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COVID on the rise as students head back to school

By Katy Szpak

Posted August 18, 2023

(Screenshot from Biobot Analytics)

Instances of COVID in Monroe County’s wastewater have been steadily increasing since mid-July, following a national trend.

Graham McKeen, IU’s director of public and environmental health, said residents shouldn’t be worried, but should be aware.

“It's been out of sight, out of mind for a lot of the people in the general public,” McKeen said. “What I'm seeing on the back end is that it's starting to have a pretty significant increase.”

Read more: Increase in COVID spread through end of July, after stable summer

The recent uptick may be due to several factors. The main reason is that as temperatures climb, people go indoors for air conditioning. That leads to people being in closer contact and making it easier to spread the virus. Additionally, there was some widespread immunity from vaccines last fall and infections during the winter that have faded over time.

Nationally, the XBB strain has been the dominant Omicron variant found in wastewater testing since this spring and will be included in a new vaccine booster this fall. Research shows that this variant is more transmissible than the original strain.

McKeen said that this booster will certainly help, but will not wholly prevent the virus, much like previous SARS vaccines. He said that a new strain could become prevalent quickly, making it difficult to pick the “correct” strain.

“We're just continuously kicking this can down the road of viral evolution,” McKeen said.

The new vaccine will be available in September, but unlike previous years, the vaccine will not be free. However, health insurance plans will cover the vaccine, and there may be financial coverage for those who do not have insurance.

The same precautions used previously are still effective. Those who are displaying symptoms should test themselves and stay home. Rapid COVID tests are still effective, and expiration dates have been extended for many of the at-home tests.

“We need to do the things that we can do that are within our control to protect others, and I think that's where a lot of that messaging has been lost over the years,” McKeen said.

Read more: Life on hold: Long COVID support group helps these two Hoosiers cope and adapt to illness

 

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