Overview
- CDC data show low but rising COVID-19 cases in 40 states based on emergency department visits, with infections most pronounced among children under 4
- WastewaterSCAN reports high and upward-trending viral levels in seven states, underscoring persistent gaps in real-time sewage surveillance
- COVID-19’s predictable biannual surge pattern has reemerged this summer amid increased travel and indoor gatherings
- HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. narrowed fall booster recommendations to adults 65 and older and individuals with medical vulnerabilities, removing healthy children from guidance
- New HHS rules require updated JN.1-targeted vaccines to undergo full placebo-controlled clinical trials, a policy now challenged by a coalition of medical associations