High COVID Positivity in August Sheds Light on Seasonality Trends 

High COVID Positivity in August Sheds Light on Seasonality Trends 

According to detailed state-level data collected by Experity across urgent care centers, Texas (30.9%) and Utah (30.8%) are leading the nation in COVID-19 positivity rates through August 18, 2025. Summer’s big picture, dating back to June 1, shows the 7-day positivity rate overall has grown from 5% to 20% for U.S. urgent cares—a rate that is lower than this time last year. Positivity rates in 2024 peaked at 31.3% in August, according to Experity. With …

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AAP Recommends Kids Get COVID Vaccines

AAP Recommends Kids Get COVID Vaccines

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) this week released an immunization schedule including evidence-based guidance for COVID-19 vaccines for children and adolescents. What some see as controversial, however, is the fact that the AAP schedule doesn’t align with recent government agency announcements. Specifically, AAP recommends the COVID vaccine for all children 6 months to 23 months of age as well as older children who are in several risk groups. By contrast, the latest Food and …

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Committee Considering Risk-Based COVID Vaccine Guidelines

Committee Considering Risk-Based COVID Vaccine Guidelines

One of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s work groups is considering backpedaling universal COVID-19 vaccine recommendations—the current thinking—in favor of recommendations based on individual risk for the occurrence of more severe disease. If the suggestion advances, guidance would still call for adults aged 65 years and older as well as anyone with underlying health risks to receive at least 2 doses of the COVID vaccine every year. However, anyone outside of the high-risk …

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XEC Variant Could Become Dominant COVID Strain

XEC Variant Could Become Dominant COVID Strain

A newly discovered COVID strain known as XEC has emerged worldwide, according to an outbreak tracking tool by Scripps Research. The omicron variant KP.3.1.1 made up 52.7% of COVID-19 cases between September 1 and September 14, 2024, yet the XEC COVID-19 variant and another known as MV.1 seem likely to become the next dominant strains, according to a news item in USA Today. First appearing late June in Berlin, Germany, the XEC strain has been …

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Abstracts in Urgent Care – September 2024

Abstracts in Urgent Care – September 2024

Can Large Language Models Help in Assessing Acuity of Patients Presenting to ED? Take Home Point: Integration of large language models (LLMs) in the emergency department (ED) could enhance triage processes. This warrants further investigation particularly in the urgent care (UC) space. Citation: Williams C, Zack T, Miao B, et. al. Use of a Large Language Model to Assess Clinical Acuity of Adults in the Emergency Department. JAMA Netw Open. 2024 May 1;7(5): e248895. doi: …

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Summer COVID-19 Cases Similar to Winter Surge

Summer COVID-19 Cases Similar to Winter Surge

COVID-19’s summer surge has taken many urgent care centers by surprise. Respiratory viruses usually ramp up in October and continue on through late winter. However, record-high heat across the country could be driving more people to cool off indoors where the virus is more likely to spread. As of August 6,  the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that COVID-19 infections are growing or likely growing in 32 states. Meanwhile, the reported weekly positivity …

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EDs See Summer Surge of COVID-19 Cases

EDs See Summer Surge of COVID-19 Cases

Cases of COVID-19 have surged in emergency departments (EDs) over recent weeks, according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and surges are now demonstrating upward slopes that could lead to peaks similar to what communities might expect in the cooler months of fall. The weekly average of ED patients with COVID-19 has reached 1.18% in the United States overall but 2.9% in Florida, making the “sunshine state” a leader …

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Flu and COVID Vaccines Recommended for Pretty Much Everyone This Fall

Flu and COVID Vaccines Recommended for Pretty Much Everyone This Fall

In a new brief, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that everyone ages 6 months and older receive an updated 2024-2025 COVID-19 vaccine and flu vaccine once the updated formulations become available this fall—ideally aiming for vaccination in September or October. A few distinct situations have varying dosing schedules for flu vaccines. Just as one example, CDC said adults (especially those 65 years old and older) and pregnant moms in the first …

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EHRs Haven’t Captured Prevalence of Long COVID 

EHRs Haven’t Captured Prevalence of Long COVID 

Long COVID is possibly more prevalent than what might be recorded in electronic health record (EHR) diagnostic or referral codes, according to a descriptive study in eClinicalMedicine. Researchers analyzed clinical data from more than 19 million adults in England from November 2020 to January 2023. A total of 55,465 patients were identified with long COVID, based on 20,025 diagnostic codes and 35,440 referral codes. Median follow-up was 2.2 years, and the rate of long COVID …

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Abstracts in Urgent Care – May 2024

Abstracts in Urgent Care – May 2024

Encouraging Shorter Course Antibiotic Prescribing Take Home Point: In this quality improvement project, both education with performance feedback in combination with clinical decision support (CDS) were effective in modifying clinician behavior surrounding antibiotic prescribing. Citation: Vernacchio L, Hatoun J, Patane L, et al. Improving Short Course Treatment of Pediatric Infections: A Randomized Quality Improvement Trial. Pediatrics.2024;153(2): e2023063691 Relevance: There is increasing evidence that shorter courses of antibiotics for the treatment of pediatric pneumonias (CAP) and …

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