PALM SPRINGS, Calif. (KESQ) – California is once again dealing with a late summer surge of COVID.
Across the state, wastewater samples show steep increases in Coronavirus levels, and hospitalizations are creeping upward.
Doctors say the spike is driven by a fast moving subvariant nicknamed “STRATUS.”
First identified in Asia earlier this year, STRATUS has overtaken older strains and now accounts for about two-thirds of COVID cases, according to the Centers for Disease Control.
The symptoms resemble those of other strains, but many patients also describe unusually sharp throat pain.
CEO and Founder of PS Test Dr. Phyllis Ritchie says, “I’m concerned, I’m concerned there’ll be an outbreak. They think the uptick right now is because kids are going back to school, and kids aren’t qualified for a vaccine right now.”
News Channel 3’s Peter Daut spoke in depth with Dr. Ritchie about the increase in cases.
The timing of the surge is colliding with a federal change that has slowed the rollout of updated vaccines.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a longtime vaccine skeptic, has delayed authorization of the fall COVID shots.
