COVID still causes significant hospitalizations and deaths despite declining severe impact rates.
Re-infections increase risk for certain health issues.
Annual vaccination is key to preventing severe disease and reducing long COVID risk.

According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, COVID was associated with an estimated 290,000 to 450,000 hospitalizations and between 34,000 and 53,000 deaths between July 2024 and July 2025, the most recent year that data is available. These stats show just how much the virus is still impacting us.

For comparison, here's how the flu impacted people in 2024-2025 Which was a more severe flu season than normal:

CDC estimates there were 51 million influenza (flu)-related illnesses, 23 million medical visits, 710,000 hospitalizations and 45,000 deaths during the 2024-2025 flu season. Based on CDC criteria, the severity of the 2024-2025 season was high.

The estimated flu-related illnesses and medical visits are higher than the 2017-2018 season, the last high severity flu season. Estimated hospitalizations are the same as 2017-2018, while estimated deaths are lower.

I guess this is the new normal. Double the amount of severe respiratory disease than before, and little to no seasonality.

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[–] CommunistCuddlefish@hexbear.net 12 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago) (1 children)

I kind of hate these "journalists" and "doctors" who refuse to even mention respirators. Getting vaccinated is a good idea, but all but 1 person I've known to get long covid was fully up to date on their vaccines at the time they got the covid infection which gave them long covid. Meanwhile I mask religiously, have never had covid that I know of, and have no symptoms of long covid ( I also get vaccinated once a year )

[–] TheModerateTankie@hexbear.net 10 points 1 week ago

Yeah, they work great, yet a lot of people think they don't do anything. At the very least they should be used in hospitals, but we can't even normalize mask use in fucking hospitals.