COVID-19 is climbing again across the country, with infections growing or likely growing in 47 states as of mid-August. Dr. Bradley Jacoby said Kaiser Permanente Riverside has also seen an uptick locally, adding that this is happening while national flu activity remains low.
That timing is why people are searching for COVID symptoms 2026 now. The rise is landing before the usual winter respiratory season, and CDC research shows COVID-19 can peak in late summer as well as winter. Jacoby said the virus does not follow a predictable once-a-year pattern, and he warned that people can become vulnerable again after six months or a year as immunity fades or the virus changes.
What patients are noticing is also shifting. Along with the familiar fever and respiratory complaints, doctors are hearing more reports of stomach-related illness, including nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. That has made the current surge feel different from the last one for some households, because the first sign of infection is not always a cough or sore throat.
The broader pattern helps explain why this wave is spreading now. Health officials say summer heat pushes more people indoors, and students returning to school adds more chances for the virus to move from one person to another. Unlike influenza, which mainly surges in winter, COVID-19 is moving outside the traditional respiratory-virus season, and as of mid-August CDC estimates showed infections were declining in zero states.
There is also a new post-exposure option. Xocova can be requested by people who were around someone with COVID-19, and Jacoby said it may help prevent infection after a known exposure. That gives exposed people another tool, but not a broad shield; it is meant for a specific contact, not as a substitute for common precautions. Doctors still advise washing hands, avoiding close contact with sick individuals and staying home when feeling unwell.
The next clue will be whether this late-summer rise settles before winter or keeps building into the season when respiratory illness usually peaks. For now, the message from the front lines is plain: COVID-19 is active again, stomach symptoms are showing up more often, and people who have been exposed have more to think about than they did a few months ago.
