Covid-19 lockdown should have been stricter, top doctor says

“People were interacting, people were away, but people, by just not doing these careful things, were able to eliminate cases significantly, probably by over 80%,” Birx said.

This kind of behavior change is something every American can do, she said.

“Tens of thousands of lives can be saved if we wear masks, and we don’t have parties in our backyards … by removing those masks,” Birx said.

Jared Kushner, a senior White House adviser, disagreed, saying President Donald Trump was “very forward looking” when he and the task force issued 15-day guidelines to the half-March.

“It was done back then to make sure we had enough capacity and hospital supplies so that we didn’t end up like Italy, where people were dying on carts in waiting rooms.” , Kushner told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer.

He praised the president for the administration’s response to a fan shortage, repeating the White House line that no American who needed a fan has had one.

“So I think we did a lot better than Italy in terms of how we handled this at the start,” he said.

Kushner said the United States was in the middle phase of the pandemic and the administration was using what it had learned to protect those most vulnerable. He said they were channeling resources to nursing homes.

The virus is the # 3 killer in the United States

The virus, which didn’t even exist a year ago, now kills more Americans than Alzheimer’s disease, accidents and diabetes.

Over the past three weeks, the United States has averaged more than 1,000 Covid-19 deaths per day.

“Covid is now the third leading cause of death in the United States – ahead of accidents, injuries, lung disease, diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease and many other causes,” said Dr Thomas Frieden, former director from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Heart disease and cancer are the leading causes of death in the United States, according to the CDC.

The death rate from Covid-19 is also much higher in the United States than in many other countries, Frieden said.

“Last week Americans were eight times more likely to be killed by Covid than Europeans,” he said.

Fewer tests = more infected people are walking around

Just as more students are returning to school, health experts are worried about a worrying trend: decreased testing combined with high positivity rates.

In other words, Covid-19 is still spreading rampantly, but there is less testing to find and isolate cases.

Fifteen states performed fewer tests last week compared to the previous week: Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, New Mexico, Nevada, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Utah, Washington and Wisconsin.

“The testing situation is not good in the United States. What we don’t catch are people who are contagious, ”said Dr. William Haseltine, president and president of Access Health International.

“We’re probably missing 8 out of 10 contagious people. And any decrease in testing is worrisome because we’re not doing well already. And if you don’t choose from a crowd of contagious people, then the epidemic will spread.… This epidemic will continue. is still spreading widely. ”

Why are some states testing less?

Medical experts say there could be several reasons.

“One of the reasons testing is declining is that supplies are not being shipped to places where testing can be done. I think that is part of a strategy of not counting the number of people infected, ”Haseltine said.

Florida governor touts success

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said the state has seen six straight weeks of declining test positivity rates.

And the number of patients hospitalized with coronavirus has declined by nearly 40% since its peak on July 22, he added. The number of patients in intensive care is down 30% since July 18.

DeSantis said he believes the downward trends across the state are lasting. “We will continue to work hard to be able to see these good trends.”

One of the measures taken by the state to reduce the number of cases was the closing of bars in late June.

Halsey Beshears, Florida’s leading business regulator, is reviewing comments and ideas from its meetings with bar and brewery owners statewide, but no timeline for the bars to reopen has been set, according to Karen Smith, spokesperson for the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation.

“While no timeline for reopening is certain, Secretary Beshears understands the urgency advocated by business owners at these recent meetings,” Smith said.

Shortage of minority volunteers could delay vaccines

This is not sufficient, as the trial participants are expected to reflect the affected population. Research shows that more than half of the cases of Covid-19 in the United States have involved blacks and Latin Americans.

In the 1800s, Dr. J. Marion Sims experimented with slaves and performed surgeries without their consent and without anesthesia.

So far, phases 1 and 2 have shown the vaccine to be safe. Some volunteers had fever and muscle aches, but they felt better after a day or two.

Quick and inexpensive test just got emergency approval

There’s good news: A new saliva test could give Americans a quick way to learn if they have Covid-19 – and if they need self-isolation to help prevent the spread.

“If inexpensive alternatives like SalivaDirect can be implemented across the country, we could finally get this pandemic under control, even before a vaccine,” said Nathan Grubaugh, assistant professor of epidemiology at Yale.

“We’ve simplified the test so that it costs just a few dollars for reagents, and we expect labs will only charge around $ 10 per sample,” Grubaugh said.