COVID-19 Tracker 2026
About COVID-19
What is happening in 2026?
COVID-19 has not gone away. It settles into waves, and the summer of 2026 is one of them, driven by a new and more contagious Omicron descendant called NB.1.8.1, or Nimbus. Cases, wastewater levels and emergency visits are all climbing, most sharply in the West and South, though the overall level is still far below recent summers.
How serious is it?
For most vaccinated, healthy people this variant causes an unpleasant cold-like illness, often with a strikingly painful sore throat, and passes within a week. It has not been shown to cause more severe disease than earlier Omicron strains. The danger is concentrated in older adults, people with weakened immune systems or chronic illness, and those who have not had a recent vaccine.
How do you protect yourself?
An up-to-date vaccine is the main defense against severe illness. If you get sick, test when you can and stay home while symptomatic. Higher-risk people should reach a doctor early about antiviral pills like Paxlovid, which work best in the first few days. Good ventilation and masks in crowded indoor spaces still lower risk.
Sources: CDC About COVID-19 · CDC Respiratory Data
Treatments & Vaccines in Development
COVID is unusual on this site: it already has approved vaccines and antiviral pills. The challenge now is uptake and starting treatment early. Here is what is available and how well it works against the current variant.
The current updated COVID vaccines are expected to stay effective against the Nimbus variant and remain the main protection against severe illness. In Taiwan, this season's shots cut emergency visits by about half and hospitalizations by roughly 55%. In the US almost all severe cases this summer are in people who have not had a recent dose. Shots are recommended for most adults, and especially for those 65 and older or at higher risk.
CDC vaccine guidance →An oral antiviral for people at higher risk of severe COVID. It works best when started within the first five days of symptoms, so higher-risk people should contact a doctor early rather than waiting. It cuts the chance of hospitalization and remains effective against current Omicron-family variants like Nimbus.
CDC treatment guidance →An intravenous antiviral used mainly for hospitalized patients or higher-risk outpatients who cannot take Paxlovid. Like the other tools here it is aimed at preventing severe disease, not curing a mild case, which most people recover from at home within a week.
CDC treatment guidance →