Coronavirus cases in the United States have tripled in two weeks: what happened?

The cases of Covid-19 they tripled United States in two weeks in the middle of a avalanche of vaccine misinformation, which puts pressure on hospitals and exhausts doctors.

“Our staff are frustrated,” said Chad Neilsen, director of infection prevention at UF Health Jacksonville, who has had to cancel surgeries and other procedures after the number of hospital patients with the mostly unvaccinated coronavirus , rose to 134. a low of 16 in mid-May.

“They’re tired. They think it’s something they’ve been through before, and there is some anger because we know this is a largely preventable situation and people are not taking advantage. vaccine, ”he said.

In the United States, the seven-day moving average of daily new cases has risen over the past two weeks to more than 37,000 on Tuesday, from less than 13,700 on July 6, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

The delta variant and the fear of getting vaccinated

Health authorities blame the peak delta variant and slowing inoculation rates.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), only 56.2% of Americans have received at least one dose of the vaccine.

In Louisiana, health authorities on Wednesday reported 5,388 new cases of Covid-19, the third highest daily figure since the start of the pandemic in the United States in January 2020.

Hospitalizations for the disease have jumped to 844 statewide, an increase of more than 600 since mid-June.

The state of Utah has reported 295 people hospitalized with the coronavirus, the highest number since February. On average, around 622 confirmed cases have been recorded per day over the past week, nearly triple the infection rate at its lowest point in the pandemic in early June.

Health data shows that the rebound is almost entirely related to unvaccinated people.

“It’s like watching a car accident before it happens,” said Dr. James Williams, associate professor of clinical emergency medicine at Texas Tech, who recently started treating more COVID-19 patients. .

“None of us want to go through this again,” he remarked.

He said the patients are younger – many of them between 20 and 40 years old – and the vast majority have not received the vaccine.

In his role as senior pastor of one of Missouri’s largest churches, Jeremy Johnson heard the reasons why worshipers they don’t want to be vaccinated against Covid-19. He wants them to know that not only is the injection correct, but that is what the Bible asks for.

“I think fear plays a big role,” said Johnson, whose Springfield-based church also has a campus in Nixa and one about to open in Republic.

“Afraid to trust anything other than the scriptures, afraid to trust anything other than a political party they feel most comfortable with. Afraid to trust science. God is not something to choose between, ”explains the pastor.

At New York Hospital and clinic workers will need to be vaccinated or tested for the coronavirus every week at a time when authorities are battling a spike in coronavirus cases, Mayor Bill de Blasio announced on Wednesday.

The mayor’s order does not apply to teachers, police officers and other city employees, but it is part of the city’s intense attention to vaccines amid an increase in delta infections.

Source: AP

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