Thirty-two states are experiencing a summertime surge of COVID-19, with infections growing or likely growing based on emergency room visits, according to updated CDC estimates. [CDC and Axios}

Why it matters: Emergency visits for COVID have crept upward since the first half of May, coinciding with a busy travel season and more people congregating indoors to avoid extreme heat.

• Connecticut, Hawai'i and Nevada were the only states with rates declining or likely declining.
• Southern states — including Georgia, Kentucky and South Carolina — had some of the highest probabilities that the outbreak is spreading, the CDC estimated.
• Eight states had rates that were stable or could not be estimated.

Yes, but: Overall COVID case levels remain relatively low. The KP.3 and KP.2 strains, descendants of the highly contagious JN.1 variant and among the so-called FLiRT variants, account for almost 70% of all cases.

CDC advisers in June recommended that people 6 months of age and older receive updated COVID-19 vaccines when they become available this fall.

                                                                                  ###