New York City is among the places with the highest COVID-19 test positivity rates in the week leading up to Sept. 30, according to recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
In the U. S. , about 10. 9% of COVID-19 tests came back positive that week, down from last week.
The CDC map shows that two states, New York and New Jersey, as well as Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, had more positive tests than the rest, with 13. 9% positive tests in the week leading up to Sept. 30. They were followed by Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Alaska, which had a test positivity rate of thirteen percent.
Meanwhile, several states that had a much higher screening positivity rate over the summer (Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Louisiana, and Arkansas) now have a screening positivity rate below 10%.
Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia had the lowest positivity at 6. 9 percent.
This comes after the updated COVID-19 vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna began rolling out last month, targeting adults and children up to 6 months of age. Another option was added Tuesday with Novavax’s reformulated injections, approved in the U. S. In the U. S. , for anyone 12 years of age or older.
Health officials hope enough people will receive the new vaccines, which have been updated to protect against a new strain of coronavirus, to avoid a sudden surge in the winter.
There has already been a surge in infections late last summer, as coverage against COVID-19, acquired through vaccination or prior infection, declines over time.
“While rates now appear to be stabilizing, we are entering October, which is typical season to start breathing the virus,” a CDC spokesperson told Newsweek last week.
“Even if hospitalization rates stabilize for a few weeks, they may increase in the coming weeks, and prevention is the focus,” the spokesperson added.
According to the CDC, people five years and older are considered up-to-date if they get an updated COVID-19 vaccine.
The CDC recommends that unvaccinated children 6 months through 4 years receive two or three shots of an updated COVID-19 vaccine, depending on which one they receive. They get 3 if it’s the Pfizer vaccine and two if it’s the Moderna vaccine.
Children this age who got COVID-19 vaccines before September 12 receive one or two doses of an updated COVID-19 vaccine, depending on the vaccine they are receiving and the appropriate number of doses they have already received.
Those who have recently had COVID-19 could delay the new vaccine for 3 months, as reinfection is less likely in the weeks and months following illness, according to the CDC.
However, CDC recommends that certain points be vaccinated as soon as possible, adding personal risk of severe illness, risk of illness in a family member or close contact, and local point of hospital admission for COVID-19.