I thought it was the same bad cold that others had-nasal congestion, sore throat, fatigue, and mild stomach upset. By the next day, I had tested positive for COVID-19, which roiled into slight fevers and a nagging headache. Catching COVID-19 came about despite my being fully up-to-date with vaccinations and even having gotten a Moderna Spikevax re-immunization as recently as the preceding month. It came despite donning an N95 mask at the time one of the people in my circle had become visibly symptomatic. My case turned out to be mild due to built-up immunity and taking prescription antiviral medication (Paxlovid) for good measure.

Yes, friends, the U.S. is experiencing a typical summer surge. No, COVID is not something from the distant past that we can all forget. Unlike the flu, which does not exist during our summer season, COVID-19 becomes more active then. And COVID-19 is twice as deadly as influenza, with the most recent U.S. data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) showing that 283 people died from COVID-19 during the week ending June 8, 2024. Losing those 283 Americans from deaths that are largely preventable is as though a large commercial airliner were to have crashed that week and every week.

Making its appearance is a group of Omicron subvariants called FliRT that have mutated many times since Omicron first began a major wave in November 2021. While these subvariants that go by the names KP.2, KP.3, and LB.1 do not appear to cause more serious illness than their predecessors, they have evolved to become dominant in the U.S. and elsewhere due to their greater ability to infect our cells. Once the virus is inside, our cells become factories where the virus multiplies and explodes out to others as we breathe, sneeze, and cough. That chain of transmission is what can sneak up on us as we enjoy summer’s social activities, particularly indoor ones during intense heat waves.

For the week ending June 29th, the CDC reported that 9% of COVID-19 tests performed in U.S. hospitals and medical centers were coming back positive, and 1% of all emergency room visits across the country resulted in a COVID-19 diagnosis, the latter representing an 18% increase over the prior week. Hospitalizations for COVID-19 were also ticking up, and wastewater analysis across our country increasingly revealed rising levels of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in sewage tested. The closest sewershed to our area that performs such analyses is in Centre County, where wastewater coming from its population of 90,000 people showed a sharp increase in the virus during the month of June.

Due to immunity from vaccines and/or already having contracted COVID-19 at least once, most Americans who get COVID can expect to have mild cases with good recoveries. Despite that, long COVID is ever-present, with its likelihood increasing with each episode of illness. Older people who have chronic illnesses and immune-compromised individuals at any age are at high risk, especially when they are not up to date on their vaccinations. These are the folks most likely to get serious disease and end up hospitalized. High-risk people who have not been immunized since last fall are currently eligible for another dose of COVID vaccine to carry them through the summer. They should also seek their doctors’ input about their medical eligibility to get prompt, lifesaving antiviral treatment (Paxlovid or molnupirivir tablets) when they test positive.

What everyone can do to break the chain of COVID transmission:

• Be up to date on vaccinations

• Maintain good handwashing practices

• Gather outdoors

• Test to be certain that “cold symptoms” are not COVID-19 (free test kits are available at the Lycoming County State Health Center, 1000 Commerce Park Drive, Suite 109, Williamsport)

• Stay home when sick or having symptoms

• And when you are in a high-risk group, or when you are around people in those groups, consider masking in indoor crowded areas

In the fall, we will have a newly updated COVID vaccine that is based more closely on the currently circulating variants. Everyone, especially people in high-risk groups, is advised to get it along with your annual flu shots. Please stay tuned and stay well.

Barbara Hemmendinger, MSS, a member of the Lycoming County Health Improvement Coalition and a retired family medicine educator, belongs to Let’s end COVID! a group of concerned people in northcentral PA working to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic through, education, outreach, and mitigation.