“Success does not equate to no case”

• The United States likely missed its chance to get rid of COVID-19, said Surgeon General Vivek Murthy.

• “Success is not equal to any case,” Murthy told Politico, as intensive care units across the country run out of beds.

• Vaccination continues to be the best way to keep people alive and out of hospital, he said.

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COVID-19 is unlikely to go away completely, US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy said in an interview with Politico.

Although the United States missed the opportunity to eradicate the disease completely, he said people can still take action to prevent the situation from getting worse.

“It’s really important that we convey that success is not equal in any case,” said Murthy. “Success looks like very few people in the hospital and very few deaths.”

Murthy’s remarks come as many hospitals across the United States report that there is no ICU bed capacity left, many treating nearly twice as many ICU patients than they have. of place.

The continued rise in COVID-19 cases over the Labor Day weekend forced many Americans to change or cancel their plans, ending what had started as an optimistic summer on a decidedly gloomy note .

“This is obviously a very difficult part of the pandemic,” Murthy said.

Murthy also pointed out that the situation is particularly dire in areas of the country that have lower vaccination rates and compliance with mask-wearing guidelines.

“It is the dichotomy that is developing,” he said. “It’s almost like living in two different Americas.”

Murthy also said that vaccinated people tend to overestimate the danger posed by the Delta coronavirus variant, and unvaccinated people tend to underestimate the risk.

U.S. Centers for Disease Control guidelines indicate that unvaccinated patients with the Delta variant are more likely to be hospitalized than with previous strains, while vaccinated patients with breakthrough cases were much less likely. to require hospitalization.

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Simply put: vaccines work, Murthy said.

Over the weekend, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Dr Anthony Fauci, told CNN that hospitals in some areas are “dangerously close” to having to choose who receives potentially medical treatment. saving.

The Austin, Texas public health agency said the 11 counties around that city were running out of intensive care beds as Delta variant cases increased there.

“We have safe and effective vaccines to protect fully vaccinated people from serious illness and death,” the agency said in a statement. “Each of us has a responsibility to keep our community safe.”

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