--- title: What to Know About the U.S. Summer Uptick in Covid-19 Cases description: An increase in the number of Covid-19 cases from the past few weeks could be indicative of a slight summer Covid-19 wave in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. canonical: https://time.com/6299476/summer-uptick-covid-19-us/ author: Solcyré Burga article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2023-07-30T16:57:03.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:51:02.185Z article:section: Health og:title: What to Know About the U.S. Summer Uptick in Covid-19 Cases og:description: Research from the CDC also shows that most Americans have some level of protection against the virus. og:url: https://time.com/6299476/summer-uptick-covid-19-us/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6f13a013418e538c/698a3f1d86f68ed9db6f2a7e/uptick.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2120 og:image:height: 1193 og:image:alt: uptick.jpg og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: What to Know About the U.S. Summer Uptick in Covid-19 Cases twitter:description: Research from the CDC also shows that most Americans have some level of protection against the virus. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6f13a013418e538c/698a3f1d86f68ed9db6f2a7e/uptick.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # What to Know About the U.S. Summer Uptick in COVID-19 Cases > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Health Matters: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition Health Matters is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. The latest health news and expert advice on living well. Health Matters makes the fast-moving world of health more useful, surprising and human, from the latest science and medical breakthroughs to practical ideas for living better. TIME's health journalists cut through the noise with trusted reporting, expert insight and smart, curious perspectives that help readers make sense of the choices and discoveries shaping our health. 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Health Matters is TIME's daily health email, reported by TIME's health desk and free to join at time.com/newsletters. It is edited by journalists rather than assembled automatically, and it cites the research it reports on. #### Is Health Matters free? Yes. Health Matters is a free daily newsletter from TIME, available at time.com/newsletters. #### Who reads TIME's Health Matters newsletter? Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. ## Video: COVID-Vaccine Technology Could Help to Save Dying Bee Colonies [Watch (HLS stream): COVID-Vaccine Technology Could Help to Save Dying Bee Colonies](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/kUaGlc14.m3u8) (4:20)  _Published 2023-06-29. American beekeepers lost nearly half their managed bee colonies this year. Climate change, pesticide-laden crops, and declining wild plant biodiversity all play a role in honeybee colony death, but the biggest threat is the varroa destructor, an invasive, parasitic mite smaller than a pin head that nonetheless extracts a big toll from the bees it feeds upon._  by [Solcyré Burga](https://time.com/author/solcyre-burga/)  ## Solcyré Burga Reporter Jul 30, 2023 4:57 PM UTC  MS FORSTER PRODUCTIONS/Getty Images  by [Solcyré Burga](https://time.com/author/solcyre-burga/)  ## Solcyré Burga Reporter Jul 30, 2023 4:57 PM UTC An increase in the [number of COVID-19 cases](https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#datatracker-home) from the past few weeks could be indicative of a slight summer COVID-19 wave in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Hospital admissions, test positivity rates, and emergency department visits by people who have contracted the virus have all [seen a national uptick](https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#datatracker-home) since mid July, though numbers remain relatively low. “U.S. COVID-19 rates are still near historic lows after 7 months of steady declines,” CDC spokesperson Kathleen Conley [said in a statement](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/covid-hospitalizations-rise-biggest-weekly-increase-since-december/) to CBS News. “The U.S. has experienced increases in COVID-19 during the past three summers, so it’s not surprising to see an uptick.” Experts note, however, that there is still insufficient evidence that this rise will lead to a bigger outbreak, though it is something to watch. More than 144,000,000 [vaccine doses](https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#vaccination-states-jurisdictions) have been distributed in the U.S., and some [56.4 million people](https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#vaccination-states-jurisdictions) have an updated booster dose. ### More From TIME Research from the CDC also shows that most Americans have some level of protection against the virus, [as 96% of blood donors](https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/72/wr/mm7222a3.htm?s%5Fcid=mm7222a3%5Fw) over the age of 16 had antibodies from previous infection or vaccination. Here’s what to know about the uptick in cases. ## **What does the CDC data show?** CDC data shows that hospital [admissions related to COVID-19](https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#wastewater-surveillance) hadrisen by 10.3% from July 9 to July 15, amounting to an increase of more than 7,000 hospitalizations across the U.S. The percentage of people diagnosed with the virus [after an emergency room visit also rose ](https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#ed-visits%5Fall%5Fages%5Fcombined)over the past few weeks from around 0.5% in mid-to-late June to 0.78% on July 24th. Deaths due to COVID-19 remain around the same. Data from the last three weeks are still being updated, but the week of July 1 saw 494 COVID-related deaths, compared to the week of June 24 at 549\. But overall, charts tracking this information show that this summer’s current data is still [on the lower end](https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#trends%5Fweeklyhospitaladmissions%5Fselect%5F00) of the most recent surge, which happened this winter. The week of December 31, 2022 and January 7, 2023 saw hospitalizations at more than 44,000\. Similarly, hospital admissions from July 2022 remained around that same 40,000 marker. That is compared to the highest rate of hospital admissions seen on the week of January 15, 2022, when some 150,000 people were in the hospital due to COVID. ## **Some other countries have also seen an increase in cases** While the U.S. has seen a slight increase in cases, other countries have similarly shared concerns about a COVID-19 wave this summer. Officials in Japan say they’ve seen an increase in the number of COVID-19 cases increase fourfold from May to July, the Japan Times [reports](https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2023/07/09/national/science-health/covid-infection-wave/). They added that they could not predict the magnitude of the next COVID-19 wave, but cautioned people to be careful when meeting with people who may be more vulnerable to the virus. COVID-19 also remains a serious risk in China, which experienced [its own surge in cases](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/china-covid-death-toll-rcna91097) earlier this year. The country eased its COVID-19 [restrictions in December](https://time.com/6283257/china-xbb-covid-outbreak/), causing a wave of infections this winter. China’s second COVID-19 wave began in April 2023and lasted until June. Forecasters predicted China would see anywhere from [11 million to 65 million cases](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/china-covid-death-toll-rcna91097) of COVID-19 a week in June, but official stats about COVID-19 related deaths and infections are unclear as experts question the country’s officialCOVID-19 statistics**.** ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/6299476/summer-uptick-covid-19-us/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/6299476/summer-uptick-covid-19-us/"},"headline":"What to Know About the U.S. Summer Uptick in COVID-19 Cases","datePublished":"2023-07-30T16:57:03.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:51:02.185Z","description":"Research from the CDC also shows that most Americans have some level of protection against the virus.","url":"https://time.com/6299476/summer-uptick-covid-19-us/","keywords":["COVID-19"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6f13a013418e538c/698a3f1d86f68ed9db6f2a7e/uptick.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Solcyré Burga","jobTitle":"Reporter","url":"https://time.com/author/solcyre-burga/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6f13a013418e538c/698a3f1d86f68ed9db6f2a7e/uptick.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"uptick.jpg","caption":"close up of a protective ffp2 mask in the doctor's office during the coronavirus epidemic","creditText":"MS FORSTER PRODUCTIONS/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/covid-19/","name":"COVID-19"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/6299476/summer-uptick-covid-19-us/","name":"What to Know About the U.S. Summer Uptick in COVID-19 Cases"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"COVID-Vaccine Technology Could Help to Save Dying Bee Colonies","description":"American beekeepers lost nearly half their managed bee colonies this year. 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