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By Craig Helmstetter, Minnesota Public Radio News

In the week ending Aug. 3, 218 Minnesotans were admitted to hospitals throughout the state with COVID-19, according to the Minnesota Department of Health’s most recent data.

This is the eighth consecutive week of increasing COVID hospitalizations, starting from a low point of 58 admissions in the first week of June.

While lower than many points earlier in the pandemic, this upward trend so far mirrors last summer’s slightly later surge — which ended up lasting five months and peaked at over 600 weekly COVID-19 hospitalizations in Minnesota.

As has been the case since COVID-19 started putting people in hospitals, older adults are bearing the brunt. Over one-quarter of the 218 COVID-related hospitalizations reported in week ending Aug. 3 were among Minnesotans aged 85 or older.

Since there are a total of only about 116,000 people in that oldest age group, their 58 admissions work out to a rate of 50 hospitalizations per 100,000 — by far the highest rate of any age group in the state.

While every death is a tragedy, it is fortunate that COVID-19 mortality levels have not yet reflected much of an increase. Nine Minnesotans died with COVID-19 in the most recent week with finalized data, the week ending July 20. Preliminary data from the Minnesota Department of Health suggests that may be changing, however, with twice as many deaths caused at least in part by COVID-19 in the week ending Aug. 3.

Wastewater data, a leading indicator of COVID-19 activity, raises another warning sign that Minnesota may see more COVID-related hospitalizations and even deaths in the coming weeks. Data released Friday by the University of Minnesota’s ongoing Wastewater Surveillance Study shows early August COVID measurements statewide reaching levels not seen since January – which is when the state saw its last major peak in COVID-related hospitalizations.

The timing for the upswing in COVID-19 activity here in Minnesota, which mirrors national trends, is mixed. On the downside, the current increase is coming at a time when Minnesotans are soon gathering in even larger numbers, including at the State Fair and in classrooms with the start of the fall academic calendar.

On the upside, an updated formulation of the COVID-19 vaccine will be widely available in September, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The updated vaccine is designed to provide a better line of defense against the currently circulating COVID-19 variants.