A new year may have started, but many of the problems in 2020 are still spreading. As many medical experts feared, the pandemic continues to grow in record territory. In December, new COVID infections in the U.S. increased by more than 40 percent from November, which had more than double the number of cases in the previous month since the pandemic began, according to a USA today Johns Hopkins University data analysis. Likewise, the country recorded more deaths in December than the previous record set in April, and not by a small margin, either – from more than 16,800 deaths. As hospitals approach or reach capacity across the country, the U.S. surgeon general is issuing a severe warning about COVID and how it can easily affect you when you least expect it, both directly and indirectly.
Lacey Adams, the wife of the US Surgeon General Jerome Adams, MD, had recently been admitted to the hospital because she developed complications from the cancer treatments she was receiving. During an appearance on CNN’s state of the Union on January 3, Adams told the host Jake Tapper that the current realities of the pandemic made the experience totally different than it would have been otherwise. “I want people to understand that if you don’t take precautions against COVID because you don’t feel at risk, it can affect you, your family, your community in many other ways,” warned Adams.
Read on to see what one of the country’s top health consultants had to say and to get more warnings from another renowned expert, check out Dr. Fauci Just Said These 5 very scary words about COVID-19.
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As hospitalization numbers reached a national record on January 3, Adams warned that the lack of hospital beds and overcrowding are further worsening the situation generated by the pandemic. Current conditions made it difficult to treat other health problems unrelated to COVID, and made it difficult for families to support their loved ones in times of need, as the general surgeon knows firsthand.
“I, as a surgeon-general in the United States, had to leave my wife at the front door and I couldn’t see her enter the hospital, I couldn’t visit her, I didn’t know if she was going to have a hospital bed because of all the precautions of COVID and because of the capacity problems that are present because of the virus, “Adams told CNN. And for information on where the situation is most dire, check out how bad the COVID outbreak is in your state.
Adams went on to describe how hospitals in the United States are currently overwhelmed in dealing with a flood of patients created by the increase in the number of coronaviruses. And while those who are younger or without pre-existing illnesses that put them at greater risk for severe COVID may not feel like they have much to worry about, the general surgeon warned that overcrowded ICUs make it more difficult to cope with daily problems. “If you have someone who is going into labor or having a heart attack or who is in a car accident on an icy road, they may not have a bed because the ICUs are packed,” he said.
As a result, Adams warned the public that it was important for everyone to do their part to keep the pandemic in check. “I want your viewers to know that we need everyone to come together, take these precautions, even if you don’t feel at risk with COVID because it has implications in many other ways,” he told CNN. And for more regular coronavirus updates, subscribe to our daily newsletter.
With the number of coronaviruses already on the rise, the United States also received more bad news on December 29, when the first case of the highly contagious British variant of the virus was reported in Colorado. The new strain, which scientists say made the disease 70 percent more transmissible, is likely to have an effect on infection rates – but Adams was still optimistic that the right responses could help mitigate the effects of the new strain.
“It is difficult to say whether it is widespread or not, but it is here,” warned Adams. “[But] we do not feel, until now, that this new strain or these new strains will be resistant to the vaccines or the therapy that we have. So, this is good news. “And for more updates on the new strain, check out The one scary thing that all three cases of the new COVID variant have in common.
Despite the risks posed by the new strain and the current increase, Adams was optimistic that we already had the means to overcome this latest challenge. “The end result is that we have the tools, regardless of the strain, to be able to defeat this virus,” he told CNN. “We just need the will to really move on and do the things that we know will help us.” How? Adams explained that the contagiousness of the new virus makes daily health care, such as wearing a mask, social distance and hand washing, even more essential, in addition to putting vaccines in people’s arms. “It is even more important that we follow these basic public health measures and vaccinate people as soon as possible,” he said. And to find out why the president has not been vaccinated, check out The real reason why President Trump has not yet received the COVID vaccine.