COVID-19 caused 21% excess of respiratory infections last winter, analysis finds – University of Minnesota Twin Cities

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A new study based on German data shows that SARS-CoV-2 caused a 21% excess of acute respiratory infections (ARIs) during the winter of 2022-23. The study was published this week in the International Journal of Infectious Diseases and suggests COVID-19 will add a significant burden during cold and flu seasons.

The study was based on answers to an online survey about ARIs during the past 7 months sent to 70,000 registered participants in a digital health study in March 2023. At that point, 3 years after the pandemic began, many people in Germany and elsewhere no longer regularly tested for COVID-19, or testing at home and did not report official results.

A total of 37,708 participants reported 54,813 ARIs, including 9,358 SARS-CoV-2 infections confirmed with either at-home or clinical tests. Twenty-eight percent10,638 peoplereported no infections.

There were 45,455 ARIs without a positive SARS-CoV-2 test, the authors said. For 11,699 of those, no SARS-CoV-2 test was available, while the others had a negative test. The proportion of positive tests among all conducted tests was 21%.

The highest incidence for all ARIs was observed in December 2022, with 26 infections per 100 people. Adults aged 30 to 39 years had the highest cumulative incidence, with 208 infections per 100 people across the 7 months.

"Decision makers need to be aware of this burden to adapt and create new policies with the goal of reducing infection incidences, for example by establishing new strategies on vaccinations." the authors wrote.

Decision makers need to be aware of this burden to adapt and create new policies with the goal of reducing infection incidences

"While the risk of severe SARS-CoV-2 infections is reduced due to the achieved immunity in the population, we will likely face a higher burden of ARI than before the pandemic, even if no new SARS-CoV-2 variants will appear," the authors concluded. "This additional burden of ARI has to be considered particularly with respect to the implications for the work force."

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COVID-19 caused 21% excess of respiratory infections last winter, analysis finds - University of Minnesota Twin Cities