As the new school year starts in Tennessee, the World Health Organization warns that COVID-19 cases could soon become an issue once school is back in session and flu season is upon us.
The latest COVID-19 variant has infections surging worldwide, including at the Olympics where 40 athletes from various countries have tested positive. And they are unlikely to decline anytime soon, WHO warned during a United Nations press conference on Tuesday.
“In recent months, regardless of the season, many countries have experienced surges of COVID-19, including at the Olympics where at least 40 athletes have tested positive,” said Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, director of epidemic and pandemic preparedness and prevention at the World Health Organization, on Tuesday.
Globally, the test positivity rate is about 10%, but it’s 20% in Europe, Van Kerkhove said. In the United States, there was a dip in reported positive COVID-19 tests, but that has changed in the last several months. The Centers for Disease Control reported around a 2% increase in positive tests as of the week of July 27 with a 16.3% positive test rate.
Here’s everything to know about the latest variant and how Tennessee is being affected.
What is the dominant COVID-19 variant?
The latest dominant COVID-19 variant is KP.3.1.1, according to the latest projections from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
“The KP.3.1.1 variant is very similar to other circulating variants in the United States. All current lineages are descendants of JN.1, which emerged in late 2023,” Rosa Norman, a spokesperson at the CDC, previously told USA TODAY.
CDC’s Nowcast data tracker, which displays COVID-19 estimates and projections for two-week periods, projects the KP.3.1.1 variant accounting for 27.8% of positive infections, followed by KP.3 at 20.1% in the two-week stretch starting July 21 and ending Aug. 3.
COVID-19 in Tennessee
As of July 30, COVID-19 infections were growing in 35 states or territories, including Tennessee and much of the South, according to the CDC.
Tennessee’s latest COVID-19 statistics from the last 180 days finishing on Aug. 3, has seen more than 63,000 positive COVID-19 cases reported, of that 602 people have been hospitalized and 399 deaths related to COVID-19 have been reported to the state.
Since July 1, the number of daily cases reported has nearly doubled from 341 cases on July 1 to 747 cases on July 29.
Should I get a COVID-19 vaccine booster shot?
It may be time to get an updated COVID-19 vaccine for 2023-2024. Here’s what the CDC recommends if you are wondering if you need to get an updated vaccine:
- Everyone aged 5 years and older should get one dose of an updated COVID-19 vaccine to protect against serious illness from COVID-19.
- Children aged 6 months to 4 years may need multiple doses of COVID-19 vaccines to be current, including at least 1 dose of updated COVID-19 vaccine.
- People who are moderately or severely immunocompromised may get additional doses of the updated COVID-19 vaccine.
- People aged 65 years and older who received one dose of any updated 2023-2024 COVID-19 vaccine (Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna or Novavax) should receive an additional dose of an updated COVID-19 vaccine at least four months after the previous updated dose.
USA TODAY contributed to this report.
Discover more from PressNewsAgency
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.