Slow summer COVID-19 swell continues in Pittsburgh area
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — The U.S. is in the midst of a summer COVID-19 wave, and Allegheny County health officials are reminding people how to help slow the spread of the virus.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention hospitalizations nationally linked to the virus are swelling and the level of COVID-19 in wastewater is currently "very high." The presence of the virus in Allegheny County wastewater slightly increased a few times in July, according to data shared by the Pennsylvania Department of Health.
"In Allegheny County, we have seen an uptick in cases that started in June, and it's continuing to go up in terms of hospitalizations and ER visits, as well as wastewater," said Dr. Barbara Nightingale, acting director of the Allegheny County Health Department.
The summer increases haven't been drastic. Dr. Nightingale said the county has seen the virus slowly ticking up all summer.
"But if we compare the numbers at the same time last year the cases, hospitalizations and ER visits are all up compared to the same time," she said.
According to the Allegheny County Health Department, at least around 100 hospital admissions with COVID-19 were reported during two weeks in July. The health department said reporting this data is no longer mandated and very few hospitals reported data for the weeks of June 9 through July 7.
Allegheny Health Network told KDKA-TV, "In terms of hospitalizations – since mid-July, we have had very few patients hospitalized with COVID-19 at AHN hospitals. Most have 2-5 patients that have tested positive for COVID-19 following admission to the hospital for non-COVID-19 reasons. We are seeing very few patients with severe disease in hospitals across the region."
Dr. Graham Snyder, medical director of UPMC infection prevention and hospital epidemiology, said "We are observing the COVID-19 uptick, as are others. It's a good opportunity to remind people to stay at home if you are sick. If you're experiencing symptoms, consider getting tested and talk to your doctor about treatment if you have conditions that put you at risk of complications."
What's spreading around is a descendent of the Omicron variant. Dr. Nightingale said many of the symptoms still look a lot like other respiratory viruses.
Older people, those who are immunocompromised or those with underlying health conditions are at higher risk of severe illness. But what if you're at lower risk?
"Anybody is at risk for having long COVID and it's definitely something that is still really impacting our county. And you could be transmitting it to somebody else," Dr. Nightingale said.
With kids getting ready to head back to the classroom, she encourages everybody who is six months and older to get their shots as soon as the new flu and COVID vaccines are available this fall.
"It's really something that you should look at as something that you should get annually because the variants do change over time. So, they're a little bit different than they were a year ago. And when people get their COVID shot and their flu shot, that has immediate protection from those specific variants that year," Dr. Nightingale said.
The health department's data goes up to May for COVID-related deaths in Allegheny County, and so far, the data shows the number of deaths linked to the virus went down from February 2024 to May 2024.
Dr. Nightingale said it's still important to get tested for COVID-19. If you have symptoms, stay home until you're feeling better. And if you're at higher risk, talk to your health care provider about getting treatment.