Dr. Chris Langan, a board-certified emergency room physician, urged Texans to be cautious as the US experiences an uptick in COVID-19 occurrences.

HOUSTON, TX – The US is currently in the midst of a new COVID-19 summer wave and Texas emergency room physician, Dr. Christopher Langan wants Texans to be prepared should the wave become worse.

Dr. Langan, a board-certified ER physician and the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) of Houston, TX-based SignatureCare Emergency Center said results from wastewater tests throughout the country is showing remarkable increase in COVID-19 occurrences.

“We are noticing a remarkable increase in COVID-19 viral activity from wastewater tests. While a number of situations can influence the results of these wastewater tests, our experience shows that these results are usually precursors to what happens later, so it is important that Texans are prepared. We may see a bigger wave before the end of summer,” he said. 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is also reporting that the level of COVID-19 virus in the wastewater is the highest the organization has seen since the last wave in 2022.

The CDC said the measure of national COVID-19 viral activity in wastewater rose to 8.82 on August 10 – falling just shy of a peak of 9.56 in July 2022. The CDC said the most recent data is incomplete and may change. 

Before it started rising again in May, viral level in the wastewater was at 1.36.

“The COVID-19 wastewater viral activity level is currently very high nationally, with the highest levels in the Western US region. Also, the fact that this year’s COVID-19 wave is coming earlier than last year, which occurred in late August/early September may also mean that we may have a new wave on the way,” Langan said.

According to the CDC dashboard, emergency room visits, hospitalizations and deaths from COVID-19 are also increasing, although not at the rate of infections.

The dashboard shows about 4 out of every 100,000 Americans are being hospitalized for the virus on July 31. This compares to a low of one out of every 100,000 Americans on May 31.

The CDC data aligns with data from WastewaterSCAN network, another organization that monitors the prevalence of COVID-19 in the U.S.

Other health experts are also sounding the alarm about the potential for a summer COVID-19 wave.

Dr. Marlene Wolfe, an assistant professor of environmental health and public health at Emory University and a program director for WastewaterSCAN said the increase in viral activity is significant.

“This is a very significant surge. The levels are very high. They’re the highest we’ve ever seen during a summer wave. We’re detecting SARS-CoV-2 in 100 percent of our samples across the country right now,” she said.

Another program director at WastewaterSCAN, Dr. Alexandria Boehm, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at Stanford University, called the surge in COVID-19 activity notable.

“It’s notable that levels right now for WastewaterSCAN are much higher than previous summer peaks and yet still below the average concentrations at the height of the winter peaks in 2023, 2022, and 2021,” he said.

Dr. Langan said it is never too early to start paying attention and perhaps prepare for a wave should it materialize. 

“Consider dusting off your mask and make sure you have hand sanitizers available for you and your family should what we are seeing in the wastewater become reality. You don’t want to be caught off guard,” he advised. 

He advised those experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 to visit a SignatureCare Emergency Center for evaluation and treatment by a board-certified ER physician. You can find all SignatureCare locations on our website at www.ercare24.com.