COVID-19 cases are up in both the Northwoods and the rest of the nation.
A new variant is sweeping across the country.
It’s more transmissible but unlikely to make us more sick say experts.
In May, the Aspirus Health Care System recorded that 2% of the COVID-19 tests they performed were positive.
Now, in mid-July, that number has swelled to over 10%.
COVID infection rates are also measured through sewage samples, which have also confirmed this uptick.
Dr. Steven Phillipson is the Aspirus System Director for Hospital Medicine.
“The good news about that is community transmission may be higher, but it's not impacting hospitalization,” he said.
Dr. Phillipson says that the Aspirus system admitted 151 COVID-19 patients over the course of this calendar year through the beginning of July, with no significant increase since positive tests began to increase.
For context, in January 2022, WXPR reported that there were 130 patients hospitalized across the Aspirus system at once.
“The good news is the severity of the illness that we're seeing is much reduced from what we experienced in 2020. So I don't think we need to panic about the increasing rates of COVID in the community,” he said
Dr. Phillipson says that vaccinations, boosters, and preventative measures like masks and social distancing remain our best tools in slowing the spread of the illness.
If you were vaccinated in Wisconsin, you can take a look at your vaccination record online using the Wisconsin Immunization Registry.
“Summer travel, people are gathering in large groups, and that may be facilitating transmission. Typically we think of wintertime when people are all indoors. But again, in the summer, we're coming together in large groups again, and people are traveling more,” said Dr. Phillipson.
Doctors can now prescribe Paxlovid, a treatment for COVID-19 that greatly reduces the severity of the disease, although it can cost patients around $1,400 with insurance.
People on Medicaid, Medicare, and those without insurance can get a voucher to cover the costs, but for others, the cost has led to underuse of the lifesaving medication.
