COVID is surging again, and apparently a lot of people still care. When we wrote last week about another summer wave of COVID, we wondered whether readers were fed up with the subject. We asked whether you would consider another COVID vaccine, whether you still wear a mask and whether public health officials should pay more attention to indoor air quality. Wow! Did you have something to say.
Before we turn the microphone over to you, though, there is some new information.
COVID Is Surging Again: What the Latest Data Show
As of September 2, 2026, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that COVID-19 infections are growing or likely growing in 47 states, declining or likely declining in zero states and not changing in three.
That doesn’t mean hospitals are overflowing or that we are returning to anything resembling 2020. The CDC cautions that its epidemic trend measurement tells us whether transmission appears to be rising or falling. It does not, by itself, tell us how much disease there is or how severe it is.
Wastewater surveillance tells a similar story. As of September 10, the national WastewaterSCAN dashboard rates SARS-CoV-2 activity as:
HIGH
with an:
“Upward trend in the last 21 days and medium concentration.”
Wastewater monitoring has become especially useful because so few people report home COVID tests these days. Sewage doesn’t care whether anybody bothers to stick a swab up their nose. All it requires is for people to flush the toilet.
Another Reason to Think About Repeat COVID Infections
There is also some intriguing new research on reinfection.
Investigators from the Public Health Agency of Canada and Statistics Canada analyzed information from nearly 9,000 adults. People who reported two or more COVID infections had 76% higher odds of receiving a new medical diagnosis than people who reported never having COVID.
Repeat infections were also associated with substantially higher odds of some respiratory and musculoskeletal diagnoses.
That does not prove that COVID caused those conditions. The information was self-reported, and people experiencing persistent symptoms may have seen healthcare providers more frequently, increasing the chance that another condition would be discovered.
Nevertheless, the investigators concluded that their findings reinforce the importance of efforts to prevent infection and called for continued investigation of the long-term consequences of SARS-CoV-2 reinfections.
Now, on to the real reason we are writing this article.
COVID Is Surging Again, and Readers Have A LOT to Say!
Our September 3 article was titled:
“COVID Is BACK! Do You Care? Why Not?”
We asked whether you still worry about COVID. Would you consider another vaccine this fall? Have you had COVID three, four or five times? Do you still wear a mask? Would you like more attention paid to ventilation and indoor air quality?
The responses poured in.
Some readers remain enthusiastic about vaccination. Others are absolutely DONE-DONE-DONE. Some still wear N95 masks. Others won’t consider one. And quite a few readers don’t fit comfortably into either camp.
Here is what you told us.
The following comments have been shortened and lightly edited for spelling, grammar and length. They represent readers’ personal experiences and opinions. Medical claims in reader comments have not necessarily been independently verified.
“I Will Continue to Get the Vaccine”
Susan, almost 74, has received Moderna COVID vaccines regularly. She contracted COVID for the first time in February 2026. She says the acute infection wasn’t much worse than influenza, but she now worries about long COVID:
“I seem to have periodic fuzzy brain, brief bouts of dizziness and fatigue. I still walk four or five miles every day, just more carefully and a little slower some days. I will continue getting vaccinated.”
Gael has received multiple COVID shots and has had COVID three times:
“My third infection was the mildest. I didn’t feel like I needed to stay in bed as I did with the first two. I plan to get the latest vaccine soon, along with the flu shot.”
Ralph, 69, wrote:
“My wife and I are getting the updated Moderna vaccine. We get vaccinated twice a year and have never had COVID. We keep N95s at home and in our cars for situations where we perceive a risk.”
Pamela, 81, has also received COVID vaccinations regularly:
“Fortunately, I’ve never contracted COVID, nor have I had the flu since 1972. I’m grateful that vaccinations have been developed and made available.”
Mary was succinct:
“I have had all the vaccines and never had COVID. I know people with long COVID, and it continues to make their lives miserable, so I will continue to get the vaccine.”
Marie, 82, has already signed up for her fall shot:
“A mild discomfort for a couple of days? So what. I feel it would be crazy for me to skip modern science as I get older and frailer. Your article also reminded me that I’ve become more casual about masking. Back on they go in public places.”
Diane, who is over 80, told us:
“I have yet to get COVID. I get whatever vaccine is offered at my local pharmacy along with regular flu shots. I still mask at doctors’ appointments, in elevators or in confined spaces. At my age, I don’t want to suffer the ravages of COVID and possibly not survive.”
Trish, 81, wrote:
“I have gotten the COVID vaccine twice a year ever since it became available, and I have never had COVID. I also get the flu vaccine yearly and haven’t even had a cold for nearly seven years.”
Robert, 75, says COVID vaccination makes him feel lousy for two or three days:
“I avoid getting the shot when I have an activity planned immediately afterward. Nevertheless, I have taken all the available COVID vaccines and yearly flu vaccines. I have never had COVID.”
Richard kept it even shorter:
“Looking forward to this year’s Moderna mRNA booster. I have N95 masks ready too in case grocery stores are ever crowded again.”
And Tony, 80, told us:
“I’ve had five vaccines and zero COVID. I have a number of health issues and will continue to take the vaccine when it is available. The flu shot has also been very effective for me.”
“I Am DONE With COVID Vaccines”
Other readers could hardly feel more differently.
Jeanne, 84, received her first three COVID vaccinations with only mild reactions. After a later dose, however, she says she felt worse than she did when she actually had COVID:
“I was sick for a week with symptoms worse than when I had COVID. So I am done, done, done with COVID vaccines. I believe in vaccines and encourage my children, husband and friends to get their shots. But my health history is different from everyone else’s, and I have made this decision for me.”
She added:
“We all must assess our own lives and make the best decision for each of us as individuals.”
Linda attributes ongoing health problems to two Pfizer vaccinations:
“I was never the same. I also got COVID very badly. Spend more ink on being proactive: vitamin D, sleep, handwashing, healthy food and, yes, air quality.”
Barbara, 71, and her husband have never received COVID vaccines. Both finally contracted COVID in February:
“For us it was nothing more than two days of mild, cold-like symptoms. We eat a whole-food diet and are very active. I don’t trust mRNA vaccines. To each his own.”
Another reader named Lisa, who is approaching 70, has never received a COVID vaccine and says she has never had COVID:
“I am not anti-vaccine, but I am very selective about what I inject into my body. I exercise daily, spend lots of time outdoors and eat a sensible diet. I will continue to practice self-care and be extremely cautious about medical advice.”
Nelly was even briefer:
“I don’t do shots and haven’t for many years. I eat healthy and exercise. So far I haven’t been sick in many years.”
B has had COVID once and does not plan another vaccination:
“I avoid processed food, make most of what I eat from whole ingredients, don’t smoke, limit alcohol and work out twice a week. It’s not easy, but it’s worth it.”
Charlotte told us:
“I was vaccinated and still got COVID twice and was very ill. I have since read things that make me very worried about the vaccines.”
And Kathryn expressed perhaps the strongest opposition:
“My husband and I are seniors. We have never had either a flu or COVID shot and never will. We are healthy and well.”
“The First Vaccines May Have Saved Our Lives”
Then there are readers such as Joy, whose experience doesn’t fit neatly into either category:
“I truly believe our first vaccinations and booster were lifesavers for my husband and me. During the first big round of COVID, we lost seven friends we knew, all unvaccinated.”
But Joy and her husband eventually stopped getting additional doses:
“After that first round we didn’t vaccinate anymore and eventually got COVID. We haven’t decided whether we’ll vaccinate this fall or just continue being very cautious.”
That uncertainty may describe quite a few Americans.
COVID Is Surging Again. What About Masks?
Jan, 77, wrote:
“I’m pleased to see young people wearing N95 masks at meetings, at work and on public transportation. I mask in waiting rooms, on airline flights and at meetings. I caught COVID once while waiting in line at the DMV even though I was wearing a mask that apparently wasn’t tight enough.”
Paul and his wife, both in their early 80s, have taken masking especially seriously:
“We have masked since spring 2020 during shopping and other indoor activities. We are virtually the only people still masking in our area of southern Wisconsin. Even at the cancer treatment center we visit monthly, staff and visitors rarely mask.”
They have also received COVID, RSV and influenza vaccines:
“So far we have been free not only of SARS-CoV-2 but all other respiratory infections. I call that a success story!”
Jim has had COVID twice, both times shortly after airline flights:
“As soon as symptoms appeared and I tested positive, I slept in the guest room. We also have four large HEPA filtration units throughout the house. My wife did not become infected. I will continue to get vaccinated and wear an N95 in very crowded indoor spaces.”
Liz, 78, is a year beyond treatment for Stage III cancer. She plans to continue receiving COVID boosters and masking in crowded places:
“I wear an N95 in crowds, grocery stores, hospitals and doctors’ offices. My arm has remained achy where I received the boosters, but to me that is nothing compared with what could happen if I contract COVID.”
What About the Air We Breathe?
We were especially interested in what readers thought about our call for better indoor air quality.
Kat, who is in her 70s, wrote:
“I really wish we would get up to speed on better indoor air quality. Besides protecting against COVID, it would help prevent other infections transmitted through the air.”
Marian agrees:
“It would be very helpful to have public buildings install CO2 monitors so people could have some indication of the quality of the air inside.”
Even Jeanne, who has decided against additional vaccination and dislikes wearing masks, strongly supports this approach:
“I will always support the need for better indoor ventilation in public places.”
And Inge described waiting recently at two businesses where customers were sharing self-service coffee machines:
“My thought was, ‘How quickly people forget.’”
COVID Can Change Minds Too
One of the most striking stories came from another reader named Diane. She had received COVID vaccinations without problems but missed a booster after moving. Then she contracted COVID:
“I was very sick for about a week and didn’t test negative until 12 days later. I lost about a third of my hair. My previously excellent memory was severely affected, and I waited more than a month before I felt comfortable driving again.”
She says she is gradually recovering:
“I intend to continue getting COVID boosters as well as a yearly flu shot.”
John also plans to continue vaccination:
“I don’t understand why some people get mad when you write about COVID. Each article has a title. If they’re not interested, they don’t have to read it. I would rather have a sore arm for a few days than become ill for weeks, or perhaps years, as happened to a neighbor with long COVID.”
“Oh Yes. I Care.”
Some responses weren’t primarily about vaccines or masks. They were about something deeper:
Trust.
Dawn reacted to our question, “Do you care?” with an emphatic answer:
“I care. Oh, I care!
“I care that millions of people were terrorized by COVID hysteria, by our government and by once-trusted institutions like yourself that continue to benefit from the fear.
“I care that people who were similarly situated to me contracted COVID and had no serious issues, yet were still expected to surrender their rights and freedoms.
“I care that my 46-year-old brother-in-law was hospitalized with myocarditis after receiving the COVID vaccine.
“I care that my 50-year-old husband was sicker than I had ever seen him after his second COVID vaccine.
“I care that my kids’ only high school experience was largely online. I care that their social lives, activities, and milestones were canceled or taken away—for what?
“I care because these weren’t abstract policy decisions. They affected my family, my children, my health and my trust in institutions I once believed deserved it.”
She concluded:
“So when you ask whether I care, the answer is simple: Oh yes. I care.”
Her anger is quite different from John’s response. He thanked us for continuing to write about COVID and wondered why people who don’t want to hear about the subject don’t simply skip the article.
Perhaps those two comments illustrate where we find ourselves more than six years after the pandemic began.
People haven’t necessarily stopped caring about COVID.
They just care about very different things.
What Do You Think Now That COVID Is Surging Again?
The COVID discussion clearly isn’t over.
Have these reader stories changed your thinking at all? Are you planning to get the latest vaccine? Are you finished with COVID shots? Do you still wear a mask in crowded indoor spaces? Have you had COVID more than once?
And what about the one issue that seemed to unite at least some people on both sides of the vaccine debate: cleaner indoor air?
Would you like schools, hospitals, doctors’ offices, nursing homes, airports and other public buildings to pay more attention to ventilation, HEPA filtration and indoor air quality?
Please share your experience in the comment section below.
Judging from the response to our last article, we suspect you will have plenty more to say.
