infections
COVID 19
Introduction
COVID-19 is an acute respiratory illness that can be severe and is caused by the coronavirus named SARS-CoV-2. Symptoms of COVID-19 vary significantly. Two types of tests can be used to diagnose a COVID-19 infection. Measures should be taken to prevent infection, particularly vaccination. Treatment of COVID-19 depends on how severe the illness is and the likelihood that the person will develop severe disease. COVID-19 was first reported in late 2019 in Wuhan, China and has since spread extensively worldwide. For current information on the number of cases and deaths, see theCenters for Disease Control and Prevention: 2019 Novel Coronavirusand theWorld Health Organization Coronavirus (COVID-19) Dashboard. The coronavirus that causes COVID-19 is called SARS-CoV-2. It is related to but slightly different from the coronavirus that causes Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) . Social determinants of health (conditions in the places where people are born, live, learn, work, and play) impact a wide range of health risks and outcomes, such as exposure to SARS-CoV-2 infection, severe COVID-19, and death, as well as access to testing, vaccination, and treatment. In the United States, COVID-19 case, hospitalization, and death rates are higher in some racial and ethnic minority groups, including among people who are Black, Hispanic or Latino, American Indian, and Alaska Native. Most viruses, including the SARS-CoV-2 virus, evolve and new variants of the virus emerge. Variants with the potential to be more transmissible, more likely to cause severe disease, or that are harder to treat or detect are tracked as Variants of Concern and are commonly referred to by their Greek alphabet label. The dominant variants in the United States and much of the world are Alpha, Beta, Delta, and Omicron. The Omicron variant has been the most common variant worldwide since March 2022, with newer and more transmissible Omicron subvariants replacing the original Omicron. 