The wave of COVID-19 cases, resulting in nearly 4,000 deaths per day, have been attributed to the post-holiday increase, but there is another insidious factor at play: a new coronavirus mutation, or variant. This new variant, from the United Kingdom, is considered to be more transmissible – that is, it transmits from person to person faster than the current COVID-19. Other variants – from Brazil and South Africa – may be more dangerous. Its presence in America made the new head of the CDC, Rochelle Walensky, say Face the Nation yesterday that things were going to get worse. “Yes, I think tragically, that’s right,” agreed former FDA chief Scott Gottlieb. Keep reading to hear his dire prediction – and to ensure your health and the health of others, don’t miss out on these Clear signs that you’ve had the coronavirus.
The COVID-19 variant is about to “take over”, says Dr. Gottlieb
“What we are likely to see is that the infection starts to subside,” began Gottlieb, with what seemed like good news at first. “I think we are seeing this now. We are seeing a short-term peak in terms of the number of new daily cases.”
“Now, unfortunately,” he continued, “deaths and hospitalizations will continue to grow over the next two or three weeks because they are a sign of delay. But we will see continued declines likely for about four weeks, perhaps five weeks to date. take over. “
“Right now,” he said, “this new variant is about 0.5% of all infections across the country. There are access points in Southern California and Florida that may be close to 1%, but it will double so it’s almost doubling every week. This is the experience of other countries and this is the experience we’ve seen so far in the United States. So it’s 1% now. It will be 2%, then 4%, 8%, 16% and 32%. So, in about five weeks, this will start to take over.“
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How to survive the new COVID-19 mutation
You will need to be vaccinated, wear a face mask and avoid crowds to stay safe. “The only obstacle against this new variant is the fact that we will have a lot of infection by then. So there will be a lot of immunity in the population and we will be vaccinating more people, ”said Gottlieb. “But it really changes the equation. And I think what we are seeing is a relentless attack on this virus that is coming in the spring, while infections really would have started to subside in the spring. We would have had a peaceful spring. We could have persistently high levels of infection in the spring until we finally vaccinate enough people. “
So, follow the public fundamentals and help stop this increase, especially as there is a more transmissible virus out there – use a face mask, social distance, avoid large crowds, do not go home with people you are not sheltering (especially in bars), practice good hand hygiene, be vaccinated when it is available to you and to protect your life and the lives of others, don’t visit any of these 35 places you’re most likely to reach COVID.