The United States is facing a surge in COVID-19 infections once again as the summer season nears an end.
The late-summer spike has many Americans questioning how long the numbers will last, the signs and symptoms to look out for and when they can get the updated vaccines.
How bad is the COVID-19 summer surge?
As of Aug. 16, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) determined that COVID-19 infections were growing or likely to grow in 27 states.
It also said last week that its wastewater monitoring for COVID-19 shows levels are “very high” and have been on a general increase since the beginning of June.
Doctors have suggested the recent spike in COVID-19 infections could be one of the largest summer waves they have observed since the outbreak first started.
The CDC’s wastewater tracker increased to 8.86 on Aug. 17, marking a large jump from early May when the rate was 1.35. The peak rate of 9.56 occurred in July 2022.
Emergency room visits and diagnosis, hospitalizations and deaths have also increased since May, CDC data shows. Hospitalization rates for the week ending on Aug. 10 peaked at 4.6, up from a rate of 1.1 in early May. The rate dropped back down last week to 3.1, per the CDC.
Between Aug. 11 and 17, 2.5 percent of emergency room patients were diagnosed with COVID-19, according to agency data said.
The data collected by the federal agency is limited as hospitals are no longer required to report COVID-19 hospital admissions, hospital capacity or hospital occupancy data to the federal government.
What are the current COVID-19 variants and symptoms?
The most recent dominant variants of SARS-CoV-2 are part of a group sometimes called “FLiRT” variants, which evolved from Omicron.
According to the most recent data available, the dominant KP.3.1.1 strain accounted for 36.8 percent of cases between Aug. 8-17, while KP.3 accounted for 16.8 percent and KP.2.3 for 14.4 percent.
Dr. Otto Yang, associate chief of infectious diseases at UCLA and professor of medicine, told NPR earlier this month, the variants don’t appear more deadly, but “are almost certainly more contagious.”
“So if you have something that’s equally deadly but more contagious, you will see more severe illnesses and deaths,” Yang said.
This summer’s COVID variants cause similar symptoms to past Omicron variants, primarily upper respiratory illness symptoms including fever, chills, cough, runny nose, stuffiness, according to Cedar Sinai.
COVID-19 is likely not going away any time soon, even as the virus is no longer considered a pandemic, medical experts note.
“Covid is not gone. Covid is going to be around, probably forever, and we are going to typically see two to three waves a year,” Ashish Jha, the dean of the Brown University School of Public Health, who stepped down as the White House coronavirus coordinator last year, told The Washington Post this month.
How can I get an updated COVID vaccine?
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved both Pfizer and Moderna’s updated COVID vaccines last week. They are targeted for the KP.2 strain of COVID and were approved for people ages 12 and above.
Emergency use authorization has been granted for three doses of the updated Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine or two doses of the Moderna vaccine to be administered to unvaccinated children aged between six months and 4 years of age. Children in this same cohort who’ve previously been vaccinated can receive one or two doses of either updated vaccine.
Children between 5 and 11 can receive one dose of either updated vaccine regardless of prior vaccination status. If they’ve previously been vaccinated, the FDA advised that they wait at least two months before getting the updated shots. People who recently had COVID-19 may delay getting the vaccine for three months, per the CDC.
The new vaccines were expected to be available at major pharmacy chains including Walgreens, CVS and Rite Aid soon as this week, per multiple reports.
Vaccines.gov provides information on locations that carry the updated 2024-2025 COVID vaccine, where patients can schedule an appointment.
What Labor Day Weekend could mean for the COVID-19 spread:
The late-summer surge comes amid the back-to-school season and Labor Day holiday, where heavy travel is expected.
Dr. Elizabeth Hudson, regional chief of infectious diseases at Kaiser Permanente Southern California, told the Los Angeles Times that masks should be warned when traveling in crowded areas.
“When you are traveling, if you’re going to be in an indoor area with an awful lot of people, to really reduce your risk of becoming COVID-positive, you really should be wearing a mask,” she told the Times, adding, “If you’re on a plane, if you’re in an airport, those are the times you really want to make sure that you are wearing a mask.