FARGO -- The coronavirus feels like it is going around, but health officials say it isn't as concerning as other illnesses, now that the vaccine and immunity has helped the general public fight the infection.
North Dakota reported 296 cases of COVID-19 the week of Dec. 14, an uptick from 289 in the week before, according to the state Health and Human Services Department.
It's not as high as a peak in September, when weekly cases exceeded 500 per week. In August, cases per week jumped to above 400 cases a week.
Dr. Avish Nagpal, who is a Sanford Health infection diseases physician in Fargo, said it is hard to get accurate data on the coronavirus since most states are not tracking numbers in real time, like they did during the pandemic.
"Many people don't test for COVID anymore, so it's really hard to get an accurate number on COVID," he said.
The hospital does get some numbers on the virus since people come into the hospital for testing, Nagpal said. Those numbers have been steady over the past several months, he said.
"We do see a few weeks in a row where the activity will pick up, then it will go down," he said. "We are having a little bit of peaks and troughs, but nothing out of the ordinary."
The most cases North Dakota had in one week was in late January 2022, when the state reported 15,926 cases, Health and Humans Services said. The most hospitalizations that the state had was 527 patients in mid-November 2020, according to state data.
As of Thursday, North Dakota reported 53 COVID-related deaths in 2024, a small number compared to the 1,159 people who died from COVID in 2020, the state's highest yearly count.
People will still get sick with COVID, but the severity of symptoms are "not even close" to pandemic times, Nagpal said. For the 2024-25 season, which began in early August, North Dakota reported 241 hospitalizations, including 11 in the week of Dec. 7, Health and Humans Services said.
At Sanford, all of the beds allocated to COVID patients were full during the peak of the pandemic, Nagpal said. Today, the hospital may get two patients.
He attributed the drop in cases and severity to vaccines, boosters and immunity built from infections.
Doctors have been concerned with whooping cough, especially among children. Also known as pertussis, North Dakota has recorded 115 cases of whooping cough this year.
"That has been the big struggle this year," he said. "It's basically affecting kids all over the state."
It's the first time since 2012 that cases have exceeded 100. That year, North Dakota had 214 cases. Almost all other years since then have been less than half the count this year, according to Health and Human Services data.
Whooping cough cases across the U.S. are six times higher than this time last year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. As of Thursday, Minnesota reported 2,814 cases for 2024, double of the outbreak in 2016, according to the Minnesota Health Department.
Influenza and cold activity are starting to pick up, Nagpal said. North Dakota hasn't seen the outbreaks present in southern states, which are experiencing moderate to high activity, according to the CDC.
North Dakota and Minnesota are classified as minimal activity, according to the CDC.
"I anticipate that in the next three to four weeks, we will be at that place, too," he said.
He said this is the best time to get a flu shot, especially as people prepare to gather for Christmas.
If a person tests positive for COVID, the CDC recommends they isolate until 24 hours after symptoms improve overall and they don't have a fever without taking fever-reducing medication.