COVID Levels Are “Very High” in These 27 States

This summer wave, fueled by the highly contagious KP.3.1.1 variant, is becoming the largest yet.

COVID cases are rising to “very high” levels in 27 states, says the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as a summer wave envelops much of America. The agency measures COVID activity in wastewater. This method of surveillance has become crucial as it can detect rising infection rates earlier than clinical testing.

“If you just talk about infections, this is probably going to end up becoming the largest summer wave we’ve had,” Dr. Ashish Jha, dean of the Brown University School of Public Health and former White House COVID-19 response coordinator, told NBC News.

Currently, the KP.3.1.1 variant is the leading cause of COVID infections in the United States, responsible for over a quarter of new cases. Together, KP.3.1.1 and its sister KP.3 strain account for nearly half of all infections. Here are the 27 states where COVID levels are “very high.”

“A wave of summertime COVID is here. The Alabama Department of Public Health said there’s been some evidence of that,” reports WAAY. “Dr. Wes Stubblefield, a medical officer with ADPH, said current COVID numbers appear to be climbing.” “Some parts of the U.S. have seen some increases in the number of hospitalizations and the number of positive tests that are being reported regionally. There has been some evidence that there’s been some kind of summertime COVID wave,” Stubblefield told the network.

“Alaska is experiencing a summer COVID wave, fueled by the new so-called ‘FLiRT variants,’ new Omicron variants of the COVID-19 virus,” reports KTOO. “Joe McLaughlin, an epidemiologist with the state’s division of public health, said the wave is partly due to waning immunity. He said only about 18% of Alaskans got a COVID vaccine this past year.” “Anytime you get these variants that are driving the wave, typically, what’s happening is they’ve had some sort of a mutation, at least one or a couple, that typically will give them the capability to evade prior immunity better than other strains that are circulating,” McLaughlin told the network.

“For the week ending July 27, the CDC reported that 16.3 percent of all COVID tests performed in the U.S.—excluding at-home test results—were coming back positive, representing a 2 percent increase from the previous week,” reports Newsweek. “Coming in at number one with the highest percentage of positive tests was region six, which encompasses Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas.”

“California’s strongest summer COVID wave in years is still surging, and an unusual midsummer mutation may be partly to blame,” reports the LA Times. “Of particular concern is the rise of a hyperinfectious subvariant known as KP.3.1.1, which is so contagious that even people who have eluded infection throughout the pandemic are getting sick.”

“We’re definitely seeing a lot more positive cases for COVID right now than you would expect for a summer-cold kind of time period,” Dr. Carrie Horn, chief medical officer for National Jewish Health, told KDVR, which added: “Horn said the crud going around could be COVID-19, and people with it may not know it.”

Why are cases spiking in Florida? “First of all, our historic temperatures have been forcing people inside in close proximity, which leads to disease spread. In addition, the family of variants that are currently circulating, known as FLiRT variants, tend to evade vaccine-induced immunity better,” Libby Richards of Purdue University told Action News Jax. “Kids tend to not be very good at handwashing, but they are very good at putting their hands and other objects in their mouths,” Richards added.

“Boise is seeing the highest levels of COVID-19 in its wastewater since a big spike in January,” reports the Idaho Statesman. “The surge follows a nationwide trend as cases creep up across the country. Infection rates in Idaho have been steadily rising since May, prompting some concern from public health officials as people travel for vacations and gather for summertime barbecues and other events. Record-breaking heat and wildfire smoke have also swamped the Treasure Valley for weeks, driving residents indoors and into air-conditioned, smoke-free spaces.”