2024 Summer COVID Surge - The Shocking Truth About Infection Rates!

us faces biggest summer covid surge in 2 years are we on the brink of another covid-19 wave With viral activity levels in Wastewater reaching unprecedented summer highs it might be time to dust off those face masks and air purifiers according to the US Centers for Disease Control and prevention the US is experiencing a significant wave of covid-19 With viral activity levels in Wastewater reaching their highest point for a summer surge since July 2022 cdc's National Wastewater Surveillance System nwss Program collects and displays Wastewater data from communities across the United States Wastewater AKA sewage can be tested to detect traces of infectious diseases circulating in a community even if people don't have symptoms this data can be used as an early warning that infection levels may be increasing or decreasing in your community the cdc's Wastewater dashboard shows a significant rise in covid-19 viral activity peing at 8.82 on August 10th just shy of last year's summer surge Dr Jonathan Yoder from the cdc's Wastewater surveillance program warns that this year's wave is hitting earlier than last year's with the highest levels in the western us emergency room visits hospitalizations and deaths are also on the rise though not as dramatically as infections with about four hospitalizations per 100,000 people Dr marleene Wolf from Emory University Unity highlights that sar's CO2 is being detected in 100% of Wastewater scan samples Nationwide marking the highest levels ever seen during a summer wave despite changes in monitoring sites Dr Alexandria Bam from Stanford University notes that current levels are much higher than previous summer Peaks though still below winter peaks with health officials no longer tracking the virus as closely the nation now relies heavily on Wastewater levels to gauge new cases the the rise in cases is driven by waning immunity and new variants just as children return to classrooms providing ample opportunity for the virus to spread Dr Peter hotz from Texas Children's Hospital mentions that Houston's Wastewater numbers have plateaued at a high level with no signs of decline as we await the updated covid-19 vaccines experts urge getting vaccinated wearing n95 or kn95 masks in crowded indoor areas and stocking up on covid-19 tests and an antiviral medication but exciting news is on the way starting at the end of September us households will be able to order four free co9 tests from covid tests. goov these tests will help detect the latest covid-19 variants and can be used throughout the rest of the year don't miss out be ready to order your free tests soon thanks for watching if you found this information helpful be sure to hit the like button and subscribe to our channel for more updates don't forget to click the Bell icon to stay notified about the latest news and announcements stay safe and take care a new round of free covid tests will be available soon starting at the end of September us households can order four free co9 tests from covid tests. goov