COVID cases are on the rise in Mecklenburg County after weeks of stability. What’s next?
COVID cases are rising in Mecklenburg County and across the state after nearly two months of stable or decreasing numbers, according to Mecklenburg County Public Health.
The spike in cases could be caused by increased social activity and the growing presence of the Omicron BA.2 subvariant, county public health director Dr. Raynard Washington said in a statement last week.
Mecklenburg County saw 1,608 COVID cases in the last week of April, according to the latest NC Department of Health and Human Services numbers.
That’s an increase from a recent low one week in March with 288 cases — but still far below the county’s previous peak in January. In the first week of January, the county saw 23,573 cases, according to NCDHHS.
And local hospital system Novant Health is also seeing an increase in coronavirus cases, Novant Health infectious disease expert Dr. David Priest told reporters Tuesday.
There’s been a less substantial increase in hospitalizations than in rising case numbers, he said. And COVID deaths are still showing stability or even decline around the country, he said.
“Most Americans have some degree of immunity to COVID either through vaccination, having had COVID, or both,” Priest said.
In Mecklenburg, 67% of residents have received at least one dose of the COVID vaccines, according to NCDHHS. That’s about on par with the state rate: 66% of NC residents have received at least one dose of a COVID vaccine.
COVID vaccines are currently available to anyone age 5 and older.
But some younger children can get vaccines through clinical trials, like a new study announced at Atrium Health Levine Children’s Monday. The Charlotte children’s hospital is offering Pfizer vaccines to healthy children older than 6 months and younger than 5 years old in the vaccine clinical trial.
‘A mini wave’ of COVID now
The BA.2 variant is highly contagious, Priest said. But immunity to the virus is preventing severe disease in many, which is good news.
Still, health experts are continuing to monitor variants in other parts of the world, like BA.4 and BA.5 identified in South Africa. Those variants may have the potential to evade current immunity levels, Priest said.
“We’re in kind of a little mini wave right now,” Priest said of the local increase in cases. “…The expectation is that that’s going to be a small wave and as the summer goes on, it’s going to go down.”
But it’s hard to make predictions for what COVID will look like in the fall and winter, he said.
Respiratory viruses typically spread more in the fall and winter months, he said. So it’s likely there could be another wave of COVID cases then.
“Whether that leads to increased hospitalizations and deaths really is going to depend on the variant,” Priest said.
If variants like the BA.4 and BA.5 variants that evade current immunity levels spread in the US, Mecklenburg County could see another increase in hospitalizations and deaths.
It may help to reinstitute some strategies to prevent the spread of COVID, Priest said, like masking, especially in indoor settings, at that time.
How to tell if you have allergies vs. COVID
Right now, many N.C .residents are probably struggling with pollen allergies, Priest said. So it’s good to know the difference between your allergy symptoms and COVID symptoms.
Allergy symptoms typically include sneezing, watery and itchy eyes, and a tickle in the throat
With COVID, people may have a fever or a cough, and could feel much worse, like they have the flu, Priest said. So if your symptoms are more severe than normal, or you have a fever, he said it may be a good idea to take a COVID or flu test.
This story was originally published May 10, 2022 at 1:26 PM.
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