Health Care — WHO: December COVID deaths near 10K

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View Online Health Care Health Care The Big Story  December COVID deaths close to 10,000: WHO  Nearly four years after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the virus is still proving to be a sizable threat, with a top health official saying last month's global death total is "not acceptable."  © Getty Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of the World Health Organization (WHO), told reporters this week that COVID hospitalizations increased by 42 percent in almost 50 countries in December.    Most of these countries are in Europe and the Americas. Tedros attributed these trends to holiday travel and the colder weather, both common drivers of respiratory virus spread during this time of year.    "Although 10,000 deaths a month is far less than the peak of the pandemic, this level of preventable deaths is not acceptable," said Tedros.    The U.S has recorded more than 1,000 weekly deaths due to COVID-19 since September, still significantly lower than last year's respiratory viral season. Early data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggests weekly deaths may be dropping, though this figure is subject to change.    Other respiratory viruses have similarly been on the rise in recent months, with both the flu and RSV seeing elevated case rates in the U.S. WHO technical lead for COVID Maria Van Kerkhove noted diseases like rhinovirus and pneumonia have also been increasing and said she expects these trends to continue into January.    The JN.1 subvariant currently dominant in the U.S. is believed to be more infectious than previous strains, though it does not appear to cause more severe symptoms.  Welcome to The Hill's Health Care newsletter, we're Nathaniel Weixel and Joseph Choi — every week we follow the latest moves on how Washington impacts your health. Did someone forward you this newsletter? Subscribe here. 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Full Story Around the Nation  Local and state headlines on health care: Philadelphia measles outbreak has hospitals on alert after child was sent to day care despite quarantine instructions (NBC News)  Washington regulators restrict medical license of Idaho doctor who spread COVID-19 disinformation (Idaho Capital Sun)  'Our broken system': Arizona lawmaker vows to share story of mental health failure each week, reduce SMI deaths (KPNX)  What We're Reading  Health news we've flagged from other outlets: U.S. diet panel adds another researcher with alcohol industry ties (The New York Times)  Black people experience strokes more frequently and at younger ages than their White counterparts, study finds (CNN)  These Are the New Vaccines You Should Get—and It's Not Just Covid-19 (The Wall Street Journal)  What Others are Reading  Most read stories on The Hill right now: Hunter Biden's daughter hits back at Greene for 'lying' at House hearing Hunter Biden's daughter Naomi hit back at Rep. 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