More people ended up in emergency rooms and died in recent weeks from COVID-19, federal health data showed.
The information agencies collect, known as surveillance data, that tracks cases and the spread of COVID-19 has become limited. However, COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths are indicators of the disease’s spread. The numbers for emergency room admissions and deaths are up, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s latest data.
Insight into the uptick:Why are people suddenly getting COVID-19 this summer?
COVID-19, with its endless list of mutating sub-variants, appears to have more predictable seasons, with large jumps in cases during winter months, and smaller increases in the summer. Experts previously told USA TODAY cases appear to be increasing this summer. However, Americans don’t face nearly the same risk of serious illness or death due to COVID-19 compared to earlier in the pandemic, thanks in part to vaccines and prior infections that keep people protected.
That doesn’t mean people shouldn’t be concerned. In 2023, more than 75,000 people died from COVID-19. Nearly a million people wound up in U.S. hospitals last year.