On Monday, the first night of the 2024 Democratic National Convention, Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota, Peggy Flanagan, took the stage to remind the audience about former President Donald Trump’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including her personal experience with her brother dying in Tennessee.
“My brother Ron was the second person to die of COVID in Tennessee,” said Flanagan. “We couldn’t see him, we couldn’t have a memorial and millions of American families went through the same thing.”
COVID-19 may no longer be considered the threat that it once was, however, the virus is far from over. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, is constantly evolving, giving life to new variants which continue to spread across the United States.
As of Aug. 17, the KP.3.1.1 variant has overtaken its parent linage KP.3 and previous KP.2 variants, and is now the predominant variant in the country. Latest CDC data shows that the two week period between Aug. 4 and Aug. 17, KP.3.1.1 accounted between 31% to 43% of COVID-19 clinical specimens.
In Region 4 — which includes Tennessee, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, and South Carolina — the KP.3.1.1 variant accounted for 31% to 42% of of COVID-19 clinical specimens. According to the Tennessee Department of Health, there were 499 new COVID-19 cases in Davidson County for the week of Aug. 4.
COVID-19 cases in Davidson County have been steadily rising since May. The most recent data from the Tennessee Department of Health shows that in May, COVID-19 cases were the lowest they’ve been since February. During the week of May 5, Davidson County reported just 36 cases. During the week of June 30, cases more than tripled, soaring to 213. Then in July, cases reached 428.
Here is what else to know about COVID-19 in Tennessee.
How many people in Tennessee have died due to COVID-19?
From March 5, 2020 to Dec. 31, 2022, there have been 28,589 total deaths from COVID-19.
According to data from the Tennessee Department of Health, there were 21,682 total hospitalizations due to COVID-19; 585,505 total cases; and 6,907 total deaths in Tennessee from March 5, 2020 to Dec. 31, 2020. During this time frame, the Mid Cumberland Region which includes Cheatham, Dickson, Houston, Humphreys, Montgomery, Robertson, Rutherford, Stewart, Sumner, Trousdale, Williamson and Wilson counties (107,234) as well as the Nashville-Davidson County Region saw the highest number of cases (62,039).
The following year, the total number of cases decreased, however, deaths and hospitalizations only increased. From Jan. 1, 2021 to Dec. 31, 2021, Tennessee saw 22,377 total hospitalizations and 13,854 deaths. The most affected area remained the Mid Cumberland Region (160,151).
In 2022, the year for which the most recent data is available, there were 1,003,773 total cases of COVID-19, 8,706 total hospitalizations and 7,828 deaths in Tennessee from Jan. 1, 2022 to Dec. 31, 2022. The Mid Cumberland Region again experienced the highest number of cases (171,796).
Should you receive an updated COVID-19 vaccine?
The CDC recommends the updated 2024-2025 COVID-19 vaccines as well as the 2024-2025 flu vaccines to protect against severe COVID-19 and flu this fall and winter.
According to the CDC, it is safe to receive COVID-19 and flu vaccines at the same time. In 2023, over 916,300 people were hospitalized due to COVID-19 and more than 75,500 people died from COVID-19, said the CDC.
“Our top recommendation for protecting yourself and your loved ones from respiratory illness is to get vaccinated,” said CDC Director Mandy Cohen. “Make a plan now for you and your family to get both updated flu and COVID vaccines this fall, ahead of the respiratory virus season.”
Who should receive an updated COVID-19 vaccine?
The CDC recommends everyone six months and older receive the updated 2024-2025 COVID-19 vaccine, as well as the 2024-2025 flu vaccine, regardless of if they’ve ever received a COVID-19 vaccine in the past.
Updated COVID-19 vaccines will be available from Moderna, Novavax, and Pfizer later this year, said the CDC.
“Last season, people who received a 2023-2024 COVID-19 vaccine saw greater protection against illness and hospitalization than those who did not receive a 2023-2024 vaccine,” said the CDC. “To date, hundreds of millions of people have safely received a COVID-19 vaccine under the most intense vaccine safety monitoring in United States history.”
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What are the symptoms of the KP.3 variant?
As previously reported by USA TODAY, the CDC has not said if KP.3 has its own specific symptoms. Norman said the symptoms associated with KP.3 are similar to those from JN.1.
According to the CDC, symptoms of COVID-19 may appear 2-14 days after being exposed to the virus. Possible symptoms of COVID-19 range from mild to severe and can include the following:
- Fever or chills
- Cough
- Shortness of breath or difficulty breathing
- Fatigue
- Muscle or body aches
- Headache
- New loss of taste or smell
- Sore throat
- Congestion or runny nose
- Nausea or vomiting
- Diarrhea
The CDC recommends seeking emergency medical attention if one experiences the following symptoms:
- Trouble breathing
- Persistent pain or pressure in the chest
- New confusion
- Inability to wake or stay awake
- Pale, gray, or blue-colored skin, lips, or nail beds, depending on skin tone
USA TODAY contributed to this report
Diana Leyva covers trending news and service journalism for The Tennessean. Contact her at Dleyva@gannett.com or follow her on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, at @_leyvadiana
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