CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – Last winter, we were dealing with so-called FLIP variants and this summer is FLIRT variants, but the result is we’ve seen an uptick in late summer COVID cases. The names are different for highly technical reasons, but regardless of details, UVA Health Chief Epidemiologist Dr. Costi Sifri says they’ve been treating some 14-to-22 patients at a time over the past couple of weeks. While it’s an uptick, Sifri says it’s still shy of the 35-cases-a-day they were treating in last winter’s uptick in February. He agrees with the CDC saying everyone, unless they have a medical complication to it, should get a COVID vaccine ages 6-months and older.

Timing is an individual question whereas, with significant COVID out there right now, someone more susceptible or hasn’t been vaccinated for a year or more should get vaccinated now. Someone’s who’s had COVID in this uptick, or has had more recent vaccines, may want to wait for mid-October to optimize immunity for holiday travel.