US Coronavirus: Despite the decrease in cases of Covid-19 in the USA, infections are still incredibly high. Here’s what concerns the experts

US Coronavirus: Despite the decrease in cases of Covid-19 in the USA, infections are still incredibly high. Here’s what concerns the experts

by

But now is not the time to slow down security measures – for several reasons – according to experts.

More than 54,000 people remain hospitalized with the virus across the country, according to the COVID tracking project. And more than 57,000 Covid-19 deaths were recorded this month alone. On Wednesday, California became the first state to exceed 50,000 virus-related deaths, data from Johns Hopkins showed – a grim reminder of the state’s brutal battle against the virus.

In fact, health officials are preparing for a possible third wave, which will be driven by a rapidly spreading variant that was first identified in the UK: B.1.1.7. CDC data shows that more than 1,880 cases of the variant have been detected in the US – but scientists have warned that the number is probably not the total number of cases in the country.

“We could all wish this was the last wave,” said Andy Slavitt, the senior White House adviser to the Covid-19 Response Team. “But we wouldn’t be doing our job if we weren’t really focused on containment measures for variants, if we weren’t really focused on how therapy can help minimize the effects of variants, how can we be sure, if we have another wave, it’s different” , he said in a webinar conducted by the American Public Health Association.

To address this growing threat, the CDC is collaborating with public and private laboratories to expand the capacity for genomic sequencing. And with the $ 200 million investment in sequencing from the Biden administration last week, the CDC hopes to quickly reach the goal of sequencing 25,000 sample strings per week, said Walensky.

Meanwhile, two distinct teams of researchers said they had found a new variant of concern in New York City and other areas of the Northeast that carries mutations helping to escape the body’s natural immune response – as well as the effects of monoclonal antibody treatments.
And two studies that are due to be launched soon raise concerns about a variant that scientists have observed in California, suggesting that the variant may not only be more contagious, but may also cause more serious illnesses.
Vanessa Garnes, chief supervisor of the Nurse's Heart Medical Staffing based in Columbus, Ohio, administers a Covid-19 test on February 21, 2021

A third vaccine for the U.S. may be just days away

But there is good news. The US may be just days away from putting another vaccine on the market.
Vaccine consultants from the Food and Drug Administration will meet on Friday to determine whether the Johnson & Johnson vaccine works and is safe. They will make a recommendation to the FDA and the agency could give the vaccine the green light as early as Friday or Saturday. Next, CDC advisers are scheduled to meet on Sunday to discuss recommendations around the potential launch of the vaccine – recommendations that would have to be formally accepted by the CDC.
Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine is safe and effective, according to FDA analysis
And things are already looking good: in an analysis released on Wednesday, the FDA said the Johnson & Johnson vaccine met the requirements for an emergency use authorization.

The efficacy of the moderate to severe / critical Covid-19 vaccine in all geographic areas was 66.9% at least 14 days after single dose vaccination and 66.1% at least 28 days after vaccination, according to the analysis.

“There were no specific safety issues identified in the subgroup analyzes by age, race, ethnicity, medical comorbidities or previous SARS-CoV-2 infection,” said the analysis.

Millions more doses of vaccine on the way

And as the United States struggles with a shortage of supplies while working to vaccinate Americans, the numbers will rise in the coming months.

There are still doubts about the launch of the J&J Covid-19 vaccine as the authorization decision approaches
Pfizer and Moderna – whose vaccines have already been authorized for emergency use – have pledged to provide a combined total of 220 million doses for shipment by the end of March. Meanwhile, Johnson & Johnson, if it obtains an emergency use authorization, has committed to making 20 million doses available in the same period.
And a fourth Covid-19 vaccine may be available in the United States in April – which could add millions more doses to the country’s supply by the end of that month.
President Joe Biden previously said that the United States will have enough vaccines for 300 million Americans by the end of July.

Other challenges faced by national and state leaders are issues of vaccine hesitation and racial inequalities.

Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear on Wednesday announced an initiative in collaboration with the Lexington chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of People of Color (NAACP) to provide equitable access to vaccines and combat hesitation.

According to a statement from the governor’s office, while blacks represent about 8.4% of the state’s population, they represent about 4.6% of the people who have been vaccinated so far.
The lack of equity within priority groups leaves Covid-19 more vulnerable without a vaccine, the analysis suggests

Rev. Jim Thurman, president of the NAACP Lexington-Fayette County Branch, said he understands the hesitation in his community, saying that he himself was initially reluctant to be vaccinated for historical reasons.

“I soon realized that it was safe and that it was not possible to get the virus with the vaccine,” said Thurman. “COVID-19 was, and still is, reaching the African American community and other communities of people of color, with much more strength. We need the vaccine.”

In the meantime, California officials said they will make changes to Covid-19’s vaccine naming system across the state after access codes distributed to underserved communities are used by strangers to secure vaccine appointments.

Recent data show that black and Latino residents collectively received 19% of the state’s vaccine doses, while accounting for nearly 60% of Covid-19 cases in California. In contrast, White residents received 32.7% of the vaccine doses, while representing about 20% of the state’s cases.

A new initiative for long-haulers

In the meantime, a big announcement came this week for those who may still be dealing with the aftermath of Covid-19 long after the fight against the virus.

Almost a third of people with Covid-19
The National Institutes of Health announced a new initiative to study “Long Covid” and “identify the causes and, ultimately, the means of preventing and treating individuals who fell ill with Covid-19 but did not fully recover after a period of a few weeks, “said NIH director Dr. Francis Collins in a statement.

The director said that “a large number of patients” infected with the virus continue to show a series of symptoms since they recovered, which may include sleep disorders, shortness of breath, fatigue and depression.

Clinics are springing up across the country for what some call a potential second pandemic: Long Covid

“Although these effects are still being defined, they can be collectively referred to as post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 (PASC) infection,” the statement said.

“We do not yet know the magnitude of the problem, but given the number of individuals of all ages who have been or will be infected with SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, the impact on public health can be profound,” he added. .

The statement says that in December, Congress provided $ 1.15 billion in funding over four years for NIH to support research on the prolonged effects of an infection.

Some of the questions the initiative hopes to answer, Collins said, include what are the underlying biological causes of prolonged symptoms and what makes some people vulnerable to them, but not others.

CNN’s Ben Tinker, Naomi Thomas, Amanda Watts, Jen Christensen, Maggie Fox, Cheri Mossburg and Christopher Rios contributed to this report.

.Source