As students return to school in California, COVID-19 cases are skyrocketing across the state, including in the Sacramento area.
Here is the latest information on COVID levels in the state and in Sacramento:
Are COVID-19 cases increasing in California?
In its most recent update on August 9, the California Department of Public Health reported that the state had an average test positivity rate of 14.3% over a seven-day period.
This is an increase of 2.3 percent compared to the previous week, the ministry said on its website.
In the same August 9 update, the state Department of Health reported that COVID-19 accounted for 1.8% of all deaths in California over the past seven days.
As of July 30, 1.9% of the state’s recent deaths were due to the novel coronavirus, the agency said.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, COVID-19 viral activity levels in wastewater nationwide are “very high.”
Is there a new variant of the coronavirus?
According to the latest data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, cases of a new COVID-19 variant called KP.3.1.1 have nearly doubled in recent weeks.
As of August 3, the variant was associated with about 27.8% of all COVID-19 cases.
Eric Topol, a professor of molecular medicine at Scripps Research, wrote in a post on X that the new variant “poses a greater challenge to our immune response than KP.3 and previous variants” – especially for those who do not have the latest vaccination.
What are the symptoms of the latest COVID variant?
KP.3.1.1 is one of the new coronavirus strains known as “FLiRT” variants, according to the Infectious Diseases Society of America.
While the new strains of COVID-19 “are indeed more contagious than the original (primary) strain of SARS-CoV-2,” differences in symptoms between the FLiRT variants and the original COVID-19 strain have not yet been identified, the medical association reported in July.
The symptoms of KP.3.1.1 are similar to those of other COVID-19 variants. These include:
Is the coronavirus still a problem when school starts?
The recent increase in coronavirus cases is due to the FLiRT subvariants, according to UC Davis Health.
“I think a lot of families have put COVID behind them, but COVID is still with us and made that clear this summer with the recent surge,” said Dean Blumberg, chief of the division of pediatric infectious diseases at UC Davis Children’s Hospital, in a question-and-answer session with the hospital.
Blumberg recommends that everyone aged 6 months and older be vaccinated against COVID-19.
In addition, Blumberg advises parents to test their children if they feel unwell and to wear a face mask when traveling or in crowded areas.
Do COVID vaccines protect me?
“The latest vaccine works really well” to protect against FLiRT variants, Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, a professor and infectious disease physician at the University of California, San Francisco, told The Sacramento Bee in May.
The vaccines are constantly being adapted to the latest COVID-19 variants to help people avoid severe disease and hospitalization, Chin-Hong said.
According to Vaccines.gov, the latest COVID-19 vaccine is expected to be available in September.
Is it COVID, the flu or an allergy?
COVID-19 is not the only thing in the air.
Allergies, flu and respiratory syncytial virus also circulate year-round and can cause overlapping symptoms such as fever, chills and cough.
You can reduce your risk of getting sick by keeping your vaccinations up to date, staying home when you feel unwell, and treating any symptoms.
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