More states report increasing the number of Covid-19s as the CDC chief warns that the US Capitol riots are likely to be a “surge event” :: WRAL.com

Christina Maxouris, CNN

CNN — Following the country’s worst week since the Covid-19 pandemic began, state officials have warned of more alarming patterns after the holiday season.

Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear said the state “has actually significantly increased the incident and our positive rate from a gathering of people on vacation.”

“This surge we are facing now is at least twice as fast and serious as the previous surge we have seen,” the governor added. “This is our most dangerous time.”

Colorado state epidemiologist Dr. Rachel Harley warned on Friday about the “early signs” of an increase in Covid-19 cases. “We are starting to see the effects of holidays appearing in our data,” she said. Health experts believe that one in 105 residents is currently contagious, Herlihy added.

“Most of Colorado’s population is actively infected with Covid-19 and can be mutually infected, so the risk of personal contact remains high in the state,” Herlihy said. I am.

Warnings have been repeated in other states since the beginning of the new year.

Earlier this month, the Governor of Arkansas said the state was “certainly booming after Christmas.” Mississippi officials also said on Monday that the state has experienced more Covid-19 patients in the ICU and is preparing for a further increase in virus numbers after vacation.

“We strongly anticipate another surge after the holidays,” said Dr. Thomas Dobbs of the State Department of Health. “It’s a kind of repetitive theme, not so surprising. It also happens when the ICU’s room is full and the hospital is really overloaded.”

The unprecedented storm of the US Capitol on Wednesday is also a worrying event from a pandemic perspective.

On Friday, Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, warned that the riots were likely to be a “population event” with “public health implications.”

“You had an individual who was all through the Capitol and was mostly unmasked in a distanceless manner,” he told the McClutch newspaper group. “Then all these individuals are now home by car, train or plane all over the country.”

“So I think this is probably a big event,” he added.

It was a deadly week in America

Dark forecasts are already in the dark for the country. For the first time, the United States reported more than 4,000 Covid-19 deaths on Thursday. This is a phenomenal new high following other record daily deaths in the past week.

In California, a state that has fought a brutal surge in incidents, hospitalizations, and deaths, state emergency services offices are increasing the storage capacity of victims’ bodies.

The Governor of California’s Emergency Services Department has launched a state multi-accident program to assist state coroners and “address the increased storage needed to mitigate bottlenecks caused by the surge in deaths.” Stated.

“The surge that has already begun has caused hospitals to release more and more dead to county coroners, who must send the bodies to funeral workers and hold them until they are buried.” Said the agency.

In Los Angeles County, officials said people die of Covid-19 every eight minutes.

On Friday, county health officials reported the highest number of Covid-19 deaths ever reported in one day: 318.

“Public health reported more than 200 daily deaths this week,” officials said in a news release. “For comparison, the county kills an average of about 170 people each day, including all other causes, including heart disease, cancer, stroke, diabetes, car accidents, suicide, and murder.”

CDC shoots down the “USA Variant” report

Meanwhile, more than 60 cases of the Covid-19 variant, first identified in the United Kingdom, are currently identified in eight states in the United States, according to CDC data.

According to the CDC, this number represents only cases found by analysis of positive samples, not the total number of cases prevalent in the country. The variants appear to spread more easily, but there is no evidence that they are no longer fatal or cause more serious illness, officials said.

The CDC also shot down reports from the White House Coronavirus Task Force and warned the state about the more contagious homemade “USA variant” of Covid-19.

The misunderstanding began with a phone call with the governor, officials told CNN. Cole officials were discussing whether the surge in Covid-19 cases in the country was due to a potential U.S. variant similar to the one first detected in the United Kingdom, but officials said the U.S. Health leaders have made it very clear that this is not the case with the determination that there are US variants of the virus.

Academic researchers also said they were confused by the report, adding that there was no evidence that the virus variant was promoting its spread in the United States.

“We don’t know the variants identified in the United States that could cause the rise we’re seeing,” said Scott Hensley, a virus and immunity expert at the University of Pennsylvania.

“There are many reasons for the rise in infection rates from autumn to winter,” he added. “The increase in cases does not necessarily require a genetic explanation.”

State seeks help from non-traditional vaccinated people

According to the latest CDC data, more than 22 million Covid-19 vaccines have been distributed and more than 6.6 million have been administered during the surge. This is far from the number the country wanted to reach. now.

Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Dr. Steven Hahn said on Friday that some states use only about 30-35% of current vaccines, encouraging them to expand their Covid-19 vaccination standards. Stated.

However, states are struggling to secure enough staff to provide shots, and some states are now assisting with non-traditional vaccinations. California authorities have approved an emergency exemption that allows dentists to vaccinate people over the age of 16.

In other parts of the country, the healthcare system is drawn from wells of newly trained nursing, medical and dental students to support its efforts. Others are looking for retired healthcare professionals who have the skills to administer vaccines and are not actively participating in Covid-19 patients.

And some states are seeking help from the National Guard.

Fauci: Second Covid-19 vaccine dose “critical”

Dr. Anthony Fauci said on Friday that a second dose of Modana with the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine is essential for optimal protection.

“The second dose is absolutely important,” he said. Both vaccines, once given, “have not been proven to be as effective as we want and we do not know how long the protection will last,” Fauci added.

“Whatever you are listening to, a single dose of Moderna and a single dose of Pfizer are not optimal,” he said. “The best is a single dose of Pfizer, followed by a boost after 21 days, or if you need optimal protection and optimal durability, a single dose of Modana is followed by a boost at 28 days. “

A spokeswoman for the company told CNN that Moderna believes that the second dose of the vaccine can be effectively given within 21 to 42 days of the first dose.

In clinical trials, Moderna’s vaccine was given twice every 28 days. On Friday, President-elect Joe Biden’s team held Covid instead of holding down half to ensure that the second vaccination was on time, as the Trump administration did. He said he would release almost all vaccinations of the -19 vaccine soon.

When asked if Moderna could produce enough additional vaccine to receive a second dose on day 28, the company refused to respond directly.