FROM KING FEATURES WEEKLY SERVICE, 300 W. 57th STREET, 15th FLOOR, NEW YORK, NY 10019 
CUSTOMER SERVICE: (800) 708-7311 EXT. 257   
SENIOR NEWS LINE #12345_20260713  
FOR RELEASE July 13, 2026
BYLINE: By Matilda Charles  
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Avoiding Covid ... still 
"It's gone! There is no more Covid!"
"It's completely gone!"
Well, no. 
I heard this exchange in the store today and had to step in. I'm probably the only one who is still, after six years, tracking local cases of Covid on a weekly basis. And the truth, as I explained to the two ladies in the store, is that Covid is still out there.
As of this writing, Covid is launching again in three states, declining in 34 states, and remaining the same in 12 states, while actually circulating to some degree in all 50 states.
It's not likely that a worldwide pandemic will explode again like it did in 2020. After all, so many people have taken the vaccines and still have a tiny bit of immunity left over from that.
The keyword there, however, is tiny. And that immunity is waning more by the month.
In other words, it is possible to get Covid now, despite prior shots and despite there not being a huge number of cases at the moment. It's summer, people are traveling and the three states with the growing number of cases are tourist hotspots. 
While we don't need to monitor our potential exposure every single minute like we did when Covid was raging around the world, we do need to acknowledge that over 800,000 seniors died of Covid -- and take care of ourselves. 
Some steps:
Identify which stores are likely to have test kits in stock should you need to replenish your supply. 
Wear a mask if you're going to be in a crowd.
Ask your doctor whether you should have a booster.
Wash your hands and use hand sanitizer.
According to WHO (the World Health Organization), in the past four weeks there have been 246 Covid deaths around the world; 202 of them were here in the United States.
(c) 2026 King Features Synd., Inc.
