Washington, July 14 (AP): The COVID-19 curve in the US is rising again after months of steep decline, with the number of new cases per day doubling in the past three weeks, driven by a delta variant of the rapidly spreading , is lagging behind vaccination rates and the Fourth of July gathering.
Confirmed infections climbed an average of 23,600 on Monday, up from 11,300 on June 23, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
And all but two states — Maine and South Dakota — reported that case numbers had increased in the past two weeks.
“It’s certainly no coincidence that we’re seeing exactly the time we’d expect cases to occur after the Fourth of July weekend,” said Dr., co-director of the infectious-disease department at the University of Washington School of Medicine. Bill Powderly said. in St. Louis.
Also, some parts of the country are running against deep vaccine resistance, while highly contagious mutant versions of the coronavirus first detected in India account for a large portion of the infections.
Nationally, 55.6 percent of all Americans have received at least one COVID-19 shot, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The five states with the biggest two-week jump in cases per capita had lower vaccination rates: Missouri, 45.9%; Arkansas, 43%; Nevada, 50.9%; Louisiana, 39.2%; and Utah, 49.5%.
Even with the latest surge, cases in the US are nowhere near their peak of a quarter million per day in January. And deaths are averaging less than 260 per day after averaging more than 3,400 over the winter – a testament to how effectively vaccines can prevent severe disease and death in those who become infected.
Still, amid the surge, health officials in places like Los Angeles County and St. Louis are begging immunocompromised people to resume wearing masks in public. And Chicago officials announced Tuesday that unaffiliated travelers from Missouri and Arkansas must either quarantine for 10 days or have a negative COVID-19 test.
Meanwhile, the Department of Health in Mississippi, which ranks last nationally for vaccination, began blocking posts about COVID-19 on its Facebook page due to the “rise of misinformation” about the virus and vaccine. done.
Mississippi officials are also recommending that people 65 and older and those with chronic underlying conditions stay away from large indoor gatherings, due to a 150% increase in hospitalizations over the past three weeks.
But many states, tired of months of restrictions, lack the political will.
In Michigan, Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is facing a campaign to repeal a law she used to impose major restrictions during the early stages of the pandemic.
and Republican Gov. Kay Ivey pushed back against the idea that the state might need to reimpose preventive measures as vaccination gaps and hospitalizations increase.
“Alabama is open for business. Vaccines are readily available, and I encourage people to get one. The state of emergency and health orders are over. We are moving forward,” she said on social media .
A leader of the Global Center for Health Security at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, Dr. James Lawler said bringing back masks and limiting gatherings would help. But he acknowledged that most places that see high rates of the virus are “really areas of the country that don’t want to do any of these things.” Lawler warned that what is happening in Britain is a preview of what is to come in America.
“Details of areas of the world where the delta variant has taken hold and become the dominant virus are pictures of ICUs full of 30-year-olds. That’s what critical care doctors describe and that’s what’s coming to America,” he said.
He continued: “I think people have no idea what’s going to kill us.” President Joe Biden is putting a dose of star power behind the administration’s efforts to get young people vaccinated. Eighteen-year-old actress, singer and songwriter Olivia Rodrigo will meet Biden and Dr. Anthony Fauci on Wednesday.
While the administration has had success vaccinating older Americans, younger adults have shown less urgency to get the shots.
Some, at least, are calling after weeks of begging in Missouri, said Eric Frederick, chief administrative officer for Mercy Hospital Springfield. He tweeted that the number of people vaccinated at its vaccine clinic has increased from 150 per day to 250.
“It gives me hope,” he said. (ap) smn smn
(This story has been published as part of an auto-generated Syndicate wire feed. Headline or body have not been edited by ABP Live.)
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