Summer COVID surge isn’t cause for alarm, experts say

President Joe Biden and Well being and Human Providers Secretary Xavier Becerra this week grew to become prime examples of the nation’s latest COVID-19 wave, and though it is unclear what variant they’re contaminated with, infectious illness consultants say the newest dominant strains of COVID-19 are not any extra harmful than earlier iterations.

Biden, 81, is at present coping with gentle higher respiratory signs and is taking the COVID-19 antiviral Paxlovid, in line with White Home doctor Kevin O’Connor. That is the third time Biden has had COVID-19 whereas within the White Home.

Becerra, 66, in the meantime, introduced his constructive take a look at by a spokesperson on July 16. Each proceed to work, albeit remotely.

The brand new omicron variant, KP.3, has taken maintain in current weeks as warmth waves throughout the US have prompted People to congregate indoors, in line with Amesh Adalja, an infectious illness physician at Johns Hopkins College. However this improve in infections has not translated into a rise in COVID-19-related hospitalizations or deaths, as the newest pressure of the virus is not any extra virulent than earlier iterations.

The KP.3 and KP.2 variants, each sublineages of omicron, make up a complete of 61.3% of latest circumstances within the two-week interval ending July 6, in line with the latest information from the Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention. The KP.3 variant consists of 36.9% of circumstances, and KP. 2 consists of 24.4% of circumstances.

The variety of COVID-19 circumstances ensuing from the KP.3 variant is rising quickly and has shortly overtaken KP.2 and JN.1 variants as essentially the most dominant COVID-19 lineages in current months. In mid-April, KP.3 made up 2% of all circumstances.

Previously two weeks, COVID-19 take a look at positivity has elevated by 8.6% and emergency room visits have elevated by 23.5% within the final week, in line with the CDC. However regardless of this improve in illness, deaths have solely elevated by lower than 1%.

Not a lot makes KP.3 totally different from previous iterations of the virus.

“We’re nonetheless within the omicron period,” mentioned Paul Offit, who’s the director of the Vaccine Training Middle at Kids’s Hospital of Pennsylvania and a member of the Meals and Drug Administration’s vaccine advisory committee.

The COVID-19 virus and its variants will proceed to evolve when it comes to the receptor-binding area, which is the a part of the spike protein that binds to cells, Offit mentioned. Nevertheless it’s nonetheless the identical base virus. So for that purpose, individuals who have been beforehand contaminated with COVID-19 or vaccinated prior to now 4 to 6 months will seemingly solely have a really gentle case of the virus.

For many who expertise extra extreme signs, physicians have extra instruments to take care of COVID-19 now, similar to antivirals and monoclonal antibodies. However high-risk people ought to nonetheless proceed to take extra precautions than your common American, consultants say.

“That is all a really totally different state of affairs than when Trump received COVID and we did not have any of those instruments,” Adalja mentioned. “Though when an 81-year-old assessments constructive for COVID, we nonetheless need to take it very severely.”

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