COVID hospitalizations jump again: Maps show where it’s worst

(NEXSTAR) – For the second week in a row, the number of people being admitted to the hospital with COVID-19 rose significantly, by more than 12%.

An additional 9,056 people were hospitalized with the virus last week, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention – that represents a 12.5% jump.

The summer wave started a few weeks ago. Last week, the number of new hospitalizations was up 12.1%.

In about two dozen states, the surge in hospitalizations is far more than 12%. Alabama, Alaska, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Montana, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Vermont and Wyoming all saw more than a 20% increase in new COVID hospitalizations.

New Hampshire saw the biggest jump in a single week – 96%, or a near doubling in the number of people being admitted.

Hover over your state on the map (below) to see the percent increase in new COVID-19 hospitalizations where you live.

States shaded in yellow and orange have seen hospitalizations decrease over the past week. Red states saw hospitalization numbers stay relatively stable. Those in purple saw a moderate increase, according to CDC data, while those in blue saw a substantial jump.

When you take a closer look, county-by-county data shows the surge isn't happening everywhere at the same time. Within a single state, one area could see hospitalizations triple, while the other end of the state is seeing fewer people with serious COVID come into emergency rooms.

Click on the map below to open it in a new window and get a closer look.

Jill Rosenthal, director of public health policy at the Center for American Progress, told The Hill that summer surges of COVID-19 may be the new norm. “We have had a summer wave of COVID for the last few summers, and so it’s not surprising to see an increase in COVID right now.”

While winter means more people socialize indoors (known to accelerate the spread of the coronavirus), summer means more people are traveling and socializing overall. Plus, in hot parts of the country, people are more likely to socialize and spend time in the air-conditioned indoors than they are to be outside.

The omicron variant still appears to be dominant. According to the CDC, omicron’s many subtypes make up 99.9% of cases.