More Than Half Of States Have High To Very High Covid Levels

COVID-19 cases are growing in 45 states and territories, and more than half of the states have virus levels that are "very high" or "high" as a summertime wave expands, according to the CDC. Via Axios:

The prevalence of COVID is especially high in the West, where test positivity in the region comprising Arizona, California, Hawaii and Nevada stood at 15.6% and viral activity in wastewater has been rising over the past month, according to the agency.

More than 70% of infections come from KP variants that are descendants of the highly contagious JN.1 strain, which surged over the winter, and are among the so-called FLiRT variants.

While hospitalizations remain low, the summertime surge poses a risk to the elderly, immunocompromised individuals, and those with respiratory or cardiac conditions.
As people get more out-of-date with vaccination and the virus mutates, the risk of a severe wave becomes greater.

The latest COVID vaccines target an Omicron subvariant that played itself out last year but still offer some protection against the prevailing variants.

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