![COVID protection strategies.](https://i0.wp.com/media.npr.org/assets/img/2023/12/21/nervousgettingout-there_3_custom-21232c6aa3e025302ba2384648fb2e1cdb66ce87-s1100-c50.jpg?ssl=1)
![COVID protection strategies.](https://i0.wp.com/media.npr.org/assets/img/2023/12/21/nervousgettingout-there_3_custom-21232c6aa3e025302ba2384648fb2e1cdb66ce87-s1200.jpg?ssl=1)
That is the 12 months that the COVID-19 pandemic was declared to be now not a worldwide well being emergency.
However though case counts are down in 2023, it isn’t as if every thing is again to regular. There’s, for instance, a brand new omicron variant that was first detected in late summer time and has unfold considerably in latest weeks. It is referred to as JN.1, and well being officers have now categorized it as a variant of curiosity. And a often requested query is:
How frightened ought to we be about JN.1?
Well being officers are usually not sounding the alarm. The World Well being Group says the general danger is low.
Primarily based on the restricted proof, JN.1 appears similar to different circulating omicron variants and would not seem to trigger extra extreme illness.
COVID vaccines, together with the up to date booster, proceed to supply safety in opposition to extreme sickness and dying. Within the U.S., hospital admissions for COVID-19 have been climbing since early November.
The large questions, answered
There have been different urgent COVID questions in 2023. Listed below are among the subjects we tackled, beginning with a quandary about this new section of the pandemic:
‘Emergency’ over! Can we unmask and grin? Or regulate our worries?
Is it OK to get a COVID shot and a flu shot and even an RSV shot on the identical time?
How do I keep away from catching COVID whereas flying in 2023?
Why do some folks get a COVID an infection but present no signs?
A number of posts from years previous drew a number of readers in 2023 as effectively:
Are you able to check constructive for COVID from getting a vaccine/booster?
Does a faint line on a self-test imply I am barely contagious?
Is paxlovid the perfect remedy?