California sees COVID cases surge in summer as winter activity wanes
Health officials in California report that COVID-19 infections are now peaking in the summer, while winter outbreaks have largely subsided.
Recent surveillance indicates that COVID-19 has become a summer-time concern in California, with infection rates, emergency-department visits and wastewater signals rising sharply during the warm months and remaining low in winter. Dr. Erica Pan, director of the California Department of Public Health, highlighted that the 2025 summer peak was substantially larger than any winter surge. Infectious-disease specialist Dr. Peter Chin-Hong observed a similar shift beginning in 2024, attributing it partly to newer subvariants such as FLiRT, Nimbus and Stratus.
State officials are urging residents, especially seniors and the immunocompromised, to receive the 2025-26 vaccine dose promptly. Test-positivity rates have climbed to moderate levels in the Bay Area, Los Angeles and Orange counties, while hospitalizations remain below the peaks of the past two summers. The CDC continues to track the spread across 43 states, with California among the four states showing moderate or high wastewater activity.
Why it matters
Summer COVID spikes could strain hospitals and highlight the need for timely vaccinations.
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