In California and across the country, COVID cases are again on the rise. Hospitalizations were up 12.5% over the previous week in the latest data reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and hospitalizations are one of the few ways to track the virus since the CDC dramatically scaled back its collection of infection rates in May.
The overall numbers are nowhere near the horrible peaks of the three years past, and the severity of the cases is significantly lower as well. Still, three months after the federal government ended its COVID-19 public health emergency, some experts say there is a new normal in the U.S.: regular COVID seasons — and available vaccines — in the same manner as the flu.
