COVID hospitalizations in SC highest in a year as newer variant dominates state. How bad is it?

Patrick McCreless
·3 min read
6

South Carolina COVID-19 hospitalizations have jumped to their highest level in nearly a year — fueled in part by the latest virus variant, recent data shows.

Weekly COVID hospitalizations have steadily risen in South Carolina since November, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Meanwhile, the newer COVID variant known as JN.1 has become the dominant strain for the state and much of the Southeast, CDC data shows.

SC COVID hospitalizations

According to the CDC, South Carolina had 479 COVID hospitalizations for the week of Dec. 30, the latest data available. The state hasn’t had that high of COVID hospitalizations since the week of Jan. 21, 2023, when 527 were reported.

Below are the number of weekly COVID hospitalizations for South Carolina for the last two months.

  • Week of Dec. 30: 479

  • Week of Dec. 23: 385

  • Week of Dec. 16: 259

  • Week of Dec. 9: 243

  • Week of Dec. 2: 253

  • Week of Nov. 25: 247

  • Week of Nov. 18: 230

  • Week of Nov. 11: 218

  • Week of Nov. 4: 203

COVID JN.1 in SC

JN.1 may be intensifying the spread of COVID-19 this winter, the CDC states.

The CDC data shows that the proportion of JN.1 in South Carolina, as well as the Southeast region, was at 59.2% for the two-week period from Dec. 24 to Jan. 6. The next most prominent variant was HV.1 at 15.7%.

“Our COVID numbers for vaccine … the people eligible to get that is 6.5% in South Carolina, which is a really low number,” Dr. Martha Buchanan, Lead Medical Consultant for S.C. DHEC, said in a Thursday press briefing. “We’d like to see that higher.”

JN1.1 is not only rising in the United States, but globally as well, the CDC states. JN.1 is the most prevalent variant around the world and is the dominant variant in Europe and is rising sharply in Asia.

What is JN.1?

The JN.1. variant has only been around for a few months.

According to the CDC, it’s similar to the BA2.86 variant, also called Pirola, which has been circulating in the U.S. since August 2023. The JN.1 variant was first detected in the U.S. in September 2023 and by the end of October, made up less than 0.1% of COVID viruses, the CDC states.

Does JN.1 have new symptoms?

While there is not yet enough evidence to say anything for sure, JN.1 does not seem to cause more cases of severe symptoms that differ from other versions of COVID, Yale Medicine states.

Also, the CDC has noted that COVID symptoms are more often similar between variants. The symptoms instead are more dependent on the patient’s immunity.

Will vaccines still work?

According to the CDC, current COVID vaccines are expected to increase protection against JN.1, just like they do against other variants. They do so by helping prevent severe illness.

For information about the latest COVID vaccines, click here.