Is this the biggest Covid summer wave? CDC reports high transmission
The U.S. faces what may turn out to be its biggest summer Covid wave yet. When will it peak? Dr. Ashish Jha says it’s nearing winter wave levels but hasn’t surpassed them.
The U.S. is in what may end up being its biggest summer wave of Covid, with no end yet in sight.
“If you just talk about infections, this is probably going to end up becoming the largest summer wave we’ve had,” said Dr. Ashish Jha, dean of the Brown University School of Public Health and former White House Covid-19 response coordinator. “It’s still not as big as the winter waves, but it is starting to get close.”
It's not only in the U.S. There's been a worldwide surge in infections in recent weeks, Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, technical lead for Covid at the World Health Organization, said in a briefing this week. The proportion of tests coming back positive for Covid in Europe is above 20%, with wastewater data suggesting case numbers may be two to 20 times higher than what's being reported, Van Kerkhove said.
The best way to estimate how much virus the U.S. is coping with is wastewater data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, because many people just test at home when they get sick, if they test at all.
A masked commuter on the metro in Washington, on May 25, 2024. Rosem Morton for The Washington Post via Getty Images fileNationally, the CDC tracker lists levels of Covid as "high," with the Western U.S., including Texas and California, showing some of the highest levels of virus. Eastern states, such Florida and North Carolina, are also reporting very high levels of virus in the community.
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