COVID uptick in area that began in early summer may be coming to an end, for now

Since early summer, there has been an uptick in COVID-19 diagnoses, emergency room visits and hospitalizations in the region, but that may be coming to an end, according to one expert.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved new COVID-19 vaccines in the last two weeks which are designed to better protect against current variants of the infection.

Wayne Hills Preschool in Waynesboro closed Aug. 21-23 “due to the number of staff who have tested positive for COVID-19.” The program reopened on Aug. 26.

A spokesperson for Augusta Health in Fishersville said they are fully prepared for the upcoming respiratory virus season.

“We are not just preparing for flu season or a COVID surge but for all respiratory illnesses that may arise as we approach the fall and winter seasons,” said Jessica Lewis, MD, the medical director of infectious disease at Augusta Health.

Of note, is that while there has been a surge in COVID cases, the number of people who have died is considerably down. In the week ending Aug. 3, there were 340 reported deaths. There were 2,578 weekly deaths during the last COVID peak in January. There were more than 25,000 deaths weekly at the height of the pandemic in January 2021, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data tracker.

UVA Health doctor: ‘We’ve seen the top of this surge’

UVA Health in Charlottesville has been averaging 14 to 22 patients with COVID hospitalized in the last two weeks, and it’s the highest number the health system has seen since mid-February. Around the first of the year, patients with COVID were around 30 to 32.

“We’ve seen a similar increase in cases diagnosed through our laboratories and certainly talking to our primary care physicians. They’re getting many calls from patients who are testing positive with home tests,” said Dr. Costi Sifri, UVA Health’s director of hospital epidemiology, in a briefing with media earlier this week. “That also is reflected by wastewater testing at the state and regional level, where we’ve seen some of the highest rates of COVID positive signal in wastewater since last winter.”

For example, the CDC wastewater surveillance tracker shows Rockingham County at higher than normal levels of COVID. However, the community risk level is still low, according to the U.S. COVID tracker website.

There has been some speculation that the spike is due in part to students and teachers returning to school. However, data doesn’t necessarily support that as the cause of the increase because, Sifri said, the uptick started before students returned to school. Also, he said, many schools do not return until after Labor Day.

“The good news is that there are some early signs that perhaps we’re at or past our peak right now,” he said. “Only time will tell, but hopefully we’ve seen the top of this surge and maybe starting to see the backside of it now or soon.”

Sifri said most of the current COVID infections are mild cases, but that isn’t because the virus has gotten weaker.

“It’s really more of a reflection of us as a human population. We’ve gone through rounds of COVID infection and vaccination, and because of those things, COVID is generally milder for most individuals in terms of the dynamics of the virus.”

The experience of the infection and updated vaccines help people develop new protective antibodies as the infection tries to get around our immunities, Sifri said.

New COVID vaccines available

While the virus hasn’t changed dramatically, new variants are emerging all the time leading vaccine manufacturers to introduce new vaccines throughout the year. The FDA approved new vaccines this month that should help with the variants circulating now.

“I agree with the CDC that everybody, unless they have a medical contradication to the COVID vaccine, should get a COVID vaccine. I would encourage everybody to do that.”

Sifri said there are really two options as to when to get the updated vaccine: 

• One option is to “get vaccinated very soon within next week or so,” given the surge. “Even if we’re at the backside, there’s still a lot of COVID out there right now,” Sifri said.
• The other option is to wait until mid-October so you have optimized immunity as you head into the winter COVID/flu season. In the last several years, peak COVID infections have occurred in the November to January timeframe.

“I think people who are at risk for severe infection, and particularly those individuals who have not had COVID or had not had a COVID vaccine for a long period of time, we’re talking about a year or more, that those individuals who are at high risk, and highly susceptible to COVID infection, should be vaccinated now.

“If, on the other hand, you’ve had COVID recently, for example, this summer, then maybe that’s the situation where you may want to delay your COVID vaccine until mid-October and try to optimize your immunity for holiday travel.”

CDC guidance agrees. The CDC suggests that if you’ve had COVID recently, you can delay getting your vaccine for up to three months.

It takes approximately two weeks after receiving the COVID vaccine to give you the most robust immunity.

Keep testing for COVID

There are therapies available to treat those who are hospitalized due to COVID, and Sifri encourages testing when signs or symptoms are present – to protect people around you, particularly people more vulnerable.

Households should be able to order free at-home testing kits online for COVID at the end of September. No exact date has been provided.

Home tests are also generally available at retailers and pharmacies.

Augusta Health believes the community’s actions are crucial to keeping us all safe and healthy.

“By staying home when ill, practicing respiratory etiquette such as coughing into the elbow, washing hands frequently, and wearing a mask around others at high risk of severe respiratory virus disease, we are all playing a vital role,” Lewis said.

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