Health expert warns US must ‘do something dramatic’ to stop the spread of COVID-19

COVID-19 cases are increasing rapidly across the country as the Indian ‘Delta’ variant continues to spread.

The United States on Thursday recorded 28,412 new cases with a seven-day moving average of 26,079, a 135% increase from the average of 11,067 recorded two weeks ago.

Almost every state and the District of Columbia saw infections increase in the past week, according to a DailyMail.com analysis of data from Johns Hopkins.

Additionally, around 40 states have seen their infection rates rise by at least 50%, with some of the largest increases seen in hot spots such as Arkansas, Louisiana and Missouri.

The White House also said on Friday that Florida was responsible for one in five cases of COVID-19 this week.

Officials blame a mixture of low vaccination rates and spread of the Delta variant, which now accounts for about 60% of all new cases, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

With cases doubling every two weeks, that means the United States could see 50,000 cases per day by the end of July and 100,000 per day by the end of the month.

Even though deaths are a lagging indicator, the number of deaths is unlikely to increase as much or as quickly as a result of vaccinations.

It comes as CDC director Dr Rochelle Walensky has said the COVID-19 outbreak in the United States is becoming “an unvaccinated pandemic.”

She said the majority of coronavirus cases, hospitalizations and deaths now occur in people who have not received two injections of the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna vaccine or the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

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Missouri continues to be one of the nation’s COVID-19 epicenters, with the average number of cases increasing 83% from 1,029 per day to 1,892 per day in the past two weeks.

Perhaps not surprisingly, the state’s vaccination rate is below the national average with 46 percent of residents receiving at least one dose and 40 percent fully vaccinated.

In comparison, 55.8 percent of the United States has received at least one dose and 48.3 percent is fully immunized.

Dr Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, recently admitted that the federal health agency is more concerned about Missouri than any other state

“When I look at the map, Missouri actually comes out as the place that worries me the most because a lot of cases are happening very quickly now,” he told McClatchy.

“The chances of being infected in Missouri are getting very high and that means potentially serious illness or even death.”

The outbreak is caused by the Delta variant, which accounts for more than 97% of cases in the state, particularly spreading like wildfire in the southwest.

In Springfield, the two hospitals, CoxHealth and Mercy Springfield, are currently treating more COVID-19 patients than at any time during the pandemic.

CoxHealth says 16 patients have died in the past week alone. .

“We went from almost zero patients to about 100 patients in about seven months in the first two waves, and in that wave we went, at least in Cox, from about 14 patients seven weeks ago to about 130. today, ”said Steve, CEO of CoxHealth. Edwards said at a press conference Wednesday.

“So the build-up time was accelerated, almost triple. ”

In neighboring Arkansas, cases rose from an average of 515 per day two weeks ago to 1,444 per day on Thursday, an increase of 185%, according to analysis from DailyMail.com.

According to Dr. Cam Patterson, Chancellor of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, only 35.1% of the population is fully vaccinated, as the infection doubles every 10 days.

Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson (R) pleaded with residents to get vaccinated and attended community events across the state in an effort to increase vaccination rates.

Meanwhile, the chairman of the Arkansas Democratic Party has said he believes the mask’s tenure should be reinstated due to the increased number of cases.

“Yes, that was a bad idea,” Michael John Gray told KATV in reference to a March law that restricts the return of mask warrants.

“I don’t like it, I don’t like things being closed, I don’t like the capacity, but if that’s what we need to do to make sure we’re all year round around this time next year.”

In neighboring Louisiana, cases have increased 466%, from 299 to 1,695 per day in the past 14 days.

Dr Frank Courmier, medical director of pulmonary and critical services at the Notre-Dame de Lourdes Regional Medical Center in Lafayette, told CNN that COVID-19 patients admitted to his hospital are in their 30s and 40s, much younger than in previous waves.

“We are welcoming people in their third and fourth decades who are otherwise healthy with no real pre-existing conditions, unvaccinated and very sick, very quickly,” he said. “We hardly see any vaccinated patients.

Louisiana has one of the lowest COVID-19 vaccination rates in the country with about 36% of vaccines fully vaccinated, according to CDC data.

The low rate can be seen. In a statement on Tuesday, the Louisiana Department of Health revealed that 94% of the state’s 19,200 cases in May were in people who had not completed their vaccine series.

The data is very clear, ”Louisiana public health official Dr. Joseph Kanter said in the statement.

“Cases of COVID-19 among unvaccinated people in Louisiana are increasing. COVID-19-related hospitalizations, percent positivity, and COVID-19 outbreaks are all on the rise.

“Everyone in Louisiana, especially those who have not yet been vaccinated, should be aware that they are now at increased risk of exposure to COVID-19 due to the more transmissible Delta variant, and they should consider their personal risk and that of their family. “

Meanwhile, the White House said on Friday that Florida accounted for one in five new COVID-19 cases in the United States over the past week.

According to CDC data, 7,011 new cases were reported on July 14, with the seven-day moving average currently standing at 5,621.

Despite the growing number of cases, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has vowed not to issue any warrants or orders.

“No mandate for anything, these are individual choices,” DeSantis said at a press conference Tuesday.

‘I made comments in late April or early May, I said’ Look, this is a seasonal pattern ‘We knew it was going to be low in May and it was low, and we knew when we were getting to the at the end of June, July, it was going to increase, and that’s because that’s what he did last year and it’s not unique to Florida.

The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine is “weaker” against the Indian “Delta” variant than health officials had hoped, according to a new Israeli report.

Prime Minister Naftali Bennett had a discussion on the coronavirus with his cabinet at Kirya in Tel Aviv on Friday.

Israel once led the world in the vaccine race, vaccinating 61% of its population with the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, but now the country is facing an increase in the number of cases.

As of June 6, vaccine offers 64% protection against variant infection, Israeli government says

Right now there is an idea that the protective capacity of existing vaccines against the Delta mutation is weaker than we expected, ”Bennett said.

“We don’t know exactly how much the vaccine helps, but it’s significantly less. We all hope to see a slowdown, but the facts for now are that there is no slowdown, here or in the world.