The United States may have its own version of a more transmissible coronavirus that may be helping to fuel the already aggressive spread of the virus, the White House coronavirus task force said in its latest report to states this week.
Reports sent by the task force to states dated January 3 warned of the possibility of a “US variant” of Covid-19.
“This wave of autumn / winter has been almost double the rate of increase in cases compared to spring and summer. This acceleration suggests that there may be a variant of the USA that has evolved here, in addition to the variant of the United Kingdom that is already spreading in our communities and may be 50% more transmissible, ”say reports obtained by CNN.
The task force called for “aggressive mitigation … to match a much more aggressive virus”.
That mitigation should include wearing face masks, the task force said, and immediately vaccinating as many people as possible.
“Without the uniform implementation of an effective face mask (two or three layers and well-adjusted) and strict social distance, epidemics can quickly worsen as these variants spread and become prevalent.”
The United States has been tracking cases of a variant first identified in the UK that seems to be more easily transmitted.
The pandemic continues to rage as the nation turned its attention to the US Capitol insurrection and the certification of President-elect Joe Biden’s victory, and the task force continued to warn states of “aggressive spread of the community” after the vacation.
“The United States remains at a high level of 140-150,000 confirmed and suspected COVID admissions per week and 120-125,000 inpatients in total. Significant continued deterioration, from California to the Sun Belt to the Southeast, Mid-Atlantic and Northeast, despite low testing rates during the holidays, suggests an aggressive spread of the community, ”said the task force report.
The task force reports also called for the establishment of infusion sites for outpatient treatment of monoclonal antibodies “immediately available to save lives”.
And as the nation struggles to quickly immunize Americans, reports say that vaccines should “be put to arms now”.
“Do not delay the rapid immunization of people over 65 and vulnerable to serious illnesses; recommend the creation of high-performance vaccination sites with the use of EMT staff to monitor potential anaphylaxis and fully utilize nursing students. No vaccine should be in freezers, but instead, it should be put on the guns now; active and aggressive immunization in the face of this increase would save lives, ”say the reports.
This week, California is the state with the most new cases per 100,000 inhabitants, followed by Arizona, Kansas, Tennessee, Rhode Island, Utah, Arkansas, West Virginia, Georgia and Massachusetts in the top 10.
The test’s positivity, an indication of rising cases to come, is highest in Oklahoma, followed by Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Idaho, Virginia, Tennessee, Georgia, South Carolina and Alabama.
Arkansas has the highest number of hospitalizations per 100 hospital beds, followed by Arizona, Maryland, Oklahoma, Georgia, Kentucky, California, District of Columbia, South Carolina and New Mexico.
And Kansas has the highest number of new deaths per 100,000, followed by Wyoming, Pennsylvania, New Mexico, Arkansas, Indiana, Mississippi, Arizona, Tennessee and Rhode Island.