June 27, 2024 – Like clockwork, the summer resurgence of COVID-19 has become as expected as the changing of seasons.
Emergency rooms are seeing a 15% increase in treating people who have COVID, and hospitalizations for severe cases are up 25%. Signs of the virus that causes COVID found in the nation’s wastewater are also trending upward, mirroring a curve seen last summer as well.
The highest reported rates of positive COVID tests are in the region that includes California, Nevada, Arizona, and Hawaii, where 10% or more of tests are showing positive. The positive rate remains below 10% throughout the rest of the U.S., and less than 5% of tests are positive throughout most of the Southeastern U.S. and up the coast to Pennsylvania.
The counts are modest compared to previous summer COVID waves, but the rise is still large enough to translate into a meaningful increased risk.
Most U.S. states are having weekly COVID deaths, but numbers are dramatically down from the height of thousands per week earlier in the pandemic. For the week ending June 15, each U.S. state reported fewer than 10 deaths due to COVID.
But the illness still poses serious health threats, and research continues to show that it is more dangerous than the flu. In addition to staying up to date on vaccination, the CDC recommends practicing good hygiene, such as thorough hand-washing, and staying home and away from others if you have symptoms of a respiratory illness. Wearing a mask is still a good prevention strategy, the CDC says.
Certain groups of people, such as those who are older or who have weakened immune systems, are particularly at risk for severe and potentially life-threatening cases of COVID. That’s why knowing if you have COVID and staying home is important because you can help prevent illness in people most at risk, according to COVID expert Andy Pekosz, PhD, of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. At-home tests may have extended expiration dates that are different from the ones printed on the package. Check this FDA database to see if a test is still OK to use.
