New variants could reverse progress on COVID-19

The rise of more contagious variants of coronavirus threatens a promising trend towards a reduction in COVID-19 cases nationwide.

New cases of COVID-19 in the United States on Sunday fell below 100,000 for the first time since November. This is a sign of hope after a brutal period after Thanksgiving, where cases, hospitalizations and deaths surged.

As the virus becomes more contagious, measures such as wearing masks and distance from others become more important, so health officials have advised the public not to mitigate preventative measures, even though the situation has improved slightly. I am urging the governor.

Moreover, while this trend is moving in a positive direction, levels of cases, hospitalizations and mortality are much higher than either of the previous peaks of last spring and summer.

According to the COVID Tracking Project, there were 96,000 new cases on Sunday, down from a peak of nearly 300,000 in early January. But it’s still well above the level of professionals considering goals. For example, it is still higher than about 75,000 per day during peak summer months.

About 3,000 people die from the virus every day, and about 80,000 are hospitalized with COVID-19.

Still, due to positive trends, some governors have begun to relax restrictions.

In Iowa, Governor Kim Reynolds (R) lifted mask obligations and distance restrictions on restaurants and bars last week.

It’s probably the most dramatic recent move, but other states are taking more gradual steps to mitigate it.Governor Andrew CuomoAndrew CuomoRepublican 2024 applicants draw an early front for the post-Trump era Cuomo signs a bill to abolish the “transgender law” Republicans in New York want the Department of Justice to summon Cuomo rather than a nursing home More (D) announced that indoor dining could be returned with 25% capacity in New York City prior to Valentine’s Day.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention asked about Iowa’s decision Rochelle WarrenskyRochelle WarrenskyThe CDC may present school reopening requirements this week, Biden says Governor of Maine warns against Super Bowl party Republicans look to beat Democrats with school reopening More On Monday, he urged the state not to lift precautions, partially citing the rise of a new variant of the virus.

“We still have the threat of this new variant. I just discourage these activities,” she said. “To really control this pandemic, we need to keep implementing all mitigations here.”

Emphasizing the threat of more infectious variants of the virus first identified in the United Kingdom, a study published on Sunday found that mutants doubled every 10 days in the United States and by March in many states. I have discovered that it can be dominant.

Subspecies have a 35-45% higher infection rate, so experts warn that the increase could lead to a surge in cases and hospitalizations.

Karthik Gangavarapu, a researcher at the Scripps Research Institute and one of the authors of the study, said in his current orbit, “I do expect a surge in cases.” “I still don’t know how much spike it will be.”

Additional contact tracing efforts from the local public health sector aimed at enhancing genomic sequencing to track the prevalence of various mutants and slowing the spread of mutants in the United Kingdom Both could be useful in the fight, Gangabalap said.

Ashish Jha, Dean of the Faculty of Public Health at Brown University, warned by pointing out an example of Ireland that was hit hard by a new variety. It peaked in early January with 132 new cases per 100,000. “The United States has never seen such a number. Only Dakota has shown such a high infection rate,” Ja wrote on Twitter.

Jha added that he was “optimistic about late spring and summer,” given that the vaccine would be more widely available, but said he was more worried in the coming weeks.

There are not enough vaccines to vaccinate everyone in the coming months and there are logistical challenges in injecting millions of weapons, but the faster the vaccination campaign, the newer the subspecies. Spikes from seeds will be dull.

Reassuringly, the vaccine seems to work well against British variants.

However, another variant first identified in South Africa is of greater concern based on initial data. The results so far suggest some reduction in how well the vaccine works in South African variants. The variant has also been found in the United States, but so far it is not very widespread.

Former CDC director Tom Frieden writes that recent improvement trends are likely due to continued recovery from the post-holiday peak, which led to a surge in travel and indoor meetings.

“It’s not time to relax our vigilance,” he wrote on Twitter. “We are making advances in vaccines, but variants are emerging.”