COVID is bouncing back this summer. Here’s what to know – Los Angeles Times

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Summer just started, but Californias not-too-surprising seasonal COVID bump is already going strong, driven by the more transmissible FLiRT variants.

KP.2, KP.3 and KP.1.1 given the acronym FLiRT based on the amino acid changes that led to the strains mutations account for an estimated 63% of infections, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Thats up from about 20% in late April.

Coronavirus levels found in Californias wastewater have risen sharply since early May and stand notably higher than the rest of the U.S. The average number of cases reported in Los Angeles County shot to 154 per day for the most recent seven-day reporting period, up about 27% from the previous week. But those figures are an undercount since they dont include at-home tests (or the people who catch COVID but dont test at all).

Taken together, the data point to a coronavirus resurgence in the Golden State, The Times Rong-Gong Lin II reported this week. One that, while not wholly unexpected given the trends seen in previous pandemic-era summers, has arrived earlier and is being driven by even more transmissible strains than those previously seen.

More people in L.A. County hospitals are testing positive for COVID, though deaths are keeping stable at fewer than one per a day, on average.

California is one of 15 states with high or very high coronavirus levels in sewage, according to the CDC. Just four days into summer, state levels are already nearing last summers peak.

Health officials say it wont be a shock to see more COVID cases this summer, as seen in previous summers. More traveling, more gatherings on weekends and holidays and more congregating inside to escape the heat increase the chance of catching the increasingly infectious virus.

So how much worse could it get? Thats still TBD, Lin noted.

Doctors have said that by the Fourth of July, we may have a better feel for how the rest of the season will play out, he wrote.

As for fall vaccines, the mRNA-based versions produced by Pfizer and Moderna should be designed against the KP.2 variant, though Novavaxs protein-based vaccine will target its parent, JN.1.

Because the FLiRT subvariants are more easily transmitted, doctors advise those at higher risk for severe COVID-19 infections to take precautions. Those include:

The strongest risk factor for severe COVID-19 continues to be age, according to the CDC. People with certain underlying medical conditions including asthma, cancer, diabetes and serious heart conditions are also at heightened risk.

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Have a great day, from the Essential California team

Ryan Fonseca, reporter Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor and Saturday reporter Christian Orozco, assistant editor Stephanie Chavez, deputy metro editor Karim Doumar, head of newsletters

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COVID is bouncing back this summer. Here's what to know - Los Angeles Times