BALTIMORE — The United States is experiencing a wave of COVID-19.
“No one is social distancing,” said Margo, of Baltimore County. “No one wears a mask anymore, so I’m surprised. “
The CDC said weekly COVID-19 hospitalizations have increased by more than 12% in the U. S. U. S. This is the largest accumulation recorded since December 2022.
In Maryland, the positivity rate is 2% and, as of Monday, another 122 people were hospitalized with the virus statewide.
But, a local doctor said don’t panic.
“We’re seeing an increase in hospitalizations, but it’s still much less than what we’ve noticed in the past,” said North West Hospital’s chief of extensive care, Kinjal Sheth. “I think we’re going to see fluctuations now with COVID, where we have a building. “
Dr. Sheth also said that his COVID patients would come in for other similar ailments unrelated to COVID and then be informed that they had the virus once there.
“We’re doing a lot more testing,” Dr. Sheth said. “So in this way, we’re going to identify more people, but what we care about is more the severity of the disease, and whether that creates a massive backlog in the hospital and that doesn’t seem to be the case. “
Dr. Sheth said vaccines and past infections go a long way toward protecting us from widespread infections.
He expects an updated COVID booster to come out this fall.
“This year, I got the flu shot, the COVID vaccine, and then the other third that was recently given to some seniors under the so-called RSV vaccine,” Dr. Sheth said.
As always, the doctor said the most productive way to contract COVID-19 is to practice smart hygiene and make sure you get vaccinated.