‘Near a worst case scenario’ – Former CDC director gives ‘scary’ prospects for new Covid suspense

‘Near a worst case scenario’ – Former CDC director gives ‘scary’ prospects for new Covid suspense

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Top line

Former CDC director, dr. Tom Frieden, warns that the US may soon be “close to the worst case scenario” as a new, highly contagious type of Covid-19 spreads nationwide, and warns that full-fledged hospitals in the US will soon be the norm.

Key facts

On the tensions that are spreading rapidly in the UK and Ireland, Frieden said: “I have never seen such an epidemic.”

The UK now averages nearly 60,000 new businesses a day, after having an average of about 15,000 new businesses a day in early December, while Ireland’s rise was even faster.

Both countries are under strict lockdown, but cases are set to continue to rise at a rate that Frieden – who has worked in public health for decades – says he has never seen.

Eight states (Connecticut, Texas, Pennsylvania, Georgia, New York, Florida, California and Colorado) have confirmed at least one case of the new strain identified in England during December.

There are concerns that tensions are already widespread in the US; the first confirmed case on Dec. 29 was of a man in rural Colorado who had no history of recent travels.

Important quote

“The next 11+ days are scary. Uncontrolled distribution. Slow vaccination of vaccines. Worrisome variants, “Frieden wrote in a tweet on Friday. ‘Potential for perfect storm. Political unrest and leadership vacuum. ”

Large number

56%. This is how much more transmissible the new strain can be compared to other Covid-19 strains, according to a study by the London School of Hygiene And Tropical Medicine.

Important background

The coronavirus pandemic is now claiming the U.S. worse than at any point in the nearly one year the virus has been in the United States. According to Johns Hopkins University, more than 4,000 deaths were reported in one day on Thursday – the third consecutive day that the US set a new death record. According to The COVID Tracking Project, more than 130,000 patients in the U.S. are hospitalized in Covid, while the daily number of cases has reached 250,000 twice in the past six days.

What to pay attention to

Vaccine explosion is much slower than expected, as many countries apparently do not have adequate plans for distribution. Elected President Joe Biden said that when he takes office on January 20, he intends to distribute almost all of the coronavirus vaccine, in a break from the Trump administration, which has held back the vaccines to ensure that those who have a shot will have a second dose.

Further reading

New, more contagious coronavirus strain in the UK is found in Connecticut – here are the states so far (Forbes)

New Coronavirus strain is 56% more contagious, scientists estimate (Forbes)

Biden says he will release almost all available coronavirus vaccine before the second dose is administered (The Washington Post)

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