President Joe Biden’s chief medical adviser on Sunday warned that the number of Americans infected with Covid-19 is likely to “go much higher” before easing in the new year.
Anthony Fauci told ABC News on Sunday that “the number of cases is huge. . . likely to be much higher ‘due to the ‘especially contagious’ nature of Coronavirus variant Omicron.
The latest figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that about three-quarters of new Covid cases in the US are linked to the new variant.
“Obviously we have to do better,” said Fauci. “I think things will improve a lot as we go into January, but that doesn’t help us today and tomorrow.”
The United States has recorded nearly 3.9 million new Covid cases in the past 28 days, according to the latest data compiled by Johns Hopkins University, with a strong increase in the past week. Many local authorities did not report coronavirus cases and hospitalization rates over the weekend, but cities including New York and Washington DC reported some of the biggest spikes in Covid cases during the holiday season.
The boom in cases in the US mirrors trends seen in the UK, Europe and other parts of the world. China reported its highest incidence since January over the weekend, while France and Italy announced records for the number of new cases in a day.
The dramatic increase in Covid cases in the US comes amid shortages of PCR and rapid at-home tests that have led to long queues in many US cities and raised concerns that people America unknowingly spread the virus during the Christmas holidays.
“Everyone should get tested before they come together, especially with high-risk people. . . we have a wide supply of vaccines, that’s not a problem, but unfortunately we don’t have enough tests,” said Ashish Jha, dean of the Brown University School of Public Health. Fox News Sunday. “This is really something we should have been doing for months and I’m disappointed that this is where a country is right now.”
Biden admit the wrong step In a televised interview last week, said the White House should have pushed sooner to freely distribute Covid-19 rapid tests across the country. Just four days before Christmas, the president announced the federal government would buy 500m of home tests and mail them – a move many public health officials said was too late.
US public health officials say they are encouraged by data from South Africa and the UK showing the Omicron variant is less severe than previous incarnations of the coronavirus. But they continue to warn about the risks posed to unvaccinated Americans, who are more likely to be hospitalized or die from Covid than those who are vaccinated.
According to the latest figures compiled by Our World in Data, just over 60% of people in the US are “fully vaccinated” with two shots, while about a fifth have received a third booster.
Fauci said the White House is “particularly worried” about the tens of millions of Americans who are eligible for vaccinations but have not yet been vaccinated.
“While we are pleased with the evidence from many countries that it appears to be of lower severity, we must be careful not to be complacent about it,” Fauci said. “It could still lead to more hospitalizations in the United States.”
The New York State Department of Health has issued a alert on Christmas Eve about the “trend of increasing hospitalizations in children related to Covid-19,” particularly in New York City. Health officials there warn the number of children hospitalized with the virus has quadrupled between December 5 and December 19. Children under the age of 5 in the US are currently ineligible. for vaccination.
Many US cities have imposed vaccine regulations that limit the ability of unvaccinated Americans to enjoy restaurants, concerts, and other public venues. The US Supreme Court will next month consider whether the Biden administration’s plan to mandate nationwide vaccines for private-sector employers of more than 100 workers is constitutional. or not.
US airlines have cancel hundreds of flights In recent days, carriers blamed staff shortages after a batch of key employees tested positive for Covid during one of the busiest times of the year.
In France, 105,000 new infections were recorded on Christmas Day, the highest level since the pandemic began. Experts estimate the Omicron variant now accounts for the majority of infections in Paris.
President Emmanuel Macron’s government will hold an emergency meeting on Monday to discuss whether more stringent measures are needed to slow the spread, such as a curfew or delaying the start. go to school after the holidays or not. But so far, the government has prioritized lobbying rather than deploying booster doses more quickly, and has not imposed broad restrictions on businesses that could hurt the economic recovery. .
Much will depend on whether French hospitals can cope with the higher number of hospital admissions over the Christmas period and beyond. Its The hospital was under a lot of pressure from staff shortages and absences even before the full impact of the Omicron variant is felt. The death toll rose to 1,031 in the past week – a level not seen since last April – bringing the total number of deaths to more than 122,500.
Additional reporting by Leila Abboud in Paris
