Colorado is seeing a late summer surge of COVID-19 as a new variant of the virus has emerged.
XFG, also known as Stratus, is an offshoot of Omicron, which was identified in late 2021 and rose in prevalence in 2022. Stratus has similar symptoms to other recent strains, but appears to be more contagious.
Flu and RSV have typical seasons that scientists can follow and track each year. Colorado steps up tracking efforts for these diseases between October and May.
But state epidemiologist Dr. Rachel Herlihy said COVID is still too new for that. Surveillance for it is in effect all year.
“We're still really trying to understand what pattern COVID-19 is going to fall into when it comes to seasonality,” Herlihy said. “But what I can say right now is that Colorado, just like other states around the country, is starting to see an increase in COVID-19, and that's through several different measures.”
The state is tracking cases through patient testing and wastewater analysis. The presence of the virus in wastewater was up by over 11% week-over-week according to new data released August 20 and 22. The state releases illness data every Wednesday and wastewater data on Wednesdays and Fridays.
On the bright side, the numbers show that while cases are up, hospitalizations and deaths are down.
“That's really due to pre-existing immunity," Herlihy said. “So people have been vaccinated previously, people have been infected previously, and so their immune system is trained to respond when they see the virus.”
To prevent the spread from increasing, the CDC recommends getting vaccinated, washing hands often and staying home when sick.
You can track the latest COVID, RSV and flu data through the state's online dashboard.
