Summer is now California's COVID busy season as winter waves fade

Key Points:

• COVID-19 in California is increasingly becoming a summer rather than winter illness, with recent summer peaks surpassing winter ones, prompting health officials to adjust prevention strategies accordingly.
• The CDC reports COVID-19 is growing or likely growing in 43 states, with California among four states showing moderate or high COVID wastewater activity, indicating rising viral presence.
• Experts recommend vaccination with the 2025-26 COVID vaccine, especially for high-risk groups such as seniors, immunocompromised individuals, pregnant women, and young children, as hospitalizations and test positivity rates are increasing.
• Despite declining overall deaths since the pandemic's peak years, COVID-19 remains a serious health threat with risks including long COVID and increased cardiovascular events; vaccination continues to be the primary tool to prevent severe illness.
• The FDA recently approved an mRNA flu vaccine for adults 50 and older, which could enable faster vaccine updates in response to emerging flu strains, improving preparedness for future outbreaks.