'This is a wide scale increase in the incidence of COVID'

COVID-19 cases are increasing throughout the MUSC Health system, according to Michael Sweat, Ph.D., leader of the Medical University of South Carolina’s COVID-19 tracking team. 

“What struck me is, in all of our sites, we've now surpassed the proportion we saw in the winter surge, which I don't think I've ever seen before. Usually, the winter is a much worse wave than what we see in the summertime. This is a wide-scale increase in the incidence of COVID.”

Sweat, who has monitored COVID-19 since the early days of the pandemic, gave week-over-week percentages showing increases in Emergency Department visits related to COVID.

• MUSC Health-Charleston Division saw a 43% increase in ED visits for influenza-like illnesses compared with the previous week – almost all involved COVID.
• The MUSC Shawn Jenkins Children’s Hospital saw a 121% increase in ED visits for people with flu-like illnesses, with every case involving COVID.
• MUSC Health-Catawba Division saw an 80% increase, almost exclusively COVID.
• MUSC Health-Midlands Division saw a 27% increase. Almost all were COVID.
• MUSC Health-Pee Dee Division saw a 43% increase, mostly involving COVID as well.

So what should people consider doing in light of the increases? 

Get the updated shot this fall

Scott Curry, M.D., an infectious diseases specialist at MUSC Health in Charleston, encouraged people to get the new COVID vaccine when it comes out this fall. “The vaccination rate in our state's been low. It's pretty abysmally low in general, but the vast majority of people that got vaccinated took the two-dose sequence in 2021. So we're going on three years now,” he said.

“It makes me wonder, when I'm seeing this high rate that I didn't expect in the summer, whether that's because a lot of people's early vaccinations have worn off combined with people just aren't really paying attention anymore.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that everyone 6 months and older get an updated shot. “This is still an illness that puts you in bed at least half the time. I mean, they're pretty seriously ill. Even though they're going to get better, they're too sick to work,” Curry said. 

“This is more than a cold for many and is a vaccine-preventable disease. Vaccines should be given for COVID just as much as we give for flu.”

Take precautions, especially if you’re in a high-risk group

Sweat said the increase in COVID cases is a sign that precautions may be in order. “When we start seeing higher rates like this, particularly people who are at higher risk, which would be elderly people, with comorbidities, in particular people who are immunosuppressed, we know that it's time to be more cautious.”

People who don’t fall into those categories need to assess their risk tolerance, Sweat said. “We're seeing a lot of transmission, but it won't last forever. These increases aren't permanent. They come and go, and it will go down. But we are in a period now where it's high. For me, the growth rate matters a lot because when you're seeing it going up and up, it's telling you there's a lot of transmission happening.” 

If you catch COVID, protect others

Curry said people who do get sick can protect others by following the CDC’s advice. The agency says people can go back to normal activities when, for at least 24 hours, their symptoms are getting better overall, and they haven’t had a fever and aren’t taking medication to suppress a fever. 

But even if someone feels better, they may still be able to spread the virus, Curry said. “The CDC changed its guidance on when you could stop isolating, and I think it's confused some people. I want to emphasize that part of that guidance is you should wear a mask for five days after you do start circulating again. And I don't think people are doing that. 

“We're seeing a lot of people getting back out in circulation more quickly than we did in the past. And it might be one of the reasons we're seeing these unexpectedly high values in the middle of the summer.”

Check to see if your COVID tests have expired

Finally, Curry recommended that people check the expiration dates on any COVID tests they have at home. “If it’s expired, check the FDA website because many tests have been revalidated to be valid past their expiration date, depending on the brand,” he said.

“If you've got some in the closet from 2021, they're probably not going to work anymore. But if you've got some from later than that, there's a good chance they may still work.”