by LOS ANGELES >> Coronavirus levels in California wastewater are now above last summer’s peak, indicating the rapid spread of the new, super-contagious FLiRT strains.
California has “very high” levels of coronavirus in its wastewater — one of 21 states in that category, up from seven the previous week, according to estimates released Friday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
That means about 155 million people, or nearly half of the U.S. population, live in areas with “very high” levels of coronavirus in wastewater. Besides California, other states with “very high” levels include Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Louisiana, Maryland, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia, and Wyoming. Washington, D.C., also falls into this category.
Coronavirus levels in wastewater are also rising in Los Angeles County, and the rate of increase is accelerating. The county has also seen notable increases this month in new confirmed infections, coronavirus-positive hospitalizations and the share of emergency room visits attributable to COVID-19.
Nationally, overall levels of the virus in wastewater are considered “elevated” for the second week in a row, the CDC said. Estimates are subject to change as more data becomes available.
Most Americans likely know a family member, friend, coworker, or acquaintance who recently contracted COVID-19, perhaps after becoming infected while traveling or at a social gathering.
“If you call — I don’t know — 20 or 30 friends, you’re very likely to find out that a number of them actually have COVID, or have had COVID recently, or are starting to show symptoms,” said Dr. Ziyad Al-Aly, a COVID expert and chief research and development officer at Veterans Affairs St. Louis Health Care System in Missouri.
A notable recent case is President Biden, who tested positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday while in Las Vegas. Biden has returned to Delaware to recover. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass tested positive a few weeks ago, and Democratic Rep. Barbara Lee (Oakland) said Tuesday that she is celebrating her birthday while recovering from COVID.
“Our fight against COVID is not over!” Lee said on social media.
Across the country, the shadow of COVID-19 has grown more pronounced recently, with the usual seasonal surge in travel and social interaction leading to a new wave of infections. Many cases are relatively mild but nonetheless disruptive, forcing people to cancel trips or plans.
Some recently infected people have described painful COVID symptoms, such as a razor-sharp throat sensation. However, overall, there is no evidence that FLiRT subvariants are associated with increased disease severity that would trigger a substantial increase in hospitalizations.
The CDC estimates that COVID-19 infections are increasing or likely to increase in 41 states, including California. There are no states where the coronavirus is decreasing or likely to decrease.
The COVID resurgence comes as the sprawling FLiRT family increases its dominance nationwide. For the two-week period that ended Saturday, the CDC estimates that about 80% of the country’s coronavirus samples are FLiRT subvariants, up from about 65% for the same period a month earlier.
In California, the COVID test positivity rate is also on the rise. For the week ending July 15, 12.8% of tests came back positive. That’s up from 5.9% a month earlier and is close to the peak of 13.1% seen last summer in late August and early September.
For the 10-day period that ended July 6, the most recent for which data is available, coronavirus levels in Los Angeles County wastewater were at 36% of last winter’s peak, up from 27% for the 10-day period that ended June 29.
The number of new confirmed COVID cases is also rising faster. For the week ending July 14, there were an average of 359 new cases per day in Los Angeles County, up from 307 the week before. A month earlier, there were 154 cases per day.
The official COVID-19 case counts are likely an underestimate, because they only take into account tests done in medical facilities, not at home, and they don’t account for the fact that fewer people are getting tested when they feel sick. But the overall trends are still useful for determining the trajectory of the summer surge.
COVID-19 hospitalizations are also up, though they remain below last summer’s peak. For the week ending July 13, there were an average of 287 people with COVID-19 per day in Los Angeles County hospitals, up from 139 for the same period a month earlier. Last summer’s peak was the week ending Sept. 9, when an average of 620 COVID-19-positive patients were in area hospitals per day.
For the week ending July 14, Los Angeles County reported that 2.8% of all emergency room visits were COVID-related — up from 1.8% for the comparable period a month earlier, but below last summer’s peak of 5.1%.
Coronavirus levels are also high in wastewater in Santa Clara County, the most populous region in the San Francisco Bay Area and home to Silicon Valley. As of Friday, coronavirus levels were “high” in all of its sewers — San Jose, Palo Alto, Sunnyvale and Gilroy.
Doctors say it’s important to get tested if you have COVID symptoms, such as fever, body aches, sore throat, chills, fatigue, cough, runny nose or headache, as well as less common conditions such as vomiting, diarrhea and stomach upset.
Most health insurance plans in California — at least those regulated by the state — are required to reimburse covered individuals for eight home testing kits per month, if an in-network provider is used.
Additionally, “if you have insurance, your health insurer is required to cover the full cost of testing if a doctor orders it. You do not need to have symptoms to request a test,” according to the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health.
Eligible people can also search for free testing sites on the CDC’s website, testinglocator.cdc.gov. People with insurance may need to provide their insurance information.
People without health insurance in Los Angeles County can also get free COVID testing at the county’s Public Health Center nurse clinics and multi-service vaccination sites. People 65 and older who live in Los Angeles County, as well as residents who are unable to leave their homes, can also request two free test kits to be mailed to them by filling out an online form. Los Angeles County libraries, as well as food banks and senior centers, can also offer free COVID test kits.
Health officials also urged people to consider asking their health care providers for antiviral medications, such as Paxlovid, to help fight active COVID disease. Antivirals can be used to treat people with mild to moderate illness who are at risk of worsening their condition.
“Waiting until symptoms worsen is not recommended,” the California Department of Public Health says.
Health officials have previously said the antiviral drugs are underused and implored health care providers to prescribe them correctly when indicated.
In an advisory, the California Department of Public Health said: “Most adults and some children with symptoms of COVID-19 are eligible for treatment. … Health care providers should have a low threshold for prescribing COVID-19 treatments.”
The state of California previously made COVID virtual doctor visits free for residents, but that program ended in March. The contractor that provided the service, sesamecare.com/covid, is now offering the medical services for a fee, but with a discount for California residents.
The COVID-19 vaccination rate, as of September, has been relatively low. Since then, 36.7% of California seniors ages 65 and older have received at least one dose of the updated vaccine, as have 18.5% of adults ages 50 to 64 and 10% of younger adults up to age 49.
For people who haven’t gotten an updated COVID vaccine in the past year, “you should consider getting one, especially if you’re older and immunocompromised,” said Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, an infectious disease expert at UC San Francisco. People at highest risk of dying from COVID are those who are older or have weakened immune systems and haven’t been vaccinated recently.
By getting vaccinated against COVID-19 now, you will still be able to receive the updated version of the COVID-19 vaccine that is expected to be available this fall. The CDC recommends that everyone 6 months of age and older get the updated version of the 2024-25 vaccine.
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
