July 15, 2022
Dear Members of the Baylor College of Medicine Community,
COVID-19 is still with us and this week, the Texas Medical Center returned to providing weekly data updates on its website (https://www.tmc.edu/coronavirus-updates). The case numbers are up and it is believed those numbers are much higher than reported – primarily because of the large number of people who are using home tests for diagnosis. We all are watching carefully the new hospitalizations for COVID at TMC institutions. Last month, that number was 131 hospitalizations a day. The average last week was 224 new COVID patients per day.
In this week’s video. I go over all the numbers on COVID (worldwide to local) and provide a quick look at monkeypox. In the U.S., over half of the cases are now BA.5. BA.1 and BA.2 are virtually gone. COVID wastewater surveillance shows the viral load in Houston is going up in all areas. As for monkeypox, it is being reported in areas where it is not usually seen. On the global map, 8,238 cases have been reported in 57 locations. In the U.S., 866 cases have neem reported in about two-thirds of the states. In Texas, 26 cases have been reported.
Next week, we will have another Q&A edition, with a special emphasis on the questions I have received from physicians.
I hope you have a great weekend. Stay safe.
Paul Klotman, M.D.
President & CEO
Executive Dean
