Ohio’s COVID summer surge ramps up thanks largely to KP variant

Summer is winding down, but Ohio’s COVID-19 cases aren’t.

The state’s weekly average jumped from around 5,000 at the beginning of August to over 7,000 this past week, driven primarily by the KP.3.1.1 variant, the current dominant variant in the United States.

Other culprits for the continuing surge in cases include the LB.1 variant, one of the members of the Omicron family strain, though there’s no evidence that these variants are causing more severe levels of disease, according to the Ohio Department of Health.

More: Gov. Mike DeWine tests positive for COVID again as Ohio sees uptick in cases

What are Ohio’s current COVID-19 numbers?

The state health department reported 8,352 cases during the week of Aug. 15 through Aug. 21, a 13% increase from the 7,347 cases reported the week before.

May’s case count totaled a little over 3,800, but cases nearly doubled in June, with 6,472 reported. Cases then nearly tripled in July at well over 18,000.

August’s total amounts to over 21,000 cases thus far.

COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths also increased slightly, though case totals sit at small fractions of the peak pandemic numbers. By comparison, there were over 109,000 cases reported in August 2021.

However, the state health department said that COVID remains “a very real health threat,” and “any increase in cases reaffirms the importance of staying up to date with vaccination, which remains the best way to prevent severe illness from COVID.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that everyone 6 months or older receive the most recent COVID-19 shot, which the Food and Drug Administration just approved on Aug. 22. Vaccinations with said shot could start as early as September.

Samantha Hendrickson is The Dispatch’s medical business and health care reporter. She can be reached at shendrickson@dispatch.com.