U.S. Coronavirus: December is the deadliest month in the U.S. since the pandemic began – and January projections are ‘a nightmare’, says the expert

The terrible death toll comes in the wake of several brutal months for the United States, with Covid-19 devastating communities from coast to coast, paralyzing hospital systems and creating new widespread restrictions. The authorization of two Covid-19 vaccines in early December offered some hope for a light at the end of the tunnel – but experts continue to warn that while the end is in sight, the pandemic is not over and another increase due to Christmas travels and meetings may be on the way.

“What worries me is that these same individuals will then be in hospitals, in ICUs within two to three weeks,” he added. “I am really concerned about this increase that we will see and how quickly we will surpass 400,000 deaths.”

“Projections are a nightmare,” said Dr. Peter Hotez, an infectious disease specialist at Baylor College of Medicine. “People can still save the lives of their loved ones by practicing this social detachment and masks. And remember, vaccines are coming.”

Another outbreak of cases and hospitalizations will inevitably mean more deaths – in addition to an already devastating number of deaths.

The vaccine is slow to launch in some places, says the expert

Nearly 2 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine have been administered in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and more than 9.5 million doses have been distributed.

These numbers now include the Pfizer / BioNTech and Moderna Covid-19 vaccines. And while there are delays in reporting data, some experts say the vaccine is not being distributed as quickly as the authorities expected.

“It looks like (the distribution of the vaccine) is moving a little bit slower every time we get back to it,” said Dr. Esther Choo, professor of emergency medicine at Oregon Health & Science University. “It is just a very complicated thing. At each stage, there is complexity and the possibility of delays, be it individual state planning, allocation, training, vaccine supply, storage … there are so many factors at this stage. “

“We need to be prepared for the fact that it will be a slow deployment in many places and that it will not change our behavior or necessarily the path of the pandemic in this country in the short term,” said Choo.

Choo’s words echo a series of other experts who have warned the American public not to let their guard down when vaccinations begin and continue to follow public health measures, including wearing masks, social distance, avoiding crowds and meetings and regularly washing hands .

It will probably not be until the summer that vaccines will be widely available and begin to have a significant impact on the course of the pandemic, officials said. Dr. Anthony Fauci estimates that about 70% to 85% of the population needs to be vaccinated against Covid-19 for the country to obtain herd immunity.

Expert: The test requirements will not help to control the spread of the Covid-19 variant

Passengers must have a PCR or negative antigen test within 72 hours of boarding a flight from the UK to the USA, along with documentation of their laboratory results. Airlines will be required to confirm the test before the flight.

But an expert says that the new test requirements for travelers in the United States have not been implemented quickly enough to be effective against a reported variant.

“It makes sense that for any place that is experiencing a regional peak in cases, we will implement new measures,” emergency doctor Dr. Richina Bicette told CNN. “But if they are trying to ensure that the virus is not imported into the United States, these measures will have no effect on that.”

“CDC requirements do not happen until Monday,” added Bicette. “Up to that point, there were thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of people who traveled from the UK to the USA. So there is a high probability that the new variant is already in the United States and we just don’t know. ”