by Kate Evans
Many states across the country are experiencing a summer surge of COVID-19, including Western states such as Texas and California and some Eastern states like Florida and North Carolina that are showing very high levels of the virus.
Nationally, wastewater viral activity from COVID is very high as of August 10, the CDC reports. Wastewater can be tested to detect traces of infectious diseases moving around in a population, even if illnesses are not increasing. Some 32 states have extremely high wastewater levels of COVID, health officials say.
Omicron Variant K.P . 3.1.1 leads other variants in prevalence at 36.8% as of the two weeks ending August 17, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) COVID tracker data.
Locally, regionally
War Memorial Hospital saw a total of 16 COVID cases in July, said Emergency Room Manager Chris Parsons. They’ve had 15 cases so far in August with almost two more weeks to go in the month. They have been seeing an uptick in cases, but not to the level that it’s considered a surge, she said. Hospitalizations due to COVID have been very few.
The hospital emergency room hasn’t been seeing other respiratory illnesses, Parsons said.
Tonya Trembly of River Bend Family Medicine in Hancock said that they have been seeing a surge in COVID-19 cases for the past month with more than one case a day. They’ve also been having patients with colds, bronchitis and the usual illnesses.
Emergency room visits due to COVID-19 are low in West Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania (1.5%-2.9%) and moderate in Virginia. Deaths due to COVID-19 range from 1-9 in West Virginia, Maryland and Virginia and less than 2% in Pennsylvania as of August 15.
Health Department
Dr. Kevin McLaughlin, Morgan-Berkeley County Health Department Health Officer said they had not been seeing a surge of COVID cases at the Morgan County Health Department but had been seeing a lot of cases at the War Memorial Hospital emergency room.
When the new COVID booster is approved, those who are medically vulnerable and that have other diseases are advised to get the updated COVID vaccine, as are others that feel it necessary, McLaughlin said.
McLaughlin also said that if you’re in a large group of people, your chance of exposure to and contamination by COVID-19 and other respiratory viruses is high.
He recommended that people protect themselves as much as possible.
“Wash your hands and do whatever you deem best for yourself and your family. We know that vaccines work and that there’s hesitancy about them, but they do work,” McLaughlin noted.
McLaughlin suggested that people follow the CDC guidelines for COVID vaccination.
He said that the Morgan County Health Department would have the flu vaccine, the RSV vaccine for those that are eligible and also the updated COVID booster vaccine when it becomes available.
Updated COVID vaccine
A June 27 press release said that the CDC recommended an updated 2024-2025 COVID-19 vaccine for everyone ages 6 months and older to protect against the potentially serious outcomes of COVID-19 this fall and winter whether or not they have ever previously been vaccinated with a COVID-19 vaccine.
The updated COVID vaccines should be approved soon by the Food and Drug Administration with new CDC recommendations on who should get the updated vaccine. Updated COVID-19 vaccines will be available from Moderna, Novavax, and Pfizer later this year.
Flu vaccine
The CDC recommends that everyone 6 months of age and older, with rare exceptions, receive an updated 2024-2025 flu vaccine to reduce the risk of influenza and its potentially serious complications this fall and winter. September and October remain the best times for most people to get vaccinated as protection remains in place for several months.
