CDC reports increase in COVID cases across the nation and in Connecticut
The numbers are slight, but COVID-19 is on the rise again in Connecticut, across the region and the nation, according to federal data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The actual percentage of visits to Connecticut emergency departments that are COVID-related is small, between 1.5 percent and 2.9 percent of the total number of emergency room visits. But the rise is "substantial," according to the CDC, increasing by about 20 percent, week-over-week.
The percentage of COVID tests taken in New England that are positive is at about 11 percent of the total over the past week, a slight increase from the week prior, the numbers show.
"There has been an uptick in COVID-19 cases in Connecticut and across the country," said Connecticut Department of Public Health Commissioner Manisha Juthani. "For the last several summers, we have seen a rise in the number of COVID-19 cases in August. This summer, this increase in cases has happened earlier than anticipated."
Though emergency room visits have been low in Connecticut, wastewater surveillance, often seen as a leading indicator of future COVID trends, "are currently listed as high," Juthani said.
Connecticut data matches what has been seen over the United States as a whole. About 1.9 percent of all emergency room visits across the country have been COVID-related, and test positivity is above 14 percent.
The most recent vaccination data provided online by both the CDC and the state department of public health suggests that a comparatively small portion of the population is up to date with their COVID vaccines.
According to the CDC, as of March 31, the most recent data available, no more than 27.3 percent of adults aged 18 and older in the United States were currently vaccinated against COVID, with some jurisdictions reporting COVID vaccination at 1 percent.
In Connecticut, 43.5 percent of all residents age 5 years and older were vaccinated against COVID by March 31. Among younger Connecticut residents, the inoculation proportions were much lower, with 18.9 percent of those age 18 and older, and little more than 5 percent of those younger being vaccinated against COVID.
"I want to stress that for our oldest and most vulnerable Connecticut residents — especially adults aged 65 and older — if you received your last COVID-19 shot four months or more ago, you can receive another vaccine at this time to boost your immunity," Juthani said. "An updated COVID vaccine will be available this fall, and you would still be eligible to receive it in four months."
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