December is the deadliest month since the pandemic began. January forecast “nightmare”

December It was the deadliest month in the country Since then The beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic — Over 63,000 Americans have lost the virus in the last 26 days.

By comparison, Whole November About 36,964 people died.

The severe death toll for the United States has continued for months as Covid-19 devastates the coast-to-coast community, destroys the hospital system and imposes new widespread restrictions. Approval of two Covid-19 vaccines in early December Provided some hope Light shines at the end of the tunnel — but experts say the pandemic isn’t over while the end is visible. Another surge due to Christmas trips And the rally may be on the way.

On Christmas Day alone, more than 616,000 people were screened at TSA checkpoints nationwide, and hundreds of thousands more traveled in the days leading up to the holidays. Numbers are expected to rise again this weekend.

“Traveling individuals probably won’t go camping in the wilderness. Perhaps they’ll meet their loved ones, have dinner without a mask, and be crowded indoors for long periods of time,” said emergency physician Lina. Dr. Wen told CNN. “Many people have Covid-19 and spread it to their loved ones without knowing it, and they will return to their home community and unknowingly infect others. “

“I’m worried that the same individual will be hospitalized or in the ICU in a couple of weeks,” she added. “I’m really worried about this surge we see and how quickly we can exceed the death toll of 400,000.”

Nearly 332,000 Americans have died in Covid-19. According to the report, another 193,000 people could die in the next two months. Forecast From the Institute for Health Metrics, University of Washington.

“Predictions are a nightmare,” said Dr. Peter Hotez, an infectious disease specialist at Baylor College of Medicine. “People can save the lives of their loved ones by practicing their social distance and masks. And remember, vaccines are coming soon.”

Covid-19 hospitalizations across the United States are already at record highs. On Saturday, the country recorded the fifth highest number of hospitalizations — with more than 117,300 Covid-19 patients nationwide. COVID tracking project.

Another surge in cases and hospitalizations inevitably means more deaths, in addition to the already catastrophic death toll.

According to experts, there are some places where vaccine deployment is slow.

According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 2 million Covid-19 vaccines have been administered in the United States, with more than 9.5 million distributed.

These numbers include both the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine and the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine. Also, although there are delays in reporting the data, some experts say that vaccine distribution is not progressing as fast as the authorities expected.

Dr. Esther Choo, a professor of emergency medicine at Oregon Health & Science University, said: “(Vaccine distribution) seems to be a little slower with each return.” It’s very complicated. Every step of planning, assigning, training, vaccination, storage, etc. for individual states. It’s complicated and can be delayed. There are so many factors at this stage. “

“We need to be prepared for the fact that deployments in many places will be slow and the country’s behavior and pandemic trajectory will not change in the short term,” Choo said.

Chu’s words are to be vigilant when vaccination begins and to continue public health measures such as wearing masks, social distance, avoiding crowds and gatherings, and washing hands regularly. It reflects many other experts who have warned the public.

Officials said the vaccine would not be widely available until summer before it would begin to have a meaningful impact on the course of the pandemic. Dr. Anthony Fauci estimates that about 70% to 85% of the population needs to be vaccinated against Covid-19 in order for the country to achieve herd immunity.

Expert: Test requirements do not help control the spread of Covid-19 variants

The· CDC also announced last week New test requirements for travelers arriving from the UK. This will take effect on Monday.

Passengers must have a negative PCR or antigen test along with a document of test results within 72 hours of boarding a flight from the United Kingdom to the United States. The airline must check the test before the flight.

This occurs after the advent of the first new Covid-19 variant detected in the United Kingdom. Health authorities “It is predicted that it can be transmitted more quickly,” he said. Since the discovery of the variant More than 40 countries restrict travel from the UK In some cases, travel from other countries that have documented variant cases.

However, one expert says that the new testing requirements for travelers to the United States have not been implemented quickly enough to be effective against the reported variants.

“Where we’re experiencing a regional surge when we take new steps, it makes sense,” emergency physician Dr. Licina Bisset told CNN. “But if they are trying to make sure the virus is not imported into the United States, these measures will have no effect on it.”

“CDC requirements do not occur until Monday,” Bicette added. “By that time, there were thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of people traveling from the United Kingdom to the United States. Therefore, it is likely that new variants are already in the United States, and we do not know. “