What’s with the uptick in COVID cases? There’s a pattern that’s been repeated each year since COVID started — a late summer wave. Older people and those who are immuno-compromised should be careful.
ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:
If it seems like you’re hearing about more people testing positive for COVID, you’re right. The CDC says we are in a summer COVID wave, and NPR health correspondent Maria Godoy is here to tell us more about it. Hi, Maria.
MARIA GODOY, HOST:
Hi, Ari.
SHAPIRO: What are the numbers? How many people are getting COVID right now?
GODOY: Yeah. So the CDC doesn’t track the number of new cases the way it used to. States aren’t reporting – you know, testing people and reporting it back to them anymore. Instead, we’re getting our sense of what’s happening from a few sources. One is wastewater surveillance – so testing which shows up in sewage. And right now that tells us we have high or very high viral activity in 36 states – so the majority of the country. The CDC also gets estimates from emergency room visits and hospitalization rates. And those are going up, too, though they are starting from a very low place. So thankfully, we are not in a situation where hospitals are getting overwhelmed.
SHAPIRO: Well, that’s good. It does seem like every summer, there is a new wave of COVID infections. Why is that?
GODOY: Yeah. I spoke with epidemiologist Katelyn Jetelina about this. She writes this great Substack called Your Local Epidemiologist. And she explains it’s a combination of a few factors.
KATELYN JETELINA: One is behavior change. People move inside due to the heat, and most of the virus spreads indoors. Two, COVID just keeps mutating incredibly quickly, about twice as fast as the flu.
GODOY: And then the third thing she says is we have waning immunity. If you’re up to date with your COVID vaccines, you probably got one sometime last winter. I know I got mine in January. And guess what? I got COVID last month.
SHAPIRO: Oh, Maria, I’m sorry. How bad was it?
GODOY: You know, the good news is it was fairly mild. I’ve had COVID three times, and the first time, it was like pneumonia. The second time, it felt like a bad flu. And this one was just like a bad cold. And that shows my immune system is getting better at fighting COVID. Yay. Of course, you know, people’s responses vary, but in general, past infections and vaccination make our immune system better at fighting this virus off.
SHAPIRO: Well, like you, it’s been at least six months since I had a vaccination, and I haven’t been infected since then, to my knowledge. Should people like me be getting another COVID vaccine?
GODOY: Yeah. Well, the important thing to remember is that while your past vaccinations may not prevent you from getting infected altogether, they’re still really effective at preventing severe illness or death, which is, of course, the goal. Updated vaccines tailored to the latest variants that are circulating – those should be released in the fall – so just a couple of months from now. So people at average risk should probably wait to get that updated vaccine in the fall or early winter. But if you are in a high-risk group – so if you’re over 65 or you are immune compromised, for example – you should check with your doctor.
I spoke with Dr. Preeti Malani. She’s a geriatrician and infectious disease specialist at the University of Michigan. And she says if you are an older person considered at higher risk, whether to vaccinate now or wait really depends on your individual circumstances.
PREETI MALANI: Like, if you’re going on a big trip where you’re going to have a lot of exposure to people, it might make sense to get vaccinated now. It’s a good conversation to have because I think many of us have lost track of exactly when we were vaccinated last.
GODOY: Right. So, again, you know, you should talk to your doctor. And the other point Malani made is that regardless of whether you are high-risk, you know, remember to test if you’re not feeling well. You may not realize it’s COVID, and you certainly don’t want to go visit grandma in the nursing home if you are infectious.
SHAPIRO: Speaking of which, in just a sentence or two, what are the rules for isolating if you do test positive these days?
GODOY: Yeah. CDC says stay home until your symptoms subside and you’ve been free of fever for at least 24 hours. But even then, wear a mask when you go out for the next five days because you could still be shedding infectious virus.
SHAPIRO: NPR health correspondent Maria Godoy. Thanks for the advice.
GODOY: My pleasure.
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