The former FDA commissioner said he believed the downward trend in coronavirus infection rates would continue until the summer.
Dr. Scott Gottlieb said that despite the emergence of new variants of the virus that still create a risk of infection, he believes that rates will continue to fall.
The daily average of deaths and hospitalizations has dropped to its lowest levels since before Thanksgiving and Christmas.
There have been 1,286 daily deaths recorded in the past 24 hours, with numbers now at their lowest levels since October 23, at the start of this winter’s infection wave.
Former FDA commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb said the United States is likely to “continue to see infection rates decrease in the spring and summer.”
The number of daily cases, hospitalizations and deaths is now falling
On Sunday, the number of people currently hospitalized with the virus was 56,159, marking 40 consecutive days of declines in the number of hospitalizations.
‘It had a tragic impact on the United States, but we should be optimistic, in my view. I think we will continue to see infection rates dropping in the spring and summer. At the moment, they are falling dramatically. I think these trends are likely to continue, ‘Gottlieb, who sits on Pfizer’s board, told CBS News.
“With the increase in vaccination rates and the fact that we inject about a third of the country, this is sufficiently protected immunity. If you look at New York and New Jersey counties that had a prevalence of more than 45%, which means that more than 45% of the population was infected during the winter, they really didn’t have a big winter wave.
“Once you reach about 40% of the population with some kind of protected immunity – you don’t have herd immunity because it will continue to transfer, but at a much slower rate,” explained Gottlieb.
RN Robert Villa (right) gives Armando Montes a Modern Covid-19 vaccine at the newly opened Los Angeles city vaccination site at Pierce College
40 consecutive days of falling hospitalizations have passed
Gottlieb said he believes that Pfizer and other companies that are making vaccines will be able to “prepare much better for the fall” and develop reinforcements for the new variants of the virus that are circulating.
– I think we will have spring and summer to solve this. I don’t think we’ll ever achieve full herd immunity. Hopefully, we will vaccinate the elderly population to protect them from dying from it, but it will continue to spread. ‘
Gottlieb also said he believed that this fall could be the right time for school-age children to receive the vaccination as well.
“I think it is possible that this vaccine will reach the high school population in the fall. We saw the spread more in secondary schools than in primary schools. The risk is lower for school-age children. I do not believe that this vaccine will be transferred to 12 years or less in the fall.
“It may be a matter of trying to reformulate vaccines with a lower dose for younger children, because they develop a more robust immune response to the vaccine,” theorized Gottlieb.
Drivers and passengers wait in line for their Covid-19 vaccines administered by National Guard members at a state and federal COVID-19 vaccination site on the Los Angeles California State University campus in Los Angeles on Wednesday
More than 28 million cases of COVID-19 have rocked the United States since the virus arrived in the country almost exactly a year ago.
The effect of the virus was so severe that it reduced the average life expectancy in the United States in one year, the biggest decline since World War II.
So far, less than 15 percent of the US population has received at least one dose of vaccine, with nearly 43 million receiving at least one injection and almost 18 million receiving a second injection, US statistics show.
Some locations are easing restrictions, like indoor meals, and moving to reopen schools, even as millions await their injections, sparking debate over the safety of teachers, students and others.
The total number of people who died in the United States due to the virus is rapidly approaching 500,000
Financial pressures also continue to weigh, even as economists express optimism for next year.
Congress is evaluating Biden’s $ 1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package, with the House of Representatives scheduled to vote on it this week and the Senate seeking to approve it before March 14.
The White House said on Sunday that it was planning a memorial event in which Biden would comment.
A White House spokesman said that the president along with first lady Jill Biden, vice president Kamala Harris and second gentleman Doug Emhoff would maintain a moment of silence on Monday and that there would be a candle lighting ceremony at sunset.