Spatiotemporal Patterns of the Omicron Wave of COVID-19 in the United States

COVID-19 has undergone multiple mutations, with the Omicron variant proving to be highly contagious and rapidly spreading across many countries. The United States was severely hit by the Omicron variant. However, it was still unclear how Omicron transferred across the United States. Here, we collect...

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Main Authors: Siyuan Zhang, Liran Liu, Qingxiang Meng, Yixuan Zhang, He Yang, Gang Xu
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2023-06-01
Series:Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2414-6366/8/7/349
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author Siyuan Zhang
Liran Liu
Qingxiang Meng
Yixuan Zhang
He Yang
Gang Xu
author_facet Siyuan Zhang
Liran Liu
Qingxiang Meng
Yixuan Zhang
He Yang
Gang Xu
author_sort Siyuan Zhang
collection DOAJ
description COVID-19 has undergone multiple mutations, with the Omicron variant proving to be highly contagious and rapidly spreading across many countries. The United States was severely hit by the Omicron variant. However, it was still unclear how Omicron transferred across the United States. Here, we collected daily COVID-19 cases and deaths in each county from 1 December 2021 to 28 February 2022 as the Omicron wave. We adopted space-time scan statistics, the Hoover index, and trajectories of the epicenter to quantify spatiotemporal patterns of the Omicron wave of COVID-19. The results showed that the highest and earliest cluster was located in the Northeast. The Hoover index for both cases and deaths exhibited phases of rapid decline, slow decline, and relative stability, indicating a rapid spread of the Omicron wave across the country. The Hoover index for deaths was consistently higher than that for cases. The epicenter of cases and deaths shifted from the west to the east, then southwest. Nevertheless, cases were more widespread than deaths, with a lag in mortality data. This study uncovers the spatiotemporal patterns of Omicron transmission in the United States, and its underlying mechanisms deserve further exploration.
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spelling doaj.art-045ccffedf19499e999de6ac776c13392023-11-18T21:38:58ZengMDPI AGTropical Medicine and Infectious Disease2414-63662023-06-018734910.3390/tropicalmed8070349Spatiotemporal Patterns of the Omicron Wave of COVID-19 in the United StatesSiyuan Zhang0Liran Liu1Qingxiang Meng2Yixuan Zhang3He Yang4Gang Xu5School of Resource and Environmental Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430079, ChinaSchool of Remote Sensing and Information Engineering, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430079, ChinaSchool of Remote Sensing and Information Engineering, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430079, ChinaSchool of Resource and Environmental Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430079, ChinaTransportation Development Center of Henan Province, Zhengzhou 450016, ChinaSchool of Resource and Environmental Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430079, ChinaCOVID-19 has undergone multiple mutations, with the Omicron variant proving to be highly contagious and rapidly spreading across many countries. The United States was severely hit by the Omicron variant. However, it was still unclear how Omicron transferred across the United States. Here, we collected daily COVID-19 cases and deaths in each county from 1 December 2021 to 28 February 2022 as the Omicron wave. We adopted space-time scan statistics, the Hoover index, and trajectories of the epicenter to quantify spatiotemporal patterns of the Omicron wave of COVID-19. The results showed that the highest and earliest cluster was located in the Northeast. The Hoover index for both cases and deaths exhibited phases of rapid decline, slow decline, and relative stability, indicating a rapid spread of the Omicron wave across the country. The Hoover index for deaths was consistently higher than that for cases. The epicenter of cases and deaths shifted from the west to the east, then southwest. Nevertheless, cases were more widespread than deaths, with a lag in mortality data. This study uncovers the spatiotemporal patterns of Omicron transmission in the United States, and its underlying mechanisms deserve further exploration.https://www.mdpi.com/2414-6366/8/7/349COVID-19infectious diseasesspatiotemporal patternspace-time scanepicenter
spellingShingle Siyuan Zhang
Liran Liu
Qingxiang Meng
Yixuan Zhang
He Yang
Gang Xu
Spatiotemporal Patterns of the Omicron Wave of COVID-19 in the United States
Tropical Medicine and Infectious Disease
COVID-19
infectious diseases
spatiotemporal pattern
space-time scan
epicenter
title Spatiotemporal Patterns of the Omicron Wave of COVID-19 in the United States
title_full Spatiotemporal Patterns of the Omicron Wave of COVID-19 in the United States
title_fullStr Spatiotemporal Patterns of the Omicron Wave of COVID-19 in the United States
title_full_unstemmed Spatiotemporal Patterns of the Omicron Wave of COVID-19 in the United States
title_short Spatiotemporal Patterns of the Omicron Wave of COVID-19 in the United States
title_sort spatiotemporal patterns of the omicron wave of covid 19 in the united states
topic COVID-19
infectious diseases
spatiotemporal pattern
space-time scan
epicenter
url https://www.mdpi.com/2414-6366/8/7/349
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