COVID-19 cases are rising across the country; doctors say they're seeing a similar trend in Maryland

BALTIMORE -- With summer in full swing, doctors say the number of COVID-19 cases is increasing in Maryland and across the country .

Two new highly contagious variants make up more than half of the cases nationwide.

The CDC said the variants' effects have not been proven to be more severe than previous variant s, with symptoms including head and body aches, loss of smell, congestion, cough and fatigue.

Dr. Miriam Alexander of LifeBridge Health emphasizes the importance of proper hand washing and wearing a mask while sick.

"The people we worry the most about are the elderly and very young people in the middle range are getting sick but not unpleasantly sick they are not the ones getting hospitalized," Alexander said.

Rates tend to increase with the summer travel season, go down in the fall, and then increase during the winter season, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention .

Doctors say that vaccination rates have decreased from the pandemic, which likely attributed to the rise in cases. They recommend staying up to date with both Flu and COVID shots.

"The virus is still here and it is going to wax and wane and just because people are not dying in droves doesn't mean that people aren't still dying, and a lot of Americans dying of COVID and most of it can be prevented," Alexander said.