Increases Seen In COVID-19 Trends

NCDHHS Encourages North Carolinians to be Prepared for Fall Respiratory Virus Season

RALEIGH – Increases in COVID-19 metrics have been seen in North Carolina and nationally during recent weeks, including in the early warning wastewater monitoring system. North Carolina’s COVID-19 metrics had been trending down throughout 2023 to the lowest levels since the pandemic began. Along with wastewater, increases have been seen in other COVID-19 metrics, including hospital admissions and emergency department visits, according to data on the North Carolina Respiratory Virus Dashboard.

“We expect COVID-19 trends to rise and fall. While the public health emergency in response to COVID-19 has ended, COVID-19 is still with us and we expect it to continue to be with us,” said Dr. Elizabeth Cuervo Tilson, State Health Director and NCDHHS Chief Medical Officer. “Some people, including older people, people with underlying health conditions or compromised immune systems are at higher risk for severe illness with COVID-19. Fortunately, we have the tools for people to protect themselves and each other, including access to vaccines, testing and treatment to help manage COVID-19 and other respiratory diseases.”

Influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) are two other seasonal viruses that cause respiratory infections and can also cause severe illness or even death, particularly in older adults, young children and those with underlying medical issues. Flu and RSV infections typically peak between December and February, but the timing has been less predictable since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. COVID-19, flu and RSV were all spreading widely at the same time last fall, causing many infections and putting stress on the health care system and hospital capacity.

Safe and effective vaccines are the best way to protect yourself and your loved ones against COVID-19 and flu; and this year, for the first time, there is an RSV vaccine to protect people 60 years and older. There is also a new medication available to prevent RSV infection in infants.

NCDHHS encourages all North Carolinians to prepare for the fall respiratory virus season by taking the following actions:

Stay up-to-date with vaccines:

  • Ensure you are up-to-date with COVID-19 vaccines now and get the updated COVID-19 vaccine when authorized and available this fall. The updated booster is expected to be available by the end of September.
  • Get your seasonal flu vaccine, preferably in September or early October. Everyone 6 months and older should get a flu vaccine every year, especially people at higher risk for more severe illness. The flu and COVID-19 vaccines can be administered at the same time.
  • People 60 years and older should talk to their doctors about whether an RSV vaccine might also be good for them.

As COVID-19 and flu increase, be prepared to test and seek treatment:

  • Have a ready supply of COVID-19 tests and a plan to get treatment if you test positive. There are treatments available for both COVID and flu that can reduce your risk for hospitalization and death.
  • Visit Testing & Treatment | NC COVID-19 (ncdhhs.gov) for information on how to get free at home COVID-19 tests and how to access treatment.
  • If you have symptoms of COVID-19 or flu and are in a higher-risk group, or are very sick or worried about your illness, contact your health care provider. There are medications  your doctor may prescribe to treat flu illness. CDC recommends prompt treatment for people who have flu or and who are at higher risk of serious flu complications, such as people with asthma, diabetes (including gestational diabetes), or heart disease.Take other actions to stay healthy:
  • Practice basic protective measures, like washing your hands, covering your nose and mouth when you cough or sneeze, cleaning surfaces often and staying home when sick.
  • Consider an extra layer of protection of masks in higher risk indoor settings and/or if an individual is high risk.
  • Check the North Carolina Respiratory Virus Summary Dashboard for up-to-date information on respiratory virus activity, including COVID-19, influenza and RSV.
  • Parents of infants should talk to their child’s doctor about the new medication to prevent RSV infection.


(NCDHHS News Release)

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27 COMMENTS

  1. Thank God this is just in time for safe guards to be enforced before our upcoming election! The manual election ballots will be needed to be mailed out to every home! All of you sickly voters can mail them in or go to a secluded drop box late at night to ensure yor safety from this deadly devastating virus! Laughing all the way to that secluded drop box with boxes of just found ballot’s!!!

  2. Geez, the only thing I agree with here is to wash hands and cover your sneezes. All the other things necessary to keep you from getting sick is common sense. Exercise, vitamins and healthy eating.
    Vaccines are what makes people sick. Follow the trends.

    • Thursday, August 10, 2023

      New COVID cases – 125,909

      COVID deaths this day – 828

      2-Wk Trend Cases +1,871.3%

      2-Wk Trend Deaths +2,660.0%

      Source: COVID Dashboard by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University (JHU)

      • Yawn. More fear mongered. Didn’t we learn not to do that by now? Live in fear again if you want to…wasn’t my cup of tea then and certainly won’t be now either.

  3. NC Gal, in the 12th hour of the election when we know how many votes are needed will you help me haul boxes of just found ballots with the smell of fresh ink to the secluded drop boxes to ensure we overwhelm these Trump loving, knuckle dragging, low IQ voters? Will you help NC Gal? Me and you can laugh all the way to the secluded drop box with boxes of just found ballots!!!

    • Terry, I’ll carry any debunked conspiracy theory with you that you want. You name it, we’ll carry it together.

      • JD quit trying to appease these knuckle dragging, low IQ, Trump loving redecks! We can now unmask with no worry of a justice system that is fair or balanced. We have a George Soros DA office here that has shown thier allegiance to our climate change and debunked voting irregularities and has chosen to be brave and come out of the closet acknowledging thier allegiance to the Democrat Washington DC justice play book of condemning our political enemies by weaponizing the courts and justice system! JD look no further than the political persecution of the school board member Ronald Johnson that started with the Smithfield Police Department and now with a brave George Soros DA office that has unmasked and are willing to take a case that our old FBI director Comey said that no reasonable prosecutor would ever bring a case against the Clintons? Ron-Jon didn’t bleach bit or beat phones with hammers did he or have his own computer server? JD get on board, this justice persecution train is leaving the station! You and other progressive democrats are ether with us or against us? Which is it JD?

      • Debunked? You mean in Georgia they didn’t send observers home and then pull out boxes of ballots and count them? You mean the AG of Pennsylvania didn’t illegally extend the voting period? You mean every single mail in ballot was checked to make sure the person on the ballot was the actual one to fill it out? You mean ballots weren’t sent out in Nevada, to addresses that don’t exist? Great, now I’m 100% confident in our election system.

          • So if you don’t see a link then none of these things happened? Look them up yourself…if you have the courage.

          • Define “reputable”. If it’s a democrat standard then it’s anyone who agrees and supports their agenda anyone else is not “reputable”.

          • Joe’s hide’n: it’s not about courage. The burden of proof is on you. If you were in my English class and wrote a research paper making claims it is your responsibility to cite your sources (and choose legitimate sources). If you don’t include sources then you fail the assignment. It’s not up to me to find your sources for you.

          • Joes hiden: It looks like the PA Supreme Court ruled it unconstitutional in January 2022. That’s fine for future elections but they can’t go back and change the past especially since it wasn’t deemed unconstitutional yet during the 2020 election cycle. So what PA did in 2020 was legal until it wasn’t.

  4. Glad to see more people are aware of the blatant attacks perpetrated by these corrupt corporations in collusion with governments around the world.

  5. Hmm funny how it’s been under control for so long but now going into election season it is ramping up again… funny how that works!

    If you test using faulty, recalled PCR tests then how do you tell if it’s accurate? Oh wait, science says it is so it must be true! SMH

  6. Covid is here to stay, just like influenza and the common cold…it’s a virus. I just hope Americans have learned that being robots for the govt is a bad freaking idea.
    By the way, can we please get rid of that covid emblem? The nappy looking ball with grotesque little suction cup tentacles is just disgusting to look at 🤢

  8. I and literally everyone i know survived about 20 waves and 10 scary new mutations all with just exercise and vegetables. Please stop promoting this idiocy.

  9. This again huh? Well you may get the 4 or 5 percent that are forever lost but that’s it. Just quit tye BS already. Oh and by the way that’s a Q quote

  10. Can’t believe with all the now-known vaccine injuries and deaths that people are still willing to get the jab. WoW

  12. Lol, here we go again. Looking at all the sheeple already driving around and wearing my mask. Sas that people are this gullible and trainable

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