The number of coronavirus cases in USA puts the country in a “bad position,” according to White House health advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci.
Dr. Fauci explained the U.S. was not able to keep its Covid-19 cases down to low enough levels after the initial spike in New York and other states earlier in the year.
New infections reached a peak in April of around 31,000 a day before steadily dropping to about 20,000 cases a day by the end of May. Then, new cases started to rise again after Memorial Day, posting about 70,000 cases a day in July before stabilizing at around about 40,000 in September. They surged again and are now reaching record levels, Dr. Fauci said regarding the active coronavirus cases in USA.
“That’s a bad position to be in,” said the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases during an interview with JAMA. “When you look at the country and the heat map color, when you see red dots, which indicate that that part of the county, the city ... is having an uptick in cases ... all of that puts us in a precarious situation.”
“We should have been way down in baseline and daily cases, and we’re not,” he said.
Dr. Fauci’s statements came after the U.S. presented its third consecutive record in average daily coronavirus cases.
How many new cases of coronavirus in USA today? On Tuesday, average new infections hit an all-time high of 71,832, beating the prior record set on Monday, based on a CNBC analysis of data from Johns Hopkins University. Figures emerged from a weekly average to iron out movements in daily reporting.
Hospitalizations are swelling as well. As of Tuesday, hospitalizations of Covid-19 patients were increasing by 5% or more in 37 states, according to a CNBC analysis of data gathered by the Covid Tracking Project. Fifteen states saw record highs in hospitalizations. This trend is attributed to the flu season when more people seek treatment, according to medical experts.
Coronavirus trends by state
Some parts of the nation are resorting to more restrictions to contain the spread of the virus. Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker said on Tuesday that restaurants and bars in Chicago will have to shut down their indoor dining operations starting this Friday. Meanwhile, El Paso, Texas, set an earlier curfew to protect “overwhelmed and exhausted” hospitals and frontliners.
Dr. Fauci on Wednesday reiterated the importance of using face masks, pointing out that using them while socially distancing, avoiding crowds, and preparing for outdoor activities “makes a difference.”
Public health officials claim that the U.S. may not return to “normal” until there is a widely distributed vaccine.
Four U.S.-backed companies are undergoing late-stage trials testing potential Covid-19 vaccines: Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson. However, Dr. Fauci said Wednesday that the Food and Drug Administration may not authorize a vaccine until January at the earliest.
“Could be January, could be later. Who knows?” Dr. Fauci said.
Covid-19 vaccine trials
Updates on Covid 19 vaccine trials are “encouraging” but results may take time, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
WHO’s statement on Covid 19 vaccine trials comes after AstraZeneca’s announcement that its experimental vaccine against the coronavirus produced a similar immune response in older and younger adults.
“Documenting the safety and efficacy of a vaccine that would be made widely available is critical — full data and longer follow-up to gather the evidence is required to make an informed decision,” a WHO spokesperson explained.
“It is going to take time before we have a safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine — in any population group — and even longer before it is available to a large number of people,” they said. “That is why it is important to continue using public health tools and measures that we know are effective in preventing the infection and breaking the chain of transmission.”
