across the globe not just because of the coronavirus but also because of flu, rhinovirus and pneumonia.

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“We expect those trends to continue into January through the winter months in the Northern Hemisphere,” she said, while noting increases in COVID-19 in the Southern Hemisphere, where it’s now summer.

Although bouts of coughs, sniffling, fever and fatigue in the winter are nothing new, Van Kerkhove said this year, in particular, “we are seeing co-circulation of many different types of pathogens.”

WHO officials recommend that people get vaccinated when possible, wear masks and make sure indoor areas are well-ventilated.

“The vaccines may not stop you being infected, but the vaccines are certainly reducing significantly your chance of being hospitalized or dying,” said Dr. Michael Ryan, head of emergencies at the WHO.