Rising COVID-19 cases ahead of new vaccine rollouts in the U.S.

There has been a significant surge in COVID-19 activity in the United States. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), it is the highest since July 2022.

Experts say that the current level of COVID-19 activity in the United States is very high, especially in the western part of the country. “This year’s COVID-19 wave is coming earlier than last year, which occurred in late August/early September,” said Dr. Jonathan Yoder, deputy director of the virus monitoring program at the CDC, as quoted by CNN.

The number of hospitalizations and deaths is also rising, although not to the same extent as infections. At the end of July, about 4 people per 100,000 were hospitalized due to COVID-19. In May, only one hospitalization per 100,000 people was registered, the lowest since the beginning of the pandemic.

“This is a very significant surge. The levels are very high. They’re the highest we’ve ever seen during a summer wave. We’re detecting SARS-CoV-2 in 100 percent of our samples across the country right now,” assessed Dr. Marlene Wolfe, assistant professor of environmental and public health at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, in an interview with CNN.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not yet approved the latest modifications to the COVID-19 vaccines. However, experts say updated doses from Pfizer, Moderna, and Novavax should be ready in the coming weeks.

As part of the routine procedure, the FDA re-evaluated the COVID-19 vaccines in July. It requires manufacturers to modify them for the fall to better suit the new virus variants causing illnesses.