CDC: COVID surging across U.S.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s COVID-19 data tracker shows an 18.1% test positivity rate for the week ending Aug. 10, the highest rate since January 2022. Wastewater surveillance, “an early warning sign of COVID-19’s spread in communities,” demonstrates “very high” viral activity for COVID-19 across the U.S., indicating positivity rates likely are higher than reported test results. The CDC recommends everyone ages six months and older receive a 2024-2025 COVID-19 vaccine, which should be available in September. In advance of the respiratory virus season, Health and Human Services this week launched a public education campaign on common respiratory viruses and available vaccines including flu, COVID-19 and respiratory syncytial virus.