A US Army soldier from the 2nd Armored Combat Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, immunizes Jacklina Mendez with the COVID-19 vaccine at the Miami Dade College North Campus on March 9, 2021 in North Miami, Florida.
Joe Raedle | Getty Images
Even as the rate of vaccination accelerates in the United States, cases of Covid-19 are increasing in 21 states and highly infectious variants are spreading as governors relax restrictions on businesses such as restaurants, bars and gyms.
Public health officials warn that while about 2.5 million people across the country receive vaccines every day, infection levels have reached a plateau this month and some states have failed to reduce the number of daily cases.
The 7-day moving average of new infections stagnated at 54,666 on Friday, after falling for weeks, according to a data analysis from CNBC at Johns Hopkins University.
More than 541,000 people died in the United States from the disease.
The White House chief medical advisor, Dr. Anthony Fauci, warned during a news conference on Friday that the country should not declare victory until the level of infection is “much, much lower”. The director of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Rochelle Walensky, also called on states not to reopen too quickly and hamper the progress the country is making against the pandemic.
Knyckolas Davis (L) and Matthew Bettencourt celebrate Davis’ 35th birthday with friends at Rizzo’s Bar & Inn in Wrigleyville because restrictions on coronavirus disease (COVID-19) were relaxed in Chicago, Illinois, USA, March 6, 2021.
Eileen T. Meslar | Reuters
“The concern is that, across the country, there are a number of states, cities and regions that are retreating in some of the mitigation methods that we have been talking about: the withdrawal of mask mandates, the retreat to essentially no public health measures. being implemented, “said Fauci at the briefing.
“So it is unfortunate, but not surprising to me, that you are seeing increases in the number of cases per day in areas – cities, states or regions – although vaccines are being distributed at a rather good rate of 2 to 3 million per day , “Fauci added. “This could be overcome if certain areas retreated prematurely in the mitigation and public health measures that we are all talking about.”
Infections are increasing in the following states: Alabama; Connecticut; Hawaii; Idaho; Illinois; Maine; Maryland; Massachusetts; Michigan; Minnesota; Missouri; Montana; New Hampshire; New Jersey; New York; North Dakota; Pennsylvania; Rhode Island; Virginia; Washington; and West Virginia.
The highly contagious variant first identified in the United Kingdom is probably responsible for up to 30% of Covid infections in the United States. Health officials say the variant may become dominant later this month or early April.
The variant is seen as the cause of the third wave of coronaviruses in Europe. Several countries, including France and Italy, have imposed new blocking measures to mitigate the spread of the virus as cases increase.