A cluster of major COVID-19 test positivity rates in Texas and neighboring states has weakened but spread to parts of the Midwest, according to a map from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Mapping data updated Monday by the CDC shows that the percentage of positive COVID tests declined nationally during the week ending Sept. 9, from 14. 4% to 14. 3%. The data is based on the effects of 50,579 nucleic acid amplification tests, which are other typical antigen tests sold for home testing.
Positivity rates were particularly above average in two out of ten regions used through the CDC for the organization’s states. In Region Six, which includes Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico and Oklahoma, the positivity rate was 17. 3%. In the Seventh Region, which covers Iowa in Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska, 16. 4% of tests were positive.
With the exception of New Mexico, all of the hot spots occurred in states that are Republican strongholds. Republican governors in some states, including Texas and Oklahoma, have banned mask mandates, while Republican politicians have at times been at least reluctant to propose masks. vaccinations and other measures to mitigate the spread of the virus.
At the other end of the spectrum, test positivity rates reached a low of 10. 4% in the CDC’s third region, which includes Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and the District of Columbia. The second lowest positivity rate, 12. 4 percent. , noted in the first region, which is composed of Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Vermont.
While the Sixth Region continues to have the highest positivity rate, it saw particularly fewer positive tests than last week, when 20. 3% of tests were positive.
The CDC’s updated knowledge also shows a small but significant increase in COVID-related hospitalizations nationwide. There were a total of 20,538 new hospitalizations during the week ending Sept. 9, up from 19,068 last week.
Newsweek reached out to the CDC email Monday night for comment.
Distribution of COVID vaccine boosters started late last week, and vaccines are now available in many parts of the country. Last week, the CDC recalled the new product to anyone older than 6 months.
It’s unclear whether the updated boosters, which are expected to be effective despite being based on a strain of the virus that is no longer widespread, will have an impact on positivity rates as fall approaches.
While some have expressed reservations about the new boosters, COVID vaccines have proven to be highly protective against serious illness and death. They are less effective at preventing infections, although they offer some degree of protection.
However, the likelihood of the recalls being widely adopted is low, as a large majority of Americans have not received the updated booster shots released last year.
Although the COVID public fitness emergency officially ended in the United States and around the world in May, the virus remains a consistent cause of illness and death, and the global pandemic remains active.