COVID: USA sees a rise in cases in summer
There is a new wave of COVID cases across the country and healthcare providers are now working with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Fox – 10 Phoenix
Ohio’s “summer surge” of COVID-19 cases continues to grow strong, with numbers rising statewide to a weekly average well over 5,000.
The KP.3.1.1 variant is currently the predominant variant in the United States, closely followed by the FLiRT variant KP.3 and the LB.1 variant.
There is no evidence that these strains are more severe than previous ones. The Federal Drug Administration has advised vaccine makers to target the common JN.1 lineage of the strains rather than the variants themselves in future vaccines.
More: COVID-19 variant KP.3.1.1 becomes dominant in the US: See latest CDC data
What are the COVID-19 numbers in Ohio?
The Ohio Department of Health reported 6,660 cases for the week of July 31-August 7, an increase of about 12% from the previous week, when 5,962 cases were reported.
In May, a total of just over 3,800 cases were reported, but in June the number almost doubled, when 6,472 cases were reported. Then in July the number almost tripled to well over 18,000.
These numbers could be exceeded in August if the number of cases continues to rise as it has been for months. The current weekly average is 5,732.
The Ohio Department of Health reminded Ohioans in early July that numbers remain lower than they were at the beginning of the year. In January 2024 alone, more than 41,000 cases were reported, according to the department.
Samantha Hendrickson is the Columbus Dispatch’s medical and health reporter. She can be reached at [email protected]. She is currently ill with COVID-19 and can objectively attest that it is still bad.
