Outbreak Outlook - Aug 12

Summer Covid wave is still going, with no signs of peaking yet.

Summer Plans: During the summer months, I am on my off-season schedule:

• For paid subscribers, I’ll combine weekly updates into a single report. These updates are less detailed compared to my winter report.

• Free subscribers will continue to receive occasional essays and posts during the summer months, but I won’t be posting as often.

• In the fall, I will return to sending out a full-length, free national version of Outbreak Outlook. Paid subscribers will receive region-specific editions with more local data.

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ILI & RSV

Nothing to see here. Influenza remains at minimal levels across the country, accounting for 1.5% of all outpatient visits last week.

Similarly, RSV is circulating at very low levels, and there is no sign yet of the season beginning.

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COVID-19

This wave has gone on much longer than I would have guessed. This summer season is proving to be quite tenacious. Wastewater levels are very high nationally, and increased across all regions this past week.

This surge appears to be worse than last summer’s—wastewater activity is 1.4x that of last summer’s wave. Most states are reporting very high or high wastewater levels, and no states are reporting minimal or low levels. The handful reporting moderate levels are primarily clustered in the Northeast

Adapted from: CDC