While respiratory illnesses like the flu typically trend higher in the winter months, COVID-19 is not totally seasonal. Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicate high or very high levels of COVID nationwide this summer. But with new vaccines expected to be available next month and the winter months on the horizon, medical professionals in Virginia suggest people get their shots sooner rather than later. 

“COVID mutates quicker than the flu,” said Heather Harmon-Sloan with Virginia’s Department of Health. “This makes it incredibly important to get the updated COVID-19 vaccine that will be coming out here shortly.”

This is because the newer vaccines — approved last week and expected in September —  will be more effective at guarding against the latest variants of the virus. The new Pfizer and Moderna vaccines will target the specific strain of the virus that has been attributed to spikes in infections this past spring and summer. 

Over 3% of emergency room visitors each week for the past three weeks in Virginia have been diagnosed with COVID-19, a number that has been rising over the summer. And while not every case may lead to an emergency room visit, wastewater surveillance to detect the presence of COVID indicates high levels around the country. Virginia’s latest surveillance shows mostly a plateau around the state with an increase in the Eastern Shore. 

“What we’re seeing right now is higher than what we saw this time last year,” Harmon-Sloan said. 

She also attributes some of the spikes in cases and emergency visits to the inclination to spend more time indoors amid the summer heat — not unlike how indoor gatherings in the winter contribute to infection spikes. 

“Respiratory viruses tend to be able to spread more efficiently when we’re all indoors, especially if we have poor ventilation,” she said. 

This is where opening windows, practicing social distancing and mask use can help reduce infection potential, Harmon-Sloan said. 

And while the new vaccines should target the same variant that has been driving the summer wave, Harmon-Sloan said that anyone who was infected this summer could consider delaying the new vaccine for about three months. 

This is because those people may have a temporary resistance to the strain having just recovered from it, but she still suggests that people speak with their doctors if they’re weighing when they should get their newest shots. 

“People overall should get the new vaccine — even if they were vaccinated or were sick with COVID 19 earlier this year,” she said. The vaccine that’s emerging “is going to better target those particular variants that are new, that are in circulation right now in our communities, and the cause for these high trends.”

The CDC will be launching a vaccine locator through the vaccines.gov website. Additionally, President Joe Biden’s administration announced last week that it will once again offer free at-home COVID test kits that people can receive by mail. They can be ordered through covidtest.gov.

D.C. leaders are talking about new efforts they believe will have a greater impact on street safety, including targeting drivers from Virginia and Maryland.

The Department of Public Works noticed a lot of the cars responsible for dangerous and risky driving in the city come from outside of the District, particularly on Friday and Saturday nights.

DPW has been targeting entertainment districts like Adam’s Morgan on the weekends to find and tow drivers that, in some cases, have racked up thousands of dollars in D.C. traffic violations but never paid them.

“They are skirting the law and they are speeding through the streets — our streets,” D.C. Parking Enforcement Administrator Johnny Gaither said. “They are running red lights and they are running stop signs.”

Towed drivers can’t get their cars back unless they pay their fines in full. DPW said it opened a third impound lot because so many vehicles are being towed. 

Officials say signs that tell drivers how fast they’re driving allows them to collect information and the put resources where they are going to have the greatest impact. 

There are also electronic signs that recognize when drivers are using their phones while driving. 

“This is instantaneous, and then we’re actually seeing it change behavior, not weeks on end, but in that moment,” D.C. Highway Safety Office Director Rick Birt said.

No fines are attached to the signs yet. 

The goal of D.C.’s Vision Zero was to eliminate all traffic fatalities and serious injuries by this year, but there have been 34 deaths on District streets so far in 2024.

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In 2023, coach Clark Lea didn’t do enough to help Vanderbilt football evolve the way he intended, he said Tuesday at his media availability.

That team finished 2-10, with the two wins coming in the first two games of the season. The Commodores lost all their games against Power Five competition by double digits.

Virginia Tech, the Commodores’ opponent on Saturday, started 2-4 with losses to Rutgers, Purdue and Marshall before finishing 7-6. New Mexico State started 2-3 and finished 10-5. Among a slate of wholesale changes in the offseason, Lea brought in former Aggies head coach Jerry Kill, offensive coordinator Tim Beck and quarterback Diego Pavia.

“A team that improves through the season is a testament of a good coaching staff, and I think it was a measure of my performance as head coach,” Lea said. “I thought that last year, it wasn’t for lack of trying, I just never found the formula to get that group to go beyond the performance we delivered.”

Although improvement through the season is somewhat of a litmus test for Lea, 2024 starts with an important game right off the bat. In the Hokies on Saturday (11 a.m. CT, ESPN), Vanderbilt will be facing a bowl team from a year ago. To have any hope of getting to six wins, the Commodores will likely need to defeat Virginia Tech.

During the 2021 season, Lea’s first, the team also finished 2-10. But Lea said he felt there was hope at the end of that season, and in 2022, Vanderbilt started 3-6 before winning two games in November to get to 5-7 − albeit with a crushing loss to Tennessee at the end.

“If I were to share a disappointment that I had, outside of the pain of the results from last season, it would be that I didn’t do enough to get our program to evolve into change,” Lea said. “And it just felt like we could never get that team to the performance that we were proud of, and we suffered because of it. So I’m really interested to start the season. I certainly would love to get off to a great start, that would obviously be a lot of fun.”

Lea took over as the defensive coordinator himself after firing Nick Howell. Lea said that calling the defense himself has been one of his most fun times. With Lea focusing more on defensive duties, Kill has been designated the de facto “head coach of the offense,” with Beck calling plays there.

It will be weeks or months before we truly know how well Lea’s rebuild has worked, but as Lea knows, Saturday against the Hokies will be a big clue as to how 2024 will go.

DIEGO PAVIA How Vanderbilt football transfer Diego Pavia’s unrelenting competitiveness landed in Nashville

Aria Gerson covers Vanderbilt athletics for The Tennessean. Contact her at agerson@gannett.com or on Twitter @aria_gerson.