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Maine among states seeing high Covid viral activity levels in wastewater surveillance

A nurse prepares a syringe of a COVID-19 vaccine at an inoculation station in Jackson, Miss., July 19, 2022. U.S. health officials are proposing a simplified approach to COVID-19 vaccinations, which would allow most adults and children to get a once-a-year shot to protect against the mutating virus. The new system unveiled Monday, Jan. 23, 2023 would make COVID-19 inoculations more like the annual flu shot. Americans would no longer have to keep track of how many shots they’ve received or how many months it’s been since their last booster.
Rogelio V. Solis
/
AP file
A nurse prepares a syringe of a COVID-19 vaccine at an inoculation station in Jackson, Miss., July 19, 2022.

A summer wave of Covid is seeing high viral activity levels in more than two dozen states, including Maine.

The latest wastewater surveillance data from the U.S. CDC shows that Maine's viral activity is slightly below the national average, but higher than the regional average in the Northeast.

Dr. Puthiery Va, director of the Maine CDC, said the uptick is somewhat expected. She said Covid has followed a predictable pattern that includes a summer surge, and travel is a likely factor.

"This is reassuring, is that the degree of impact on how sick people are getting, and are dying, is much, much lower than those earlier surges," she said. "And I think that's worth reiterating."

Va said people with compromised immune systems and those 65 and older should consider vaccination if they haven't received a dose since last fall. She said the vaccine also reduces the risk of developing long Covid.