President Joe Biden’s positive Covid test is reminiscent of the experiences of many Americans this month, as it comes amid a pronounced summer surge in cases.
Although the US no longer tracks Covid cases, data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggests infections are more likely increasing in 45 states and they are not decreasing anywhere in the US
In fact, wastewater data show high levels of Covid across the country – especially in the West and Southeast.
Every summer since 2020 there has been a surge in Covid cases. The increase began at the beginning of this year.
Several factors are fueling infections. Most people aren’t masking up or taking other precautions as Americans break summer travel records. Weeks of extreme heat across the country have driven people indoors, where the virus can spread more quickly.
As an actively campaigning president, Biden has engaged in many of the activities that lead to contracting Covid: traveling, shaking hands and attending events with large crowds.
On Thursday, Biden’s doctor, Dr. Kevin O’Connor, said in a statement that the president “still had mild upper respiratory tract symptoms” but did not have a fever.
Many other public figures have also tested positive for Covid recently: Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra on Tuesday, Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff earlier this month, and Sen. Laphonza Butler, D-Calif., and the Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass in June.
And interestingly, some people reported becoming infected for the first time after four years of avoiding Covid.
“It’s a little unclear whether people had asymptomatic infection previously and now finally developed a symptomatic infection or not,” said Dr. Thomas Russo, chief of infectious diseases at the University at Buffalo Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. “But I’m sure there are some people out there who have never been infected and who are slowly being eliminated over time. Unless you’re a hermit who lives in the tundra and doesn’t interact with anyone, this virus will find you.”
“It should be no surprise that there are increases in infection,” added Dr. Dan Barouch, director of the Center for Virology and Vaccine Research at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. “I think it’s a combination of hot weather driving people to gather indoors in air-conditioned areas, as well as new variants.”
New variants are key when outbreaks occur, said Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota.
“Each of the spikes occurs in relation to the arrival of a new variant,” Osterholm said. While waning immunity from the latest round of vaccines also plays a role, “it really all depends on when the variants emerge.”
What are the new Covid variants?
A group of variants known collectively as “FLiRT” make up more than 70% of Covid infections in the US The name is a reference to amino acid changes. The variants – KP.3, KP.2 and KP.1.1 – share the same key mutations, which could make it easier for the virus to bypass protection from vaccines or previous infections.
Another variant, LB.1, is responsible for over 15% of infections nationally. A pre-printed paper from June, which has not been peer-reviewed, suggests that LB.1 could have an advantage over the “FLiRT” variants in terms of immune evasion and infectivity.
CDC data suggests that LB.1 is more dominant in the Northeast, while KP.3 is more dominant in the southern and western states.
There is no evidence that any of the new variants cause more severe illness than their predecessors. And it’s not clear which of them has staying power.
“We are seeing three or four new variants competing with each other, and it is not clear which one will emerge as dominant,” Barouch said.
Unlike other typical winter illnesses like the flu and RSV, Covid has proven that it can spread widely at any time of year.
“There is no distinct season of Covid-19,” the CDC said in a statement. documents published on your website earlier this month.
Timing the Covid vaccine
That has some experts suggesting that public health officials need to rethink the timing of Covid vaccines. The next round of updated vaccines won’t be available until this fall.
Osterholm, 71, said he was still unsure whether he should take the current vaccine, “which is lagging” in terms of how closely it matches the circulating variants. “Do I get a dose now, knowing it will provide inferior protection and prevent me from getting the new vaccine for at least four months?”
The CDC recommends waiting at least four months between doses for optimal protection.
Katelyn Jetelina, an epidemiologist who tracks diseases on her website, “Your local epidemiologist,” encouraged older adults who didn’t get the shot last spring to get it now.
“Do this soon as we want at least four months between this and the next fall dose for it to work best,” she wrote.
Those who test positive now and are at risk for complications from Covid should consult their doctor about taking Paxlovid, an antiviral medication that can reduce the likelihood of hospitalization or death, Russo said.
Biden, 81, is taking Paxlovid following his current diagnosis. He took the drug after a Covid infection in July 2022, but tested positive again after finishing the course. A minority of people taking Paxlovid experience this recovery, but doctors say it does not change the drug’s benefits in high-risk people.
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