in the midst of another COVID-19 wave.# th e rise this winter.

And a new variant is# responsible for a majority of those cases.

John Yang has the latest and a look at whether# we need to change our approach to the virus.

JOHN YANG: Geoff, the World Health# Organization said yesterday that,## in December, nearly 10,000 COVID deaths were# reported in Europe and the Un ited States, hospital admissions are# on the rise, up 56 percent last week from## the month before.

But they're still far# lower than they were in previous years.

In Europe and the Americas, ICU admissions# are up 62 percent from the month before.

The## director general of the WHO said public# health officials need to be vigilant.

TEDROS ADHANOM GHEBREYESUS, WHO Director# General: Although COVID-19 is no longer a## global health emergency, the virus is still# circulating, changin various sources indicate increasing transmission# during December fueled by gatherings over the## holiday period and by the JN.1 variant, which is# now the most commonly reported variant globally.

JOHN YANG: So, what do these current trends mean?

Dr. Eric Topol is the founder# and director o Research Translational Institute.

He's been# warning about the ri Dr. Topol, how concerned are# you about this current uptick?

DR. ERIC TOPOL, Scripps Research Translational# Institute: Well, good to be with you, John.

I think the main thing h second most throughout the entire# pandemic after Omicron.

And so## while the hospitalizations are not as bad,# and you mentioned already the death toll,## that's reassuring because of some# of the immunity we have built up.

But this virus has evolved, and it's markedly# different than previous an d that's a challenge for the# spread and for the infections## and the potential of long COVID# in many of those people as well.

JOHN YANG: Talk about that evolution.

This new variant, JN.1, is DR. ERIC TOPOL: Right.

there's only been two times when a# variant came along with more than## 30 new mutations in the spike protein.# Usually, a variant has a couple, a few,## but this is -- we call it an Omicron event,# because that was the first time we saw one.

And then, of course, back in the fall, we started# to see the rise of the precursor to JN.1 with## another 30-plus mutations in the spike protein.# And so when you have this many new mutations,## the virus has essentially found a way to work# around, bypass our normal immune response.

And so it gets to be very infectious, easily# getting people who have already been infected,## no less those who have not had COVID# before.

So it's good that we have## four years of built-up exposures# and vaccinations and boosters,## but it's bad that this virus is relentless# in finding ways to basically reinvent itself## and to get into our upper airway and then all the# other potential things that can happen after that.

JOHN YANG: You mentioned long COVID.# You have been very vocal about this,## about the need to understand long COVID,# understand who's at risk for Explain your concerns and also whether# or not repeated infections play any role.

DR. ERIC TOPOL: Right.

COVID.

And the problem, John, with long COVID is,# we don't know who's going to get this.

Over time,## since the beginning of the pandemic,# it looks like the incidence has dropped## some.

And that's partly because# vaccinations are quite protective,## 40 percent or 50 percent reduction of# long COVID, as well as with boosters.

But the problem is, even with vaccinations or# without, some people can have this terrible## long-term problem of their immune system# getting totally out of sorts and having## self-directed antibodies and so many# markers of inflammation across the body,## throughout every organ system, no# less a disabling set of symptoms.

So, even if that is just a couple percent of# people in this current wave, this big global## surge, that's still a lot of people who we have# added to the tens of millions of people currently## suffering from long COVID around the world, and# we don't have any treatment for it.

We know some## things that can prevent it, but we have nothing# yet that's been substantiated to treat long COVID.

JOHN YANG: You had an op-ed column# in The Los Angeles Times last week.

In it, you wrote: "It's crickets# from the White House on COVID now,## with no messaging on getting the updated booster# or masking.

The Biden administration too little to accelerate research on# effective treatments for long COVID."

What would you like to see the administration do?

DR. ERIC TOPOL: Well, a lot more than it's doing.

In the first year of the pandemic,# we saw that Operation Warp Speed,## and we took this virus as an existential# threat and pulled out all the stops.

But, right now, John, we need oral# or nasal vaccines to stop infections,## to stop spread, to be variant-proof,# whatever this virus mutates to in the## times ahead.

And we have a small amount of# funding towards that end, but not enough.

And the messaging has been poor.

That# is, even the people at highest risk,## about 35 percent of them have had the# updated booster that's been available## since September.

That's the highest-risk# people of advanced age.

We had 90,## 95 percent of those same high-risk people getting# the initial primary series of the vaccine.

So we're not doing enough.

We have known this# was coming.

We have seen countries in Europe## that had wastewater levels of the virus that# were unprecedented, even exceeding Omicron.

And## it isn't like they stay -- the virus is going to# stay there.

We knew it was coming since September,## October, and only in recent weeks have health# systems started to get masking back as a policy.

We're just not doing enough to# prepare or manage this big surge.

JOHN YANG: Dr. Eric Topol of the Scripps Research# Translational Institute, thank you very much.

DR. ERIC TOPOL: Thank you, John.