What does Covid-19 look like this summer?

Around this time last year, Washington state was seeing a slight bump in Covid-19 hospitalizations.

This year, things are looking different.

Covid-19 hospitalizations and deaths have been trending down across the state, hitting some of the lowest levels since the pandemic began.

In King County, the data tells a similar story.

However, while trends look promising, public health officials are cautioning people against letting their guard down completely as they prepare for summer gatherings and travel.

“We know Covid-19 tends to throw curveballs when we least expect it,” said Dr. Eric Chow, chief of communicable disease, epidemiology, and immunizations with Public Health – Seattle & King County.

Chow said his department tries to be vigilant, keeping an eye on the numbers and looking to other countries to see if there’s any indication that more concern is warranted in the near future.

With the unpredictable nature of the virus, he acknowledged that another wave is possible, although things are looking positive at this point.

"Either a new variant comes about, or because of people's activities and changes in behavior since exiting kind of that emergency phase of the Covid-19 pandemic, it's possible that we could see uptick and that's something that we're always looking out for," Chow said.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is tracking new variants of the virus. In Washington, omicron subvariant XBB.1.5 became dominant earlier this year, according to leaders of the UW virology lab. XBB.1.5 and other omicron subvariants make up the bulk of the lineages seen in the state.

None of them appear to be more severe than past variants.

One challenge in tracking variants in the state is the fact that fewer positive test samples are making it to labs for sequencing.

King County and Washington state are in a different place these days compared to any other point in the pandemic.

But deaths and hospitalizations continue to occur.

The state’s data dashboard shows 15 Covid-19 deaths in a seven-day period earlier this month.

People 65 and older, and those with underlying health conditions, remain the most vulnerable to severe outcomes from the virus.

In addition, Chow said long Covid is still a risk for the population at large and it’s another good reason to avoid even mild infections.

Chow said staying up to date with vaccines, masking in crowded places like planes and airports, testing and improving ventilation all remain useful precautions.

He said those at higher risk should also speak with their health care provider to make a plan for testing and accessing antiviral treatment if they’re traveling.

"I would say the biggest thing that worries me is that we will ignore or forget some of the lessons learned that we had acquired during the Covid-19 pandemic," Chow said.

Chow said those lessons need to be integrated into normal routines moving forward.