Cases of COVID-19 are growing or are likely growing in half of all states across the country, said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in a recent estimate.
A map and data released by the CDC on July 11 show that 25 states are seeing increases or likely increases in cases of the coronavirus, but the agency said that “the weekly percentage of [emergency department] visits diagnosed with COVID-19 is very low.” Wastewater data as of July 10 shows that COVID-19 levels are currently low across the United States.
Modeling shows that states in the southern United States and the East Coast are the primary regions for the increased cases. Several states in the western United States are also reporting increases, according to the agency in its estimate.
The data release comes as researchers with the CDC said late last week that their own analysis showed there were two COVID-19 peaks each year, occurring in the late summer and winter months.
“A single, dominant S1 sequence genotype was associated with both winter and late summer surges until November 2022,” the CDC researchers said, referring to the S1 gene in viruses that are often used to determine the genotype, or an organism’s unique combination of genes, of a strain.
They added that since the winter of 2022 through 2023, “a dominant genotype was also associated with a surge in virus activity during the winter season, but co-circulating variants with similar spike substitutions have been associated with late summer surges.”
Data released by the CDC did not break down COVID-19 infections by variants. The CDC has estimated that the most common variant in the United States is NB.1.8.1, which emerged earlier this year and has driven a rise in cases in mainland China and several other countries, as of mid-June.
The World Health Organization (WHO) in May stated that NB.1.8.1 is a “variant under monitoring,” while previous Epoch Times reporting has indicated that COVID-19 patients have this year reported symptoms of a sharp, sore throat. Media outlets internationally have dubbed the strain as the “razor throat” or “razor blade throat” variant.
Other COVID-19 symptoms of any variant include fever, chills, cough, shortness of breath, as well as a loss of taste or smell.
While WHO has issued the designation for the variant, the UN health agency considers the public health risk low at the global level. Current vaccines are expected to remain effective, it also said.
In May, WHO said some Western Pacific countries have reported increases in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, but there’s nothing so far to suggest that the disease associated with the new variant is more severe compared to other variants.
As of mid-June, NB.1.8.1 is estimated to have made up roughly 43 percent of COVID-19 cases in the United States, CDC statistics show. Another variant, XFG, that the WHO in June labeled as a “variant under monitoring,” accounted for about 14 percent of U.S. cases, according to the CDC.
The variant called LP.8.1 is currently No. 2 in the United States and is estimated to make up 31 percent of cases, reported the CDC.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.