COVID cases, hospitalizations are on the rise in the U.S. Do I need to worry?

After dominating headlines for years, COVID-19 slowly has slipped out of the public consciousness for the most part, as case counts have been falling. Now, new data show a sobering reality: COVID-19 cases are on the rise again — and so are hospitalizations linked to the virus.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's COVID data tracker shows that hospitalizations linked to COVID-19 increased 12% over the past week, with 8,035 people being hospitalized for the virus. While hospitalizations due to COVID-19 are not nearly as high as they were in the winter, they have been steadily climbing since mid-June.

Past data has shown that COVID-19 cases are typically at their highest in late fall and early winter, so it's understandable to wonder what's happening right now. Infectious disease experts break it down.

Do I need to worry?

Experts say this uptick in cases is likely due to a combination of factors and while you don't need to panic, it's important to at least be aware that this is happening, Dr. Thomas Russo, professor and chief of infectious diseases at the University at Buffalo in New York, tells Yahoo Life. "People aren't taking any sort of COVID precautions, and they're interacting often in indoor, poorly ventilated spaces without wearing masks — this has been going on for a while," Russo says.

But it's happening at a time when immunity has waned for a lot of people, whether from vaccination or natural infection. "We're not at the point where a new booster is available and our immunity wall has faded," Russo says. That leaves a lot of people vulnerable to infection, he says.

At the same time, "the COVID virus hasn't gone away," Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease specialist and professor of medicine at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, tells Yahoo Life. "These Omicron variants are very transmissible, and we're seeing upticks in cases and hospitalizations," he says.

Heat waves across several parts of the country have driven people indoors, which also increases the risk of getting infected, Russo says. "COVID was smoldering, and now we're seeing a bit of COVID creep," he says.

If so, worry about what? And what can I do about it?

Anyone can get infected with COVID-19, and it can be an uncomfortable illness, Schaffner says. "But people who should be the most concerned are those at heightened risk of serious complications — people who are older, very young, immunocompromised, pregnant and those with underlying illness," he says. "Those people should take extra precautions."

People who fall into those categories "need to be more cautious and consider what type of scenarios you want to put yourself in," Russo says.

The main ways of lowering your risk of getting COVID-19 or having serious complications from the virus haven't changed, Russo says: That is, wearing a mask in crowded indoor places and making sure you're as up to date on your COVID-19 vaccine as possible. But, again, it may have been a while since many people got their COVID-19 booster, which makes waning immunity an issue.

Schaffner recommends masking up regularly with a well-fitting N95 mask if you're in a high-risk category, especially if you're traveling. "Dust off those masks and use them again," he says. He also suggests having COVID-19 tests on hand and checking the expiration date on any tests you still have if it has been a while since you purchased them.

If you develop symptoms of the virus, Schaffner suggests testing yourself and contacting your doctor immediately if you get a positive result. "We have medications like Paxlovid that will help you avoid having to go to the hospital," he says. However, Paxlovid needs to be taken within five days of developing symptoms to be effective, so don't wait to test yourself and take action, Schaffner says.

The main takeaway

Overall, doctors recommend that everyone take a temperature check on their personal risk. "If you're as up to date on your vaccines as you can be and you're healthy, you'll certainly still be at risk of infection but at a significantly lower risk of severe disease," Russo says.

But if you fall into a high-risk category, Schaffner says it's important to be especially aware of increasing COVID-19 case counts. "Those are the people who should take extra precautions," he says.

An updated COVID-19 booster to target XBB.1.5, the dominant strain of the virus, is expected to be released sometime in the fall. "It will be important for everyone to get that," Russo says.

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