Covid-19 levels have been rising in the United States for weeks as new variants drive what’s become an annual summer surge.
Covid-19 surveillance has been scaled back significantly since the US public health emergency ended more than a year ago — individual cases are no longer counted, and severe outcomes are based on representative samples of the population — but the data that is available is showing a consistent upward trend.
Infections are probably growing in at least 38 states, according to data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Wastewater surveillance suggests that viral activity is still relatively low, but hospitalizations and deaths are also ticking up.
Covid-19 levels are especially high in the West, where viral levels are back to what they were in February, and in the South, according to the CDC.
Covid-19 levels are especially high in the West, where viral levels are back to what they were in February, and in the South, according to the CDC.／Scimex
On Wednesday, the CDC updated its recommendations on who should get the RSV vaccine. For the upcoming respiratory virus season, everyone 75 and older is urged to get an RSV vaccine, as well as those ages 60 to 74 who are at higher risk of severe illness.
The changes are meant to “simplify RSV vaccine decision-making for clinicians and the public,” the agency said.
When it comes to infectious respiratory diseases, Plescia said, “people need to remember that there are things you can do to reduce your risk. And getting vaccinated is the main one.”
