Is the COVID surge over in Palm Beach County? Here's the latest in Florida

Palm Beach County and Florida are experiencing the worst COVID-19 surge since last winter with no clear sign yet of it receding. But far fewer people have become severely ill compared with past waves even as some data indicate the virus is at least as widespread as it was last summer.

About 23% of tests countywide in the week ending Sept. 1 came back positive, the latest Florida Department of Health COVID report shows. That’s two to three points higher than the peak positivity rate during summer 2022.

COVID in Palm Beach County is less widespread than during the worst of summer 2022, north county sewage indicates. Each milliliter of wastewater from the Jupiter-area Loxahatchee River District had 412.5 coronavirus particles, testing conducted Sept. 4 shows. That’s less than half as much as this past winter and about 76%-89% less than the summer 2022 peak. Boston-based Biobot Analytics laboratory tested those samples.

Previously: A COVID-19 summer surge is hitting Florida, but there's a silver lining

What does Palm Beach County sewage say?

The river district’s sewage testing does not clearly predict whether the current COVID wave is over yet. Biobot data shows viral concentrations have declined by about 65% since Aug. 23. But testing conducted by the national WastewaterSCAN initiative continues to show viral levels plateauing since late July with no sign of a plunge.

Measuring the current wave through case counts alone has become impossible because most people take at-home COVID tests, whose results rarely show up in official statistics. The state Health Department collected about 105,000 tests during the week ending Aug. 31 compared with about 270,000 during the week ending Aug. 25, 2022. Sewage test results are now a more reliable indicator of COVID in a community.

Also: COVID-19 concerns postponed Week 3 football game between Palm Beach Central and Park Vista

How deadly was this summer's COVID surge?

Meanwhile, statewide deaths and hospitalizations over the summer are a fraction of what they were during past outbreaks.

The state Health Department counted 1,537 deaths during the 12 weeks ending Sept. 1. During the 12 weeks ending about the same time last year, the death toll grew by nearly 5,000.

Hospitals also show the current COVID wave to be milder than previous ones. Medical staff across Florida cared for 1,805 COVID-positive patients as of Sept. 2, the latest data from the federal Health and Human Services Department reports. That’s less than half last summer’s peak of about 4,300 in July 2022.

Immunity granted by vaccines and, to a lesser extent, prior infection have protected people from the severe illness and death that grabbed headlines during the pre-vaccine era of the COVID pandemic.

Which variants are driving the latest surge and will the latest vaccine work?

Virtually all coronavirus infections since early 2022 have been caused by descendants of the virus’ omicron variant. Four subvariants — EG.5, FL.1.5.1, XBB.1.16.6 and XBB.1.16 — are estimated to comprise the majority of COVID Infections in the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports.

The Food and Drug Administration on Monday approved COVID-19 boosters from Moderna and Pfizer that the agency said are a “good match for protecting against the currently circulating COVID-19 variants” based on studies showing how well the shots fight the infections. Babies annd young children ages six months to four years old can receive them, as can anyone ages 5 or older.

Past COVID surges brought crowded hospitals and headline-grabbing death tolls. The current wave has been more synonymous with sickness without severe symptoms.

A number of Park Vista High School football players testing positive delayed a game against Palm Beach Central High. Last month, more than 30 Palm Beach Gardens High players tested positive for COVID. Their Sept. 1 game vs. Vero Beach High was postponed to Sept. 6.

COVID has killed at least 90,232 people in Florida, excluding more than 3,000 victims whom state auditors found by combing through records from 2020 in which physicians classified someone's cause of death as COVID, but the state Health Department did not.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: COVID-19 surging in Florida with fewer becoming severely ill