Houston Methodist reports summer COVID surge

The hospital said a summer surge of COVID cases is happening across the country.

HOUSTON — A somewhat new COVID strain is causing a surge in cases across the country.

The summer surge, while moderate in Texas, has local doctors reminding people to get tested if they don't feel well.

The new strain -- KP.3 -- doesn't cause more severe illness, according to doctors. Symptoms usually include headaches and respiratory issues that compare to allergy flare-ups.

"People who have had milder symptoms can transmit virus to others, in particular, people who are immuno-compromised who even when they've had previous infection or even if they've been vaccinated but they are unable to respond very well to the vaccine -- such as people who are on certain types of immuno-suppressant medications, people who have had organ transplants, people who are undergoing intensive chemotherapy -- they are high risk and then they could have more severe disease," Dr. Ashley Drews said.

KP.3 came from JN.1, which was the dominant strain last winter.

According to the City of Houston's wastewater monitoring dashboard, the detected viral load is up 220% compared to the baseline taken in July 2020.

Here's what Houston Methodist had to say about the surge:

"A COVID-19 summer surge is happening throughout the country right now and Houston Methodist is seeing an increase in testing and positive tests from our emergency rooms and urgent care centers. While the spread is moderate in Texas and hospitalizations for COVID-19 remain low, it’s a good time to remind everyone about testing if you don’t feel well.

"This new strain of COVID, variant KP.3, is derived from JN.1, which was the dominant variant this past winter. It is not expected to cause more severe illness and is commonly causing headaches and respiratory issues similar to allergies."