Their symptoms may fool them into thinking it’s a simple cold, but many people suffering from runny nose, cough or congestion over the past few weeks have discovered it’s actually COVID-19.
The respiratory virus has once again been spreading across Chicago and the rest of the country since last month, and positivity rates have skyrocketed in the city since the July Fourth holiday.
“We’re definitely seeing more patients in the hospital, we’re definitely seeing more patients in the emergency room, more patients that come into the clinic, more patients are calling out of work, so we’re definitely seeing a lot more COVID-19,” said Dr. Emily Landon, an infectious disease specialist with the University of Chicago.
The COVID-19 test positivity rate in Chicago for the week ending July 19 was 9.8%, up from 7.6% the previous week, according to the Chicago Department of Public Health. That’s an increase from 6% for the week ending July 12, and 5.6% for the week ending June 28 (the city did not report the week ending July 5).
It’s difficult to determine the level from which the current increase has risen since the city and other health departments stopped reporting daily case counts last year, but experts assure there’s no reason to panic.
The virus is constantly mutating into new variants, allowing it to evade some immunity built up from vaccinations and previous infections. The FLiRT and LB.1 variants are mostly the culprit of the recent rise, health officials say.
Holiday gatherings, kids being out of school and maybe a tendency for more indoor meetups during the hot weather are other grounds for more transmission of the virus, experts speculate.
“What’s really important to remember about COVID is that it hasn’t yet established a seasonality pattern like we expect from other respiratory viruses,” Landon said. “I know roughly when the flu is going to show up every single year, I know roughly when RSV is going to start to rise in children, but COVID tends to be of its own accord.”
While the increase in cases has been somewhat rampant, hospitalizations and deaths have “not nearly” increased at the same rate, said Dr. Brian Borah, medical director for the city’s Department of Public Health.
The majority of people being hospitalized are elderly, people who are immunocompromised or people with other medical issues, especially with problems affecting the heart or kidney.
St. Anthony Hospital in the Little Village neighborhood has seen an uptick in patients with COVID-19, but hospital staff have “not at all” been overwhelmed, said Dr. Alfredo Mena Lora, the hospital’s director of infectious diseases.
“I think at this point, we have so many levels of protection with vaccines, boosters and natural immunity as we continue to get COVID throughout these years that it’s really just a subset of these patients that remain at risk for severity,” Mena Lora said.
But just because you don’t fall into those categories doesn’t mean you should let your guard down, experts say.
“It’s important for us to educate people that even though they may not be at risk, their neighbors, their grandparents, their co-workers — these chains of transmission could lead to someone who is vulnerable,” Mena Lora said.
According to experts, the best practices to limit transmission remain the same: wear a mask if you have symptoms such as cough, sore throat or runny nose, stay home if you’re sick, wash your hands and get vaccinated.
“We have to count on one another here,” Landon said. “It’s a tough situation because for a lot of people it’s just a cold, but for a lot of other people it’s not just a cold. And even for some people for whom it’s ‘just a cold,’ that turns into long COVID,” the chronic condition that leaves some people with COVID symptoms, primarily fatigue, for months.
Borah, who is the medical director of vaccine preventable disease surveillance for the city’s health department, said vaccination against COVID-19 has proven to reduce severe illness and death.
“We are very confident that across the population level, these COVID vaccines do work and people are having less severe symptoms because of the vaccines,” Borah said.
The newest iteration of the vaccine, expected to be made available in the fall, should incorporate protection against some of the recent variants as well.
A single at-home COVID-19 test by Quidel sits on a drugstore shelf in September 2021 in Chicago.
Scott Olson/Getty Images
Landon, with the University of Chicago, said her top recommendation immediately upon symptom onset is to take a COVID-19 test. But don’t always trust the first test result.
“If it’s negative, wait 48 hours and then take another test before you decide to put other people at risk,” Landon said. “One negative test at the first sign of a sore throat does not mean that you didn’t have COVID.”
Some at-home test kits can be confusing, they can leave room for human error, or sometimes the rise of the virus in your nose can behave differently than elsewhere in the body, experts say.
Information about COVID-19 vaccines in Chicago can be found on the city’s website at chicago.gov/covidvax.