#18,196
Although surveillance and reporting have been sharply curtailed, new waves of COVID continue to spread around the globe. As of May, hospitals in the United States are no longer required to report admissions, occupancy, and other data (see below), making it difficult to gauge the virus's impact.
While direct counts of hospital admissions, even deaths, linked to COVID are hard to come by, we do have wastewater surveillance, which can give us a clue as to how much virus is circulating across the nation. And based on the following chart, the United States is already well into a summer spike in the virus.
Virus levels - particularly in the West and South are far ahead of where they were time time last summer, and with the emergence of a new - more biologically fit KP.3.1.1 variant - are only expected to rise further in the weeks ahead.
Today's CDC Nowcast shows the continued displacement of older JN.1 and even KP.2 variants with up-and-coming KP.3 and KP3.1.1.
The CDC continues to advise people to take respiratory precautions, and to take steps to reduce the spreading of respiratory viruses, including COVID.
I'm wearing my KN95 mask when I'm out in public, but sadly I rarely see anyone else doing the same.
