NEW YORK (CNN) – Experts say the COVID-19 vaccination in the U.S. is doing extremely well, but there are still not enough people protected and the country could be in the beginning of another outbreak.
The United States reported a record over the weekend with more than 4 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine administered in 24 hours, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
And the country now has an average of more than 3 million daily doses, according to CDC data.
But only about 18.5% of Americans are fully vaccinated, CDC data show, and cases of COVID-19 in the country have recently seen worrying increases.
“I think we still have a few more difficult weeks ahead of us,” Dr. Celine Gounder, an infectious disease specialist and epidemiologist, told CNN on Sunday. “What we know from last year about the pandemic is that we tend to be about three to four weeks behind Europe in terms of our pandemic patterns.”
The highly contagious variant B.1.1.7 fueled an alarming increase in cases of COVID-19 and hospitalizations in parts of Europe. And experts fear the United States could be next if Americans do not double security measures until more people are vaccinated.
What’s worse, experts say, is that the variant is changing the roadmap for the pandemic and could cause problems for younger groups that have not yet been vaccinated.
“We have to think of variant B.1.1.7 as almost a new virus,” said Dr. Peter Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine. “It’s acting differently than anything we’ve seen before, in terms of transferability, in terms of affecting young people, so we have to take this very seriously.”
Younger infected, hospitalized
The difference between previous outbreaks and another possible increase now is “the people most affected now are the youngest individuals,” emergency doctor Dr. Leana Wen told CNN on Sunday.
Older populations were prioritized across the country for COVID-19 vaccinations. More than 54% of Americans aged 65 and over have been fully vaccinated, according to the CDC, while more than 75% of that same age group have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
But while that age group is now relatively well protected, said Wen, younger groups are still vulnerable as variant B.1.1.7 circulates. The variant is more contagious and can cause a more severe iteration of the disease, experts said. Research suggests that it can also be more deadly.
“We are seeing in places like Michigan that the people who are now being hospitalized in large numbers are people in their 30s and 40s,” said Wen. “And now we are seeing even more children being infected as well.”
It is not just Michigan.
“What we are seeing are pockets of infection across the country, particularly in younger people who have not been vaccinated, and also in school children,” said former Food and Drug Administration commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb, to the CBS’s “Face the Nation” program. ” on Sunday.
“If you look at what’s going on in Michigan, Minnesota, Massachusetts, for example, you will see outbreaks in schools and infections in social groups that have not been exposed to the virus before.”
“The infection is changing its shape in terms of who is being hit by it now,” he added.
In Orange County, Florida, authorities reported at the end of last month an increase in cases of COVID-19 in the 18 to 25 age group.
And a third of all COVID-19 hospitalizations in the county were for people under the age of 45, according to Dr. Raul Pino, director of the Florida Department of Health in Orange County.
New Jersey officials said last week that variants, including strain B.1.1.7, were contributing to an increase in cases and hospitalizations – including in younger age groups.
Between the first and the last week of March, there was an increase of 31% and 48%, respectively, in the number of hospitalizations between the ages of 20-29 and 40-49, said state health commissioner Judy Persichilli .
Meanwhile, older residents saw only one-digit percentage increases, she added.
How can we contain another outbreak of infections
Despite the alarming warning signs, the United States is not powerless, experts stressed.
Reducing security measures – masking, social detachment, avoiding crowds – along with quick and efficient vaccinations, can help stem another outbreak of COVID-19, said Dr. Anthony Fauci on Saturday.
“We say this repeatedly and we need the local population, we need governors, mayors and others to be able to say: ‘We are not yet out of this’,” said Fauci.
“People say, ‘Well, you just want to confine us forever.’ No, this will not last forever, because every day that you vaccinate four million, three million people, you get closer and closer to the control ”.
Hotez estimated on Sunday that Americans need to endure “another four to six weeks, and then we’ll be on the other side.”
“All vaccines seem to work so well against this UK-B.1.1.7 variant … so it’s really good news,” he said. “I am very confident that we will be in a really good place in the summer.”
“But, if you haven’t been vaccinated, you should behave as if you are highly vulnerable to this virus. This is not the time to be sick, ”added Hotez.
Spring break goes up
The Transportation Security Administration said it examined 1.54 million people at airports across the country on Sunday, just before a pandemic record set on Friday when 1.58 million people flew. More than 6 million people have flown since Thursday.
Sunday’s show rate is more than ten times higher than the minimum numbers a year ago, but still well below 2019 levels. TSA numbers were over 1.5 million in three of the past seven days and above to one million in 25 consecutive days.
On Friday, the CDC said that those who are fully vaccinated can now travel at low risk for themselves, but said non-essential travel should still be avoided.
Delta Air Lines said it had to fill some intermediate seats on weekend flights to keep up with demand, although its capacity limit will not expire until May 1.
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