As states lift mask rules and ease restrictions on restaurants and other businesses due to declining case numbers, public health officials say authorities are ignoring potentially more dangerous COVID-19 variants distributed in the US.
Scientists broadly agree that the US simply does not have enough of the variants to return to social measures, and that they are in danger of rooting for another phase of the pandemic after letting the virus through the country over the past year rage and kill. nearly 500,000 people.
“This is not the time to open up completely,” said Karthik Gangavarapu, a researcher at the Scripps Research Institute. The team is working closely with San Diego health officials to look at mutant versions of the coronavirus. “We still need to be vigilant.”
Over the past two weeks, the daily averages for both coronavirus cases and deaths in the U.S. have dropped by about half, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. And as of Wednesday, more than 40 million people – about 12% of the population – have received at least one dose of vaccine.
But experts, including dr. Anthony Fauci, and the director of CDC, dr. Rochelle Walensky, says the downward trend could reverse itself as new variants take hold.
The problem, as experts see it, is that the US was slow to set up a strict genetic surveillance system to track the distribution of the variants and measure how much foothold they found here.
“The fact is that we are in the dark,” said Dr. Diane Griffin said, studying infectious diseases at Johns Hopkins. She said the variant “is probably widespread, even if we do not know it.”
Biden’s government announced on Wednesday that it will spend $ 200 million on disease control and prevention centers to triple the levels of genetic sequencing to identify mutations that could make the coronavirus more contagious or deadly. Separately, Congress is considering a bill that would provide $ 1.75 billion for such work.
A more contagious and potentially deadly variant first identified in Britain has been found in at least 42 states. Other variants first detected in South Africa and Brazil have been reported in low numbers in the US. The South African one is particularly worrying due to evidence that it may reduce the effectiveness of the vaccines.
“We are chasing a moving target. It is changing a little too fast for convenience,” said Dr. Lucio Miele, a geneticist from LSU Health Sciences in New Orleans, said. “We need to be proactive. We are not invulnerable.”
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Detecting variants and knowing where and how widely they are spreading can be critical to preventing another deadly wave of COVID-19s, such as those that overwhelmed hospitals this winter.
By the end of 2020, in Europe, the government was responding across the continent by imposing strict travel restrictions and lockouts, when security once began to crack down on variants such as the case that was out of control and overwhelming hospitals in England. mark.
But in the US, the rise of numerous government officials and local officials with the emergence of variants amid the overall decline in confirmed infections.
According to the CDC, Florida, for example, has the highest number of cases of the British variant. But it looks like state leaders have already moved away from the coronavirus, including ruling Ron DeSantis.
Asked about the emergence of new tribes last week, DeSantis told reporters: “The media is obviously worried about it. You guys really love it.”
Florida revoked many restrictions and hosted 25,000 fans for the Tampa Super Bowl and 30,000 spectators a week later at the Daytona 500 in what was the largest sporting event in the country since the start of the pandemic.
Restrictions are also easing in California, which is recovering from a surge of COVID-19 that has exceeded its hospital system in recent months. California officials expect a significant number of counties to be allowed to host indoor eateries and open theaters, museums and gyms. The state also reports the country’s second highest case for the British variant.
Elsewhere, states like North Dakota, Montana and Iowa have lifted mask mandates in recent weeks, and many more have eased restrictions on businesses such as restaurants, bars and shops.
Public health experts say part of the problem is that the latest statistics can be misleading. The CDC, for example, reported only about 1,300 cases of emerging variants nationwide.
“It’s a countdown,” said Dr. Caitlin Rivers, Johns Hopkins epidemiologist, said. She and others say the figure reflects the country’s underdeveloped genetic surveillance system.
Local health authorities have the same statistical problem.
Last month, Minnesota was the first state to detect the COVID-19 variant identified in Brazil. By testing about 2% to 3% of the state’s positive COVID-19 samples, the Minnesota Department of Health identified two cases of the Brazilian variant and 40 of the British one.
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“This is a somewhat meaningless number,” said Kathy Como-Sabetti, an epidemiology manager for the health department. “That’s a small fraction of our total number of cases.”
Como-Sabetti said state support for a potential wave of disease increases as variants go unnoticed.
Some scientists have asked the US to test about 5% of the positive COVID-19 samples – which would represent about 3900 series this week – to stay abreast of the variants. Currently, the US order is between 0.3% and 0.5% of virus samples. Britain follows about 8% of its positive cases and Denmark about 12%.
“We are regrettably behind when it comes to technological order,” Miele said.
Meanwhile, Chicago and surrounding suburbs allowed indoor dining to resume and reopen in January for the first time since October, with numerous restrictions, major cultural attractions, including the Field Museum and Shedd Aquarium. Boston opened gyms, movie theaters and harbor vessels this month.
Restaurants in New York received the green light to eat indoors last week, despite concerns from some local officials.
“Are we defying the global pattern of variants that doubles every ten days?” tweeted City member Mark D. Levy. “Or are variants actually growing here and we are just not being told?”