NORFOLK, Va. — The Virginia Department of Health (VDH) reports cases of COVID-19 in Virginia are holding steady after the Thanksgiving holiday. However, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) lists the Commonwealth as one of the few states with “very high” COVID-19 activity levels in the wastewater as of Saturday.
The CDC said the wastewater data acts as an early warning that levels of infections may be increasing or decreasing in certain communities.
Data shows the COVID-19 levels in the state’s wastewater dropped earlier this month, then spiked soon after Thanksgiving, ranking high above the national average.
The CDC said the predominant variant found in wastewater across the nation is the EG.5 or "Eris" variant, which is a subvariant of the Omicron strain.
As the virus continues to mutate, health officials are urging people to get the updated vaccine.
"If you've had COVID in the past, it's most important that you get the new vaccine because it is a different strand that is out here now, and the old vaccine just doesn't cover that strand," said Dr. Anna Peoples, the owner of Peoples Pharmacy in Norfolk.
Dr. Peoples said she's seen more and more people coming in to get their vaccines as we head into the colder months.
“Especially before Thanksgiving," she explained. "The numbers increased in the amount of people that were coming in, and most people were requesting to have their flu vaccine in conjunction with their COVID vaccine.”
The VDH reported more than 1,100 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday. While we haven’t seen numbers that high since September, the seven-day average remains relatively stable.
“The cases have been a lot milder because people have been vaccinated against the virus, but we’ve seen a lot of people here recently that have had COVID," Dr. Peoples said.
The CDC also lists North Carolina in the “very high” category for COVID-19 levels in wastewater as of Saturday. For more information, click here.