The authorities said that most new infections occur in young adults and are probably due to variants that spread quickly.
For the fourth consecutive week, the number of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations has increased in the United States, White House officials said on Monday, while the death toll has decreased.
Rochelle Walensky, head of the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), said that there are now an average of 64,000 new cases of coronavirus every day, an increase of 7% over the previous week. Deaths at an average of 800 a day, she said, are on the decline.
Walensky said the increase in the number of cases is occurring predominantly among younger adults, as states, businesses and schools are gradually reopening. And it is believed to be caused, at least in part, by highly infectious variants.
Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said that most new infections occur among young adults and are caused by the spread of highly transmissible variants [File: Susan Walsh/Pool via Reuters]
“As trends and data have indicated, cases are increasing nationally and we are seeing this occurring predominantly in young adults,” said Walensky during a press conference with task force COVID-19.
“We know that these increases are partly due to more communicable variants that we are monitoring closely,” she said.
Authorities said that despite the increase in cases and hospitalizations, the country has made steady gains in its efforts to vaccinate Americans. According to the CDC, more than 165 million doses have been administered.
White House COVID-19 adviser Andy Slavitt said the United States currently administers an average of 3.1 million doses per day. And that almost one in three adults received at least one injection. He said 55 percent of the elderly, those 65 and older, were fully vaccinated and 75 percent received at least one dose.
“We are going in the right direction,” said Slavitt during the press conference. “But we are not there yet,” he warned.
“The war against COVID-19 is far from over, far from being won,” said Slavitt. “The worst thing we can do now is to mistake progress for victory.”
The United States has so far administered more than 165 million doses of vaccine [Lucy Nicholson/Reuters]
Many states have made steady progress in their vaccination efforts and several in the past few weeks have expanded their eligibility requirements for everyone over the age of 16. Other states are still vaccinating frontline workers and those with underlying health problems.
The United States has so far given emergency authorizations for three vaccines: Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson. The United States can also authorize the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, further increasing the country’s supply. The US is expected to have a surplus of vaccines in the second half of 2021.
US President Joe Biden, who took office in January, has set a goal for all states to offer vaccines to anyone they want by May. He also defined July 4, United States Independence Day, as a date when Americans should be able to return to an appearance of normalcy.
More than 555,000 Americans died of coronavirus – more than any other country in the world – according to a Johns Hopkins University count.