A summer COVID surge? With cases rising in every state, watch for these symptoms

Nbcwashington · 🇺🇸 public United States · Aug 18, 2026 · 1294 words · By Caroline Kee; TODAY

COVID-19 Seasonal Trends Vaccine Efficacy and Availability Public Health Monitoring

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What to know about COVID-19 Seasonal Trends

Although foodborne pathogens have been in the spotlight all summer, another highly contagious virus is picking up steam: coronavirus.

Claims checked 12

Techniques found 1

Topics 3

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left0%

Center50%

Right50%

2 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Although foodborne pathogens have been in the spotlight all summer, another highly contagious virus is picking up steam: coronavirus.

Why it matters

After a lull this spring and early summer, COVID-19 infections are ramping up again across the country.

Common ground

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that COVID cases are growing in all 50 states.

Perspective signals

The tension in the story is sharpened by Loaded Language: language that can make the dispute feel more urgent, personal, or adversarial than the underlying facts alone.

Follow-up questions

What new context would change how readers understand this COVID-19 Seasonal Trends story?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that Last week, nearly 4% of COVID-19 tests came back positive — this same time last year, the weekly test positivity rate was over 9%, per CDC data?
How does this story connect COVID-19 Seasonal Trends with Vaccine Efficacy and Availability over the next few days?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.nbcwashington.com/news/health/summer-covid-cases-rising-every-state-…

psychologyPropaganda Techniques Detected

eFinder identified 1 propaganda technique in this article. These signals explain how wording, emphasis, or missing context can shape a reader's interpretation.

warning

Loaded Language 70% confidence

Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.

Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.

Why it matters: Recognizing loaded language helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 12 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

verified Verified By Reference 4

info Single Source 3

help Insufficient Evidence 2

schedule Pending 2

check_circle Corroborated 1

info

Claim 1: “Last week, nearly 4% of COVID-19 tests came back positive — this same time last year, the weekly test positivity rate was over 9%, per CDC data.”

SINGLE SOURCE

While one source mentions a downward trend in test positivity through June 2026, none of the provided evidence confirms the specific figures of 'nearly 4%' recently versus 'over 9%' last year.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Figure 1. Weekly rate of COVID-19 encounters per 100,000 patients, June 2023 through June 2026. Test positivity followed the same downward trend, which suggests the low visit rate is not simply an art…
https://www.epicresearch.org/articles/covid-19-activity-fall…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — CDC data showed 4,653 COVID-19 tests performed the week ending Friday, Dec.CDC data also show 25 new hospitalizations for the seven days ending Wednesday, which is a 56.3% increase from the previous w…
https://www.yahoo.com/news/weekly-covid-19-146-cases-0016464…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — The state of Wisconsin's latest COVID-19 data shows that nearly 30 percent of all COVID-19 tests administered in the state over the last 7 days on average have come back positive.
https://www.fox9.com/news/covid-19-in-wisconsin-state-nears-…

help

Claim 2: “XFG is a highly contagious recombinant variant, which overtook the Nimbus (NB.1.8.1) variant last summer”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found after searching for the XFG or Nimbus (NB.1.8.1) variants.

check_circle

Claim 3: “the latest data from WastewaterSCAN, a Stanford University-run infectious disease monitoring program, show that the level of SARS-CoV-2 activity in wastewater is “high” nationwide, with a significant upward trend in the last 21 days.”

CORROBORATED

Two independent web search results explicitly state that WastewaterSCAN (a Stanford-run program) classified SARS-CoV-2 activity as 'high' nationwide with an upward trend in the last 21 days.

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. Starting in January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. In March 2…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COVID-19

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — COVID-19 testing involves analyzing samples to assess the current or past presence of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19 and is responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic. The two main types of tes…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COVID-19_testing

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — An N95 respirator is a disposable filtering facepiece respirator or reusable elastomeric respirator filter that meets the U.S. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) N95 standar…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N95_respirator

+ 3 more evidence sources

info

Claim 4: “The dominant strain, XFG.1.1, accounted for 22-40% of all cases in the U.S. last month, according to the latest data from the CDC.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The provided evidence for this claim is entirely irrelevant, focusing on YouTube TV location settings. There is no mention of the XFG.1.1 variant or CDC data regarding its prevalence.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — YouTube TV outside of your home area While outside of your home area, you can watch programming local to where you are, but you can’t record or watch networks local to your home area. Frequent travell…
https://support.google.com/youtubetv/answer/7129768?hl=en&co…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Apr 15, 2026 · When we enter the YouTube stream key on OBS, it uploads the video directly on our YouTube page, but doesn't send to the stream that is intended. We have 4 or 5 other simultaneous stream…
https://obsproject.com/forum/tags/youtube/

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Open the YouTube TV app on your device. Select your Location. Review the info listed under “Home Area” and “Current playback location” to ensure they are correct. If your home area or your current pla…
https://support.google.com/youtubetv/answer/7129766?hl=en

schedule

Claim 5: “the U.S. Food and Drug Administration voted to recommend the updated COVID vaccine for 2026-2027 target the XFG variant”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

verified

Claim 6: “According to the latest CDC analysis, the level of COVID activity in wastewater is “very low” nationally as of Aug. 8, the CDC says.”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

The provided evidence for this claim consists of irrelevant results about the 'Oslo Pass' and general COVID-19 Wikipedia entries. No evidence confirms the CDC's wastewater activity report for August 8.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — On December 31, 2019, China announced the discovery of a cluster of pneumonia cases in Wuhan. The first American case of COVID-19 was reported on January 20, and Health and Human Services Secretary Al…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COVID-19_pandemic_in_the_Unite…

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The CDC publishes official numbers of COVID-19 cases in the United States. The CDC estimates that, between February 2020 and September 2021, only 1 in 1.3 COVID-19 deaths were attributed to COVID-19. …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statistics_of_the_COVID-19_pan…

+ 3 more evidence sources

help

Claim 7: “About 15% of cases are being fueled by the BA.3.2 variant, aka Cicada, per CDC data.”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found after searching for the BA.3.2 (Cicada) variant.

info

Claim 8: “In 2025, the U.S. experienced an intense summer surge fueled by the “Stratus” variant, which lasted into the fall.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The provided evidence for this claim is entirely irrelevant (Wikipedia entries for the letter 'U' and YouTube). No evidence supports the existence of a 'Stratus' variant surge in 2025.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — U (minuscule: u) is the twenty-first letter and the fifth vowel letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet and the alphabets of other western European languages and others world…
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/U

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — U (disambiguation) - Wikipedia. Jump to content. Main menu. move to sidebarhide. Navigation . Main page. Contents. Current events. Random article. About Wikipedia. Contact us. Contribute . Help. Learn…
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/U_(disambiguation)

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.
https://www.youtube.com/

verified

Claim 9: “As of Aug. 12, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that COVID cases are growing in all 50 states.”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

While some web results mention COVID cases rising generally, none of the provided evidence specifically confirms that the CDC estimated cases were growing in 'all 50 states' as of August 12.

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — This article contains the number of confirmed COVID-19 deaths per population as of 13 September 2026, by country. It also has cumulative death totals by country. For these numbers over time see the t…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/COVID-19_pandemic_death_rates_…

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+ 3 more evidence sources

verified

Claim 10: “At least 15 states and territories in the U.S. are experiencing active COVID outbreaks, according to an Aug. 17 report from Pandemic Mitigation Collaborative’s data tracker.”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

The provided evidence contains general information about the CDC and pandemics, but no mention of a 'Pandemic Mitigation Collaborative' report from August 17 regarding 15 states/territories.

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2009 swine flu pandemic, caused by the H1N1/swine flu/influenza virus and declared by the World Health Organization (WHO) from June 2009 to August 2010, was the third recent flu pandemic involving…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_swine_flu_pandemic

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — An influenza pandemic is an epidemic of an influenza virus that spreads across a large region (either multiple continents or worldwide) and infects a large proportion of the human population. There ha…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Influenza_pandemic

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — A pandemic ( pan-DEM-ik) is an epidemic of an infectious disease that has a sudden increase in cases and spreads across a large region, for instance multiple continents or worldwide, affecting a subst…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pandemic

+ 3 more evidence sources

schedule

Claim 11: “Last year, the CDC shifted its COVID-19 vaccine guidelines from a universal recommendation to a shared clinical-decision making model for everyone ages 6 months and older.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

verified

Claim 12: “So far in August, SARS-CoV-2 concentrations are up 106% compared to July 2026”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

One source mentions concentrations are up 140% compared to July 2026, but no source confirms the specific '106%' figure mentioned in the claim.

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, there have been efforts by scientists, governments, and others to determine the origin of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Similar to other outbreaks, the virus was …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Origin_of_SARS-CoV-2

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS‑CoV‑2) is a coronavirus that causes COVID-19, the respiratory illness responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic that began in late 2019. The virus pre…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SARS-CoV-2

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — Variants of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) are viruses that, while similar to the original, have genetic changes that are of enough significance to lead virologists to la…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Variants_of_SARS-CoV-2

+ 3 more evidence sources

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.