ST. LOUIS — COVID-19 cases are rising in the St. Louis area. Why? You guessed it: school.
"We are seeing steadily increasing levels of COVID," Washington University Infectious Disease physician at Barnes-Jewish Hospital, Dr. Steven Lawrence said. "That's really not surprising as kids are going back into school."
Testing and reported COVID-19 cases
Reporting of COVID cases has changed due to at-home testing. The graph below shows overall cases in St. Louis City from 2020 to now.
You might think April 2020 is off and that's because it probably is. Testing was more difficult then. The giant surge on the graph above is when the Omicron variant of COVID-19 infected people over the winter of 2021 to 2022.
We're now here in August, low, but a slow climb is starting to form on the graph.
The graph above focuses on July and August. Cases are still minimal, but showing a gradual increase. Roughly 15 to 25 people are reporting COVID-19 cases to the City of St. Louis daily.
In St. Louis County, the number is higher. Over the past month anywhere from 33 to 174 cases were reported to the Department of Public Health.
Dr. Lawrence says it is important to note the trend, but not to worry.
"We're talking about a slight bump up from what had been the lowest level since the COVID pandemic started," Dr. Lawrence said. "So at this point, there's not yet any real concern about a serious increase in the number of severe illnesses."
Protecting yourself and others
As we all know, masking is a good way to prevent COVID-19 infections. Dr. Lawrence says the best way to prevent serious illness is through vaccination.
"Ultimately the best way to prevent getting COVID, and then, more importantly, preventing serious illness, is being up to date with the COVID vaccines. In about 2 to 3 weeks from now there will be, a release of the the latest booster that is really tailored to match what's been circulating more recently."
Dr. Lawrence advises people who are immunocompromised or over the age of 65 to be cautious.
"I think it is getting to a point of enough COVID activity around that being more cautious makes sense, and that could be trying to avoid lots of really busy places and being indoors with a lot of people. Or if you have to be in those spaces wear a mask, to add a little bit of extra protection."
For those who are nervous about the current rise in cases, Dr. Lawrence still recommends waiting for the new booster.
"Seek that booster as soon as it becomes available, because it is going to provide better protection than the old booster," he said.
There have been rumblings and rumors about the most recent COVID strain targeting people who haven't had it before.
"We're becoming more immune to the virus," Dr. Lawrence explains, "so the likelihood of getting really sick from it diminishes over time. But yes, for those who haven't yet had it. It's only a matter of time."
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