COVID-19 hotspots show signs of the future in the United States

Infectious delta variants promote COVID-19 hospitalization in the Mountain West and promote destructive outbreaks in the north. This is an annoying sign of what will happen in the United States this winter.

While the trend is improving FloridaIn Texas and other southern states that suffered the worst of the summer surge, it’s clear that Delta isn’t happening in the United States. COVID-19 is moving north and west towards winter as people head indoors, close windows and breathe stagnant air.

Dr. Donald Milton of the University of Maryland School of Public Health said:

Recently, a university in Vermont Halloween party. Boston authorities have closed an elementary school to control the outbreak. Hospitals in New Mexico and Colorado are overwhelming.

In Michigan, the Metro Detroit area of ​​three counties is once again becoming a hotspot for transmission, with nearly 400 COVID-19 patients in hospitals. Mask wear in Michigan has dropped to about 25%, according to a combination of studies tracked by an influential modeling group at the University of Washington.

“Generally, there are few concerns about COVID, which is a shame,” said Dr. Jennifer Morse, medical director of the medical director. health 20 county divisions in central and northern Michigan. “It feels strange to enter a masked store. I’m a minority. It’s very different. It’s a really unusual atmosphere right now.”

Despite above average immunization rates in New Mexico, there is a shortage of intensive care units. Weakened immunity may play a role. People who have been vaccinated early and have not yet received booster shots may be boosting the number of infections, even if they have some protection from the most disastrous consequences of the virus.

Ali Mokudad, a professor of health metric science at the University of Washington, said: “This virus will stay with us for a long time.”

Delta variants dominate infectious diseases across the United States, accounting for more than 99% of the samples analyzed.

No state has achieved sufficient vaccination rates to avoid the current types of outbreaks, even when combined with inducible immunity, Mokudad said.

Contrary to national recommendations, Colorado Governor Jared Polis signed an executive order on Thursday to make COVID-19 booster shots accessible to residents over the age of 18. This is another step to prevent hospitals and healthcare professionals from being overwhelmed by the state’s surge. Delta infection.

Immunization progress continues, but about 60 million Americans over the age of 12 are unvaccinated. Jeff Seiens, COVID-19 coordinator at the White House, said it was an improvement since July, when 100 million people had not been vaccinated.

At a briefing on Wednesday, Zyents said the first shot averaged about 300,000 people per day, and efforts to vaccinate children aged 5 to 11 are off to a good start.

Virginia Tech Lindsey Marr, Leading Researcher on Aerial Diffusion coronavirusPredicted the spread of the virus to the north in a Twitter post on September 15. The virus can spread in the air and accumulate in poorly ventilated, enclosed rooms. Cold weather means that more people are indoors breathing the same air, Ma said.

Imagine that everyone you spend with is a smoker and you want to reduce their smoke as much as possible, she said.

“The closer you are to a smoker, the more likely you are to be exposed to the smoke,” says Ma. “And if you’re in a poorly ventilated room, smoke builds up over time.”

Ma said she and her vaccinated family would use a quick test before gathering at Christmas to check for infection.

“It’s hard to know what’s next with this virus,” Ma said. “I thought we knew, but Delta really surprised us. We thought the vaccine would help end this, but things are still going on. Next It’s hard to know what will happen to the vaccine. “

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Detroit Associated Press writer Ed White contributed to this report.