Post by Nadica (She/Her) on Jul 20, 2024 5:58:13 GMT
COVID cases are on the rise in Houston due to FLiRT variants, health officials say - Published July 18, 2024
Health officials in Houston are reporting a significant spike in COVID-19 cases, attributing the rise to new FLiRT variants. This comes after the city saw a steady decline in cases earlier this year.
In April, the amount of COVID in Houston’s wastewater was down to 30% compared to levels in July 2020. As of July 1, the viral load has reached 283% — the highest level in more than five months.
The increase has been attributed to the FLiRT variants of the virus, which have been “a little more adept in infecting people and facilitating transmission,” according to Dr. Peter Hotez, co-director of the Texas Children’s Hospital Center for Vaccine Development and dean of Baylor College of Medicine’s National School of Tropical Medicine.
“The levels are reasonably high, although possibly starting to plateau,” Hotez said. “The point is, there is a lot of COVID transmission going on.”
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the virus is currently spreading throughout the entire state of Texas at “very high” levels. Due to the increase in virus transmission, Hotez recommends masking up in crowded places and staying up-to-date on COVID vaccinations and boosters.
Still, compared to the widespread transmission during the early days of the pandemic, Hotez says “We are in a better place,” although hospitals are still seeing a “significant” number of COVID cases.
“If you look at a community level, fewer people are piling into hospitals and ICUs than they were at the start of the pandemic,” Hotez said. “On the other hand, if you’re not keeping up with your annual immunizations, you as an individual are still at risk of hospitalization.”
Hotez added that a new version of the COVID vaccine, which should be tailored to protect against the FLiRT variants, will be available to the public in the coming months.
Health officials in Houston are reporting a significant spike in COVID-19 cases, attributing the rise to new FLiRT variants. This comes after the city saw a steady decline in cases earlier this year.
In April, the amount of COVID in Houston’s wastewater was down to 30% compared to levels in July 2020. As of July 1, the viral load has reached 283% — the highest level in more than five months.
The increase has been attributed to the FLiRT variants of the virus, which have been “a little more adept in infecting people and facilitating transmission,” according to Dr. Peter Hotez, co-director of the Texas Children’s Hospital Center for Vaccine Development and dean of Baylor College of Medicine’s National School of Tropical Medicine.
“The levels are reasonably high, although possibly starting to plateau,” Hotez said. “The point is, there is a lot of COVID transmission going on.”
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the virus is currently spreading throughout the entire state of Texas at “very high” levels. Due to the increase in virus transmission, Hotez recommends masking up in crowded places and staying up-to-date on COVID vaccinations and boosters.
Still, compared to the widespread transmission during the early days of the pandemic, Hotez says “We are in a better place,” although hospitals are still seeing a “significant” number of COVID cases.
“If you look at a community level, fewer people are piling into hospitals and ICUs than they were at the start of the pandemic,” Hotez said. “On the other hand, if you’re not keeping up with your annual immunizations, you as an individual are still at risk of hospitalization.”
Hotez added that a new version of the COVID vaccine, which should be tailored to protect against the FLiRT variants, will be available to the public in the coming months.