DETROIT – COVID cases continue to rise in the United States, but vaccines and immunity from prior infections have changed the way our bodies react to the virus that causes the disease.
Most people have gladly put COVID well in the rearview mirror -- and that’s completely reasonable in most cases -- but you should also know it never went away and plenty of people have probably been infected in recent months and just never knew it. The good news is that has boosted your immunity, but the bad news is that for specific people, that’s not a safe way to get an immunity boost.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there has been a 22% uptick in hospitalizations and deaths in the most recent week of data. It’s a large jump because cases were low before the uptick. But the threat of new variants remains. Scientists are keeping an eye on BA.2.86, which has been picked up in very low levels of U.S. wastewater.
Related: Michigan had at least 1 of 9 known global cases of new COVID variant BA.2.86
CDC advisors are expected to meet Sept. 12 to discuss who should receive an updated COVID-19 booster.
“What we anticipate is the people on the list to be encouraged will be people who are older, people who are immunocompromised,” said Dr. Ann Rimoin. “Those are the people who should be first in line to get it and then we’ll learn from the CDC who’s next on the list.”
The latest updated COVID booster will target omicron subvariants. It’s expected to be offered to pretty much everyone.
The days of vaccine mandates are over, so people will need to make a personal choice to receive it. For people over 65 and anyone with immune compromise -- it’s the safest way to boost your protection.