US Coronavirus: Some experts are divided on whether the US could see another Covid-19 outbreak

US Coronavirus: Some experts are divided on whether the US could see another Covid-19 outbreak

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On Friday alone, the country saw more than 1.4 million passengers at airports across the country – a record for the pandemic era.

“What we’re doing is essentially spreading variant B.1.1.7 across the country,” said Dr. Peter Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, to CNN on Sunday.

That’s because the number of previous infections and now vaccinations in the United States has started to form a “sufficient barrier” to prevent another peak, Dr. Scott Gottlieb, a former Food and Drug Administration commissioner, told CBS’s “Face the Nation” program on Sunday. .

“I think you can see a stagnation for a period of time before we continue to decline – in large part because B.1.1.7 is becoming more prevalent, in large part because we are going backwards very quickly, with regard to taking our masks off suspend mitigation, “he said.

Other experts said the plateau of cases that the U.S. is reporting could serve as an indicator of another increase. Emergency doctor Dr. Leana Wen told CNN last week that she believes the United States may be on the verge of another sudden increase.

Others say it is difficult to predict what will happen.

“It is very difficult to say,” Hotez told CNN. “We are in a race, that is what it is about. We put a single dose (of the Covid-19 vaccine) in about a quarter of the United States population … and it can happen anyway now.”

“That is why it is very important that governors maintain their course and implement masks and social distance,” he added.

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Spring break worries employees

Some travelers have landed in popular spring break destinations, such as Florida, where local officials say vacationers have been more than they can handle.
Spring break floods South Florida, while some residents worry about another Covid-19 outbreak
On Saturday, Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber declared a state of emergency and set a curfew, telling CNN that many people were coming “with no intention of following the rules, and the result was a level of chaos and disorder. which is just something more than we can take. “
Florida has so far reported the highest number of cases of variant B.1.1.7 – which experts say is highly contagious and potentially more deadly – in the country, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Miami Beach officials throw pepper balls at spring break crowds to impose emergency curfews

“I would like people to at least mask themselves,” emergency doctor Dr. Megan Ranney told CNN on Sunday, referring to the spring break crowds. “I hope that very few of these young adults have been vaccinated and seeing them gather in these crowds, even outside, makes me afraid that they will bring that variant B.1.1.7 back to its home state and spread it -over there . “

Other experts expressed the same concern, warning that all returning vacationers could help fuel Covid-19 outbreaks in other parts of the country, especially now that vaccination numbers are still so low.

The CDC currently continues to recommend that Americans delay travel. And earlier this month, the director of the CDC, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, warned that every time travel increases, an increase in infections tends to occur, citing July 4, Labor Day and the winter holiday season.

“We are very concerned about the transmissible variants. Many of them have passed through our travel corridors, so we are being extremely cautious about travel now,” Walensky told CNN.

Travelers wait in line for ticketing at Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix, Arizona, on March 11.

Vaccine hesitation is ‘worrying’, says the governor

So far, more than 81.4 million Americans have received at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine, according to data from the CDC. That is about 24.5% of the US population.

More than 44 million – about 13.3% of the population – have been fully vaccinated, the data show.

While the number continues to rise and leaders across the country employ more methods to get mass vaccines more quickly – how to open more mass vaccination sites and expand eligibility requirements – challenges are still on the way to getting the country to collective immunity.

These challenges include vaccination hesitation and political divisions. A recent CNN poll conducted by the SSRS shows that while 92% of Democrats say they have received a dose of the vaccine or plan to get it, it drops to 50% among Republicans.

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When asked why he believed there was skepticism among Republicans, Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson told CNN that he thought it was “a natural resistance to the government and skepticism towards him”.

“The hesitation is worrying not only here, but throughout the country, and I hope as a country we will reach 50% of the population’s vaccination rate. But we will find it more difficult to move from 50% to 70%. And it’s about overcoming skepticism, it’s about education … but it’s also about trust, “he said.

As more Americans see others get the vaccine, the governor said he expects the vaccine acceptance rate to increase.

In Missouri, Governor Mike Parson said at the end of last week that while he encourages everyone to get vaccinated, “there will still be a certain number of people who won’t get the vaccine and they have every right to do it.”

“We have to do a better job to make sure everyone understands the importance of the vaccine, and still maintain the respect of people who don’t want to get the vaccine, and it will be a challenge to see how many people we can be made, but we will do everything we can. . “

CNN’s Chuck Johnston, Carma Hassan, Deanna Hackney and Lauren Mascarenhas contributed to this report.

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