COVID-19 cases are back on the rise nationally, according to the latest trend data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
CDC data shows an increase in weekly test positivity and a higher percentage of tests in emergency departments nationwide coming back as positive. The numbers are lower than the last big spike in August, but this is the first increase in the data in approximately four months.
Nationally, wastewater viral activity for COVID is at a high level, the fourth out of five possible levels.
Health officials have raised concerns about the possibility of a "silent" surge of COVID-19 this winter after unusually low COVID activity in the fall.
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"As a result, people may not know their risk of infection is increasing and not test if they have only mild symptoms, which can cause the virus to spread at holiday gatherings, during travel and more," TODAY reports.
What are the COVID symptoms?
Historically, COVID symptoms have included fever or chills, cough, shortness or breath, cough, congestion or runny nose, sore throat, loss of taste or smell, fatigue, body aches, headache, nausea or vomiting, or diarrhea, according to the CDC.
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What is the current dominant COVID variant?
The most common, dominant COVID variant as 2024 comes to a close is XEC, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Yale Medicine.
XEC stems from a combination of two previous Omicron variants KP.3.3 and KS.1.1, Yale reports.
XEC now accounts for about 45% of the COVID cases in the United States, CDC data shows.
What are COVID symptoms 2024? What are the COVID XEC symptoms?
Symptoms for COVID-19 in 2024, mirror symptoms from previous variants.
According to the Mayo Clinic, COVID symptoms in 2024 can include:
- Dry cough.
- Shortness of breath.
- Loss of taste or smell.
- Extreme tiredness, called fatigue.
- Digestive symptoms such as upset stomach, vomiting or loose stools, called diarrhea.
- Pain, such as headaches and body or muscle aches.
- Fever or chills.
- Cold-like symptoms such as congestion, runny nose or sore throat.
How soon do COVID-19 symptoms show up after exposure?
COVID-19 symptoms can show up between two and 14 days after exposure, according to experts.
Will the latest COVID-19 vaccine work against the XEC variant?
The 2024-2025 COVID-19 vaccine is "expected to work well against the variants that are increasing and likely to be predominant in the future, such as XEC or MC.1," the CDC said.
A new report from the New York City Health Department said the vast majority of New York adults who get COVID-19 end up experiencing at least one symptom for a month or longer, according to state health officials.
Results from a survey conducted in late 2022 were announced Thursday by the New York City Health Department. According to the survey, the most common symptoms among those who fell ill were fatigue and decreased exercise tolerance.
Four out of every five adults (80%) who participated in the survey dealt with at least one symptom for a month or more.
Those who reported having one or more severe post-acute symptoms (which are described as lasting a month or longer) said they found it more difficult to carry out normal activities or their work for 10 days. That amount of time lessened for those with moderate symptoms (six days), mild symptoms (three days) or no symptoms (one day), according to the survey.
A third of adults with at least one severe symptom after having COVID had probable depression, the Health Department said, whereas just 6% of those with mild symptoms and 2% of those with no symptoms reported the same.
While the Health Department said post-acute symptoms may resolve within 12 weeks, many people go on to develop Long COVID, which is characterized by symptoms lasting three months or longer.
