During the past week, the daily number of cases and deaths has increased by an average of about 2% compared to the previous week, the CDC director, Rochelle Walensky, said during a White House press briefing to about 67,000 cases per day and 2 000 American lives. lose every day to the virus. This is almost a third of what the US saw during its holiday boom, but still no better than what the US saw during the summer peak.
“With these new statistics, I’m really concerned about reports that more states are reversing the exact public health measures we recommended to protect people from COVID-19,” Walensky said. “I understand the temptation to do so – 70,000 cases a day seems good compared to the situation we were in just a few months ago – but we can not be thanked with 70,000 cases a day, but we can 2000 daily deaths. “
This flattening comes as states across the country, led by Democrats and Republicans, have eased restrictions, from strict measures imposed during the boom, such as home orders in California or the closure of indoor eateries in New York, to returning to the loose rules since the pandemic, such as in Montana and Iowa, where governors lifted mask mandates and turned back restrictions on businesses.
Arkansas and Texas are also considering revoking their mask mandates in the coming weeks.
Walensky, formerly head of infectious diseases at Massachusetts General Hospital, addressed a statement to all states on Monday: ‘Please hear me clearly. At this level of cases with variants spreading, we can completely lose the hard-earned ground we have. won, ‘she said.
“This variant is a real threat to our people and to our progress. This is not the time to stop the critical guarantees we know of spreading COVID-19 in our communities, not when we are so close,” she said. said.
Walensky has urged people to continue abolishing business, as the US has mostly done since early January – although certain parts of the country, such as Texas and Florida, have seen an increase in recent weeks.
There’s no reason why cases have flattened out, but the infectious disease pathologist and ABC News co-founder John Brownstein said it could be a combination of factors, including relaxed mitigation efforts or complacency, but also a decline in testing. which enables people to unknowingly get the virus and perhaps the cold in southern states like Texas that people have been asked to gather indoors.
Brownstein also pointed to the increasing prevalence of the B.1.1.7 variant, which originated in the United Kingdom and is about 50% more transmissible.
“There’s clearly a lot of enthusiasm to be normal again and I think we should try to do everything we can,” Brownstein said. “But certain activities we know are conducive to transmission, we have to endure a little longer.”
Walensky, dr. Anthony Fauci, chief medical adviser and other public health warning experts, has been warning for weeks that mitigation before reaching a more manageable level could lead to the same upswing that the US has seen after a patchwork of reopening, mainly in the whole South. , wiped out much of the progress of the near-nationwide closure in March and April.
“We have the ability to stop a potential fourth increase in cases in this country. Be strong in your conviction, continue to wear your well-fitting mask and take the other public health prevention actions we work on,” Walensky said. .
Before the news about the plateau statistics, most of the US had a sharp downward trajectory that coincided with the approval of a third coronavirus vaccine, developed by Johnson & Johnson and approved by the FDA over the weekend .
On Monday, 3.9 million doses of the latest vaccine were sent, requiring only one dose compared to the double doses required for the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines. By the end of March, another sixteen million doses will be available, although the White House has prepared the states for an uneven distribution in the first few weeks as the company launches their production.
And as of Monday, according to the White House, 50 million Americans have received at least one dose of the other vaccines, Pfizer and Moderna.
All three vaccines are safe and effective against the virus and its variants, including the B.1.1.7 variant, which was originally discovered in the United Kingdom. The variant is about 50% more transmissible and scientists expect it to be the dominant strain in the US. by mid-March, making the race to vaccinate a majority of Americans more urgent.
The White House has asked Americans to get the vaccine available if it is their turn.
“All three vaccines have been proven to be safe, extremely effective in preventing serious diseases and hospitalizations and deaths due to COVID-19 after full immunity,” said Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith, chair of the White House Health Equality Task Force, said.
“And if I could leave people with one message, it would be this: let it be vaccinated. With the first vaccine at your disposal. Protect yourself, your family and your community from COVID-19,” she said.