Director's Suite: U.S. COVID-19 Cases Rising as BA.2 Variants Become Dominant

Coronavirus cases have begun to rise again in the United States after a precipitous fall from their January peak. Rising cases on the East Coast have driven much of the country’s increase. Cases have more than doubled since the start of the month in Rhode Island and Washington, D.C., and the prevalence of home tests, which often go unreported in official tallies, suggests that the true volume of cases may be far higher. Experts believe that two new subvariants may be contributing to this growth. Both evolved from the BA.2 subvariant, which is already responsible for most cases in the Northeast. New case reports have also begun to increase in other regions, particularly the Midwest. In Illinois, Wisconsin and Michigan, cases are up by more than 40% in the past two weeks. Still, the number of new cases announced per day nationwide remains at its lowest level since the summer of 2021.                                                                             

 On average, fewer than 15,000 people are in American hospitals with the coronavirus each day—a figure comparable only to the earliest weeks of the pandemic. Deaths in the pandemic, which are expected to reach 1 million in the United States in the coming weeks, continue to decline. Around 500 coronavirus deaths are currently being reported each day, a decrease of more than 25% since the end of March.             

 VA North Texas is now offering second booster shots (with a Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine) to some individuals, if you are (a) 50 years of age or older and your first booster dose was at least 4 months ago, (b) moderate to severely immune compromised and your first booster dose was at least 4 months ago, (c) 4 months out from a booster dose and had Johnson and Johnson (Janssen) COVID-19 vaccine for both your initial vaccine and your booster.

Schedule your COVID-19 vaccine today by calling 214-857-4791 in Dallas and Ft. Worth and 214-857-4719 in Bonham.