COVID-19 summer surge on the horizon? What Ohio experts say about FLiRT and other variants
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While Ohio's recorded COVID-19 numbers are at pandemic-inception level lows, the virus is here to stay for the foreseeable future and a summer surge isn’t out of the question.
Mass travel in the warmer months and new variants such as FLiRT, or KP.1 and KP.2, are the likely culprits for a possible surge, both statewide and nationally.
However, federal and state entities continue to relax their COVID-19 warnings, grouping best practices for the virus with those for other respiratory illnesses like the flu or shortening the isolation period, marking some of the first major changes to federal COVID-19 guidelines since 2021.
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What are Ohio's current COVID-19 numbers?
The Ohio Department of Health’s most recent COVID-19 case numbers show a slight uptick in May after months of decline, with 953 new reported cases May 17-24. The week of May 24-30 saw fewer cases, with a total of 890 reported.
Those recent numbers bring Ohio’s total reported COVID-19 cases to 3,748,893 since the pandemic’s onset.
Ohio’s total number of hospitalizations sits at 151,574 after 48 reported hospitalizations May 24-30.
The state’s total number of COVID-19 deaths is 43,981 after 6 reported deaths May 24-30.
New cases have not been this low in Ohio since the early weeks of the pandemic in March 2020, and just months later, tens of thousands of cases were being reported weekly.
Dr. Bruce Vanderhoff, director of the Ohio Department of Health, called the current numbers "encouraging" in a news conference last week ahead of the summer holidays.
"We're not seeing an indication at this time that surge is imminent, but I think we have to be constantly alert, constantly aware of that possibility," Vanderhoff said.
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Continuing to protect yourself and others susceptible to COVID-19
The new variants of COVID-19 have generally presented fewer life-threatening symptoms, and evolving vaccines are readily available, paving the way for health departments to streamline virus guidelines with those of other respiratory illnesses.
These include staying home when sick, staying up to date with vaccines, practicing good hygiene and spending time outside or improving your indoor air quality.
But COVID-19 is still an outlier to illnesses like the flu or Respiratory Syncytial Virus, which are usually seasonal. COVID-19 surges can happen at any time, which means cases could increase as more people gather for summer events or pack airports.
While increasing case numbers might seem inevitable, it's still important to consider others, especially those with underlying risk factors that increase their chance of contracting a more debilitating case or of dying from the virus, according to Dr. Carlos Malvestutto, an associate professor of infectious disease with Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center.
"It's still early, but we've seen surges in the summer in the past," Malvestutto said. "My advice would still be, let's worry about those most vulnerable, both so that they protect themselves and also so that we protect them."
Vulnerable populations include those over the age of 65, individuals with asthma and those who are immunocompromised, among others. Protecting them could look like staying away from a family function where grandparents are present or masking up in a crowded area when you're symptomatic.
Malvestutto also noted that for some, the virus could easily transition to long COVID, with symptoms like fatigue, brain fog and others health issues persisting for months and even years.
There currently is no definitive treatment for long COVID, he said, so right now, the most effective measure is prevention.
"We still have a lot to learn," Malvestutto said.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: COVID summer surge possible though Ohio's reported numbers remain low
