Florida ERs See Jump In Covid Cases, Nearing Last Winter’s Peaks

CBS News: Florida Sees COVID-19 Surge In Emergency Rooms, Near Last Winter's Peaks
Rates of COVID-19 have surged in Florida emergency rooms over recent weeks, according to new figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and are now near peaks not seen since the worst days of this past winter's wave of the virus. The weekly average of emergency room patients with COVID-19 has reached 2.64% in Florida, according to CDC data updated Friday, and now rank among the highest of any state during this summer's COVID-19 wave. (tin, 7/5)

USA Today: COVID-19 Variant KP.3 Remains Dominant In US, Rises To 36.9% Of Cases: See Latest CDC Data
The KP.3 COVID-19 variant is continuing to lead as the dominant variant, the newest Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data shows. For a two-week period starting on June 23 and ending on July 6, the CDC’s Nowcast data tracker showed the projections of the COVID-19 variants. The KP.3 variant accounted for 36.9% of positive infections followed by KP.2 at 24.4%. (Forbes, 7/6)

The Hill: Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff Tests Positive For COVID-19
Second gentleman Doug Emhoff tested positive for COVD-19, the vice president’s office announced Sunday. His office said Emhoff had experienced mild symptoms before being tested Saturday, and is now asymptomatic. He is fully vaccinated, the office said. Vice President Harris was also tested for COVD-19 and tested negative, her office said. (Robertson, 7/7)

In other covid updates —

NPR: Nursing Homes Falling Further Behind On Vaccinating Patients For COVID 
It seems that no one is taking COVID-19 seriously anymore, said Mollee Loveland, a nursing home aide who lives outside of Pittsburgh. Loveland has seen patients and coworkers at the nursing home die from the virus. Now she has a new worry: bringing COVID home and unwittingly infecting her infant daughter, Maya, born in May. (Boden, 7/3)

The New York Times: This May Be the Most Overlooked Covid Symptom
In January 2020, a man who would become known as the first documented Covid-19 patient in the United States arrived at an urgent care clinic. Two of his symptoms, a cough and a fever, were among those that would become known as the telltale symptoms of Covid. But the patient had also experienced two days of nausea and vomiting. (Blum, 7/5)

CIDRAP: Study Shows Abnormal Immune-Cell Activity With Long COVID
People who have long COVID symptoms—those that linger well after the initial SARS-CoV-2 infection—can display signs of abnormal immune-cell activation in many of their organs and tissues, as well as leftover SARS-CoV-2 RNA in the gut, for more than 2 years after infection, according to a small study this week in Science Translational Medicine. University of California, San Francisco researchers analyzed data on 24 people after their initial COVID-19 illness who underwent whole-body positron emission tomography (PET) imaging at time points ranging from 27 to 910 days (about 2 and a half years) after their acute COVID-19 cases. Eighteen of the patients had long COVID. (Wappes, 7/5)

CIDRAP: Kids Vaccinated Against COVID May Have Lower Rates Of Asthma Symptoms 
COVID-19 vaccination may help protect children aged 5 and older against symptomatic asthma, according to a Nemours Children's Health–led research team. Average state-level rates of parent-reported asthma symptoms decreased from 7.77% in 2018 to 2019 to 6.93% in 2020 to 2021. (Van Beusekom, 7/5)

The New York Times: The Youngest Pandemic Children Are Now in School, and Struggling
The pandemic’s babies, toddlers and preschoolers are now school-age, and the impact on them is becoming increasingly clear: Many are showing signs of being academically and developmentally behind. Interviews with more than two dozen teachers, pediatricians and early childhood experts depicted a generation less likely to have age-appropriate skills — to be able to hold a pencil, communicate their needs, identify shapes and letters, manage their emotions or solve problems with peers. (Miller and Mervosh, 7/1)