Health
The U.S. Is Having Its Mildest Covid Winter Yet
This winter’s Covid wave in the United States has been the gentlest to date, in a welcome reprieve.
According to wastewater data aggregated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, not only was there less Covid circulating over the holidays than in previous years, but there was also less virus in the wastewater than in all the summer waves the program has tracked.
The Covid hospitalization rate stayed around half of what it was last year, and deaths fell too. In late December, around 600 people were dying each week. Last winter at that time, it was around 2,000. (During the Omicron surge at the end of 2021, weekly deaths were topping 10,000.)
Although wastewater levels can’t tell us how many individual cases of Covid there are, the recent data reflects a significant lull in the virus’s five-year assault.
“This is definitely the mildest Covid winter,” said Michael Mina, an epidemiologist and chief science officer for eMed. “In terms of hospitalizations, in terms of spread.”
A new low
One possible reason for the lull is that the population is still carrying some immunity from a large, later-than-usual summer surge, said Peter Chin-Hong, an infectious disease specialist at the University of California, San Francisco. This year’s vaccine was also a good match for the circulating variant, and more people got it this year than last, according to C.D.C. data.
The virus also didn’t acquire the kind of mutations after the summer wave that would have allowed for significantly faster transmission or greater sickness, epidemiologists said.
That’s not unexpected several years into a new virus, said Aubree Gordon, an epidemiologist at the University of Michigan.
“You have two or three years of it being really bad,” she said. “Usually the first year is the worst — as far as incidence rates and severity goes — and then it settles out.”
Epidemiologists don’t know yet what a “baseline” Covid wave will look like, and there’s no guarantee that each winter will be milder than the last. But the chances of a new variant that can cause significant harm are much lower now, Mr. Mina said.
“Should we expect the variants to start to decline, in terms of how quickly they’re rising, and how aggressively?” he said. “The short answer is yes. The virus has grown up.”
Americans’ immune systems have become very familiar with the virus, said Mr. Mina, through vaccination and prior infections, and on average are more capable of recognizing and attacking it. That means we might have a lower viral load when we become ill, he said, or clear the virus faster, getting less sick and infecting fewer people in the process. Fewer infections also give the virus fewer opportunities to mutate.
Still other ways to get sick
That said, if it feels as if almost everyone you know has gotten sick this winter (or still is), you’re not wrong: It’s been another tough season for other respiratory viruses.
At its peak, the weekly flu hospitalization rate this year surpassed last winter’s high rate; hospitalizations for respiratory syncytial virus (R.S.V.) have similarly mirrored last year. (Norovirus, though not respiratory, is also notably high this year.)
Flu and Covid have had roughly the same death toll so far this season — around 8,000 to 9,000 people as of mid-January, according to C.D.C. estimates. Covid deaths since the start of last summer have totaled around 25,000. (Though getting one virus can theoretically lower an individual’s risk of getting another for a short time, it’s still very possible for multiple viruses to surge at once.)
The comparison with flu is useful because, like flu, Covid is here to stay. As with flu, there’ll be better and worse seasons. It might turn out that this winter was on the low side of our new baseline, Professor Gordon said.
But unlike with flu, there will probably be more waves outside of winter. While the timing of Covid’s winter surge has been relatively consistent — peaking in early January each year — its other waves have yet to fall into a clear pattern. A mild surge during the winter holidays could mean a worse one later this year, possibly even later this winter. And for people who are at higher risk, that will continue to translate into severe illness and death, as well as new cases of long Covid.
“There might be some good times, some bad times,” Dr. Chin-Hong said. “So whether or not we’ll get something later on? We have to have humility.”
But for now, there’s a measure of relief for Americans, as well as for the experts who’ve tracked the virus for five long years. “If I never saw a crazy variant for the rest of my life,” he said, “I’d be so excited.”
new video loaded: Wii Bowling Takes Over Tulsa Retirement Homes
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transcript
Wii Bowling Takes Over Tulsa Retirement Homes
Retirement communities in Tulsa, Okla., compete against one another in a Nintendo Wii Sports bowling league.
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“That’s how you win.” “There you go, Ron.” “Way to go.”
By Nick Oxford, Alisa Shodiyev Kaff and Alexandra E. Petri
June 19, 2026
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
As the popularity of GLP-1 drugs continues to climb, significant weight loss associated with the medications has been linked to a growing list of cosmetic concerns.
Some surgeons report that more patients are seeking treatments for so-called “Ozempic earlobes,” which reportedly appear thinner, longer or more sagging after the loss of facial fat.
“The use of semaglutides causes you to lose fat across your body, including the small, fat pads of the earlobes,” facial plastic surgeon Sachin S. Parikh, MD, told NewBeauty.
OZEMPIC, OTHER SEMAGLUTIDES LINKED TO HAIR LOSS: HERE’S WHAT TO KNOW
“It’s important to note that semaglutides do not damage ear tissue or affect hearing in any way, so any intervention would be purely cosmetic,” added the California-based doctor.
Some of the potential treatments for “Ozempic earlobes” may include dermal filler, fat transfer, laser treatments or surgical earlobe reduction, according to the report.
As the popularity of GLP-1 drugs continues to climb, significant weight loss associated with the medications has been linked to a growing list of cosmetic concerns. (iStock)
Dr. Mohammed Asif from Duly Health and Care in Naperville, Illinois, said that while he hasn’t personally noticed an uptick in ear surgeries, he has seen a rise in other procedures due to GLP-1-triggered weight loss.
Some of those include panniculectomies (Ozempic skin removal surgery) and abdominoplasties (tummy tucks).
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“There has been a significant increase in body contouring procedures among patients with GLP-1 weight loss,” Asif told Fox News Digital.
“In my practice, I’ve seen a significant surge in breast lifts, panniculectomies (skin removal surgery), abdominoplasties (tummy tucks), brachioplasties (arm lifts) and thighplasties due to weight loss.”
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Healing and recovery are “far greater and less complicated” than with bariatric surgery weight loss, Asif noted.
“This is due to the gradual weight loss achieved over time with GLP-1s.”
“Ozempic breast” is another common complaint, according to Dr. Michael Omidi, a double board-certified plastic surgeon practicing in Beverly Hills.
“There has been a significant increase in body contouring procedures among patients with GLP-1 weight loss,” a doctor told Fox News Digital. (iStock)
“Women in their 30s and 40s would not typically need a breast lift, but when you’re taking drugs like Ozempic or Wegovy that cause rapid weight loss, women can see gravity take its toll on their breasts,” he told Fox News Digital.
“When women, especially younger ones, lose fat too fast, it causes the breasts, which are comprised of fat, glandular tissue and skin, to lose volume,” he went on. “The skin and supporting ligaments don’t always bouce back at the same rate as the weight loss, resulting in breasts that can appear saggy and deflated.”
NEW OBESITY TREATMENT MAY HELP PRESERVE MUSCLE DURING WEIGHT LOSS
Dr. Samuel Golpanian, a double board-certified plastic surgeon in Beverly Hills, said he has seen “dozens” of patients – men and women alike – seeking treatments for so-called “Ozempic butt” after significant weight loss.
“This is an unintended consequence of taking GLP-1s,” he told Fox News Digital.
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“Such dramatic weight loss in a short period of time causes the skin not to tighten quickly enough to keep up with the body’s changes. Our buttocks have a large amount of fat, so when that volume disappears quickly, you’ll develop a flatter, saggier behind.”
“Such dramatic weight loss in a short period of time causes the skin not to tighten quickly enough to keep up with the body’s changes,” a surgeon said. (iStock)
Kristy Hamilton, MD, a Houston-based surgeon who is a member of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS), agreed that a growing number of patients are seeking skin-tightening procedures after losing large amounts of weight with GLP-1s.
“We’re absolutely seeing more of those patients, and I expect that trend to continue,” said Hamilton in an ASPS report.
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“People are losing as much as 100 pounds on this medication – and when you’re losing that amount, that’s significant. You’re certainly going to have excess skin afterward.”
The ASPS lists the following body-contouring procedures as the ones most frequently performed after substantial weight loss.
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- Tummy tuck (abdominoplasty): Removes excess abdominal skin and fat
- Lower body lift (belt lipectomy): Addresses the abdomen, buttocks, hips and thighs
- Arm lift (brachioplasty): Removes hanging upper-arm skin
- Thigh lift: Tightens excess skin of the inner thighs
- Breast lift (mastopexy): Addresses sagging, deflated breasts after weight loss
- Facelift/neck lift: Addresses facial volume loss and skin laxity after major weight loss
“People are losing as much as 100 pounds on this medication – and when you’re losing that amount, that’s significant. You’re certainly going to have excess skin afterward.” (iStock)
Experts say adequate protein intake and resistance training can help minimize the loss of lean muscle mass that often accompanies rapid weight loss, which could reduce some of the cosmetic concerns.
Golpanian also emphasized the importance of eating enough protein.
TEST YOURSELF WITH OUR LATEST LIFESTYLE QUIZ
“It can be harder since your appetite is suppressed, but it’s so important to consume at least 110 grams of protein a day while taking a GLP-1 drug,” he advised.
“Also, I say this to my patients all the time: You have to lift weights to keep your muscles from atrophying. Strength training can help build muscles and preserve your glutes.”
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