Health Experts Warn ‘COVID-19 Never Goes Away’ Amid Rising Summer Cases

CDC and medical experts warn that COVID-19 is here to stay amid rising summer cases taking the U.S. by storm.

In 2020, COVID-19 took the world by storm, and experts are warning that the virus is still very prevalent four years later amid rising summer cases.

As summer is in full swing in the United States, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report that 36 states across the nation have “high” or “very high” COVID rates. “This year’s summer COVID-19 wave is coming earlier than last year, which occurred in late August and early September,” said a spokesperson for the government-led organization.

Initially, the CDC tracked the total number of new COVID-19 cases. Today, it uses indicators like test positivity, emergency department visits, and wastewater surveillance to estimate transmission levels. Since its peak in January, positive COVID-19 rates have been at their highest at 12.6%; however, the death rates concerning the infection remain stable.

“Levels are lower than the peak from this past winter and are at similar levels to the early fall peak in 2023,” said the spokesperson.

Per wastewater data, the American states with the highest rising summer cases currently sit in the West. However, recent spikes have occurred in the Southeast, New England regions, and parts of the Mid-Atlantic.

The “very high” states include the District of Columbia, Alaska, California, Florida, etc. On the contrary, areas with “high” COVID-19 rates include Alabama, Arizona, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Virginia, and more.

“Unlike influenza, which essentially disappears during the summertime, COVID-19 never goes away,” said Dr. William Schaffner, professor of infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

He also noted that the rise in summer cases of COVID-19 is occurring “all over the country.”

“(COVID) is up everywhere,” said Schaffner. “It’s not as though you could go to a state and avoid this increase. It’s just that the increase is more prominent in some parts of the country than others.”

In addition to previous strains like Alpha, Beta, Delta, and Omicron, new COVID-19 variants that are contributing to the summer spikes include FLiRT and LB.1. The CDC reports that signs of COVID-19 are congestion or runny nose, cough, diarrhea, fatigue, nausea or vomiting, among other symptoms like fever or chills, new loss of sense of taste or smell, shortness of breath, sore throat, and headache or muscle aches.