Delta variant: Coronavirus cases have doubled in the last three weeks in the United States and concerns are growing | WHO Global Alert

Concern over the expansion of Delta variant at United States, where in the last three weeks there has been a doubling of coronavirus cases. Although the main cause is believed to be the increased contagiousness of this strain, specialists also attribute the increase to the resistance to vaccination of certain sectors and independence day celebrations.

According to data from Johns Hopkins University in the United States, confirmed infections have increased on average by about 23,600 per day last Monday, compared to 11,300 on June 23. This growth has been seen in all states across the country except Maine, South Dakota and Iowa, where they are experiencing declines of between 10% and 50%.

“It’s no coincidence,” said Bill Powderly, co-director of the division of infectious diseases at the University of Washington School of Medicine, as quoted by Spanish-language portal Telemundo Chicago. “We expected this to happen after the 4th of July weekend (Independence Day of the United States) ”, he admitted, explaining that the festivities took place while the new Delta variant in the country, which is very contagious.

While there have been concerns within the White House about the Independence Day celebrations, the truth is that the possibility of canceling the main event in Washington was not considered, but only of guests to attend the festivities after performing a PCR test with a negative result.

The other factor implicated in the increase in cases, noted epidemiologist expert and White House adviser Anthony Fauci, is the deep resistance to vaccines that exists in parts of the country: the five states that have shown a greater increase in the number of infections are those with the lowest vaccination rates: Missouri, 45.9%; Arkansas, 43%; Nevada, 50.9%; Louisiana, 39.2%; and Utah, 49.5%.

“Over 99% of people who died from COVID-related causes in June were not vaccinated”, says Fauci. “We are witnessing an increase in hospitalizations and deaths in unvaccinated people” because of the circulation of the Delta variant, lamented in the same direction Rochelle Walensky, the director of the American Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

“About a third of Americans are not fully immunized and vulnerable to the delta variant. Our fight against this virus is not over, ”President Joe Biden said at a press conference last week. According to figures provided by the CDC, Americans vaccinated with at least one dose make up about 55.6% of the population.

The Ministry of Health Mississippi, the state with the lowest percentage of people vaccinated, began blocking posts about covid-19 on his Facebook page due to “increased misinformation” about the virus and vaccine. He also advised people aged 65 and those with prevalent chronic illnesses to stay away from large indoor gatherings due to a 150% increase in hospitalizations in the past three weeks.

Due to the circulation of the Delta variant and the increase in cases, health authorities in Angels, State of California and Saint Louis, Missouri, ask people who have been vaccinated to wear masks again in public places. For their part, authorities in the city of Chicago, Illinois, announced yesterday that unvaccinated travelers from Missouri and Arkansas must be quarantined for 10 days or have a Covid test. 19 negative.

Despite the recent increase, cases in the United States are still not approaching the peak of a quarter of a million per day recorded in January. As for the deaths, on the other hand, there are less than 260 per day on average, after having exceeded 3,400 during the boreal winter, figures which show the effectiveness with which the vaccine can prevent diseases. serious and fatalities.

WHO warns of further increase in cases and deaths from Delta variant of coronavirus

According to Wednesday’s report from the World Health Organization (WHO), there were almost 3 million cases of coronavirus worldwide last week a 10% increase – accompanied by a 3% increase in deaths – reversing a nine-week downward trend in the incidence of COVID-19. The largest number of cases were reported in Brazil, India, Indonesia and the United Kingdom.

The agency specifies, in its report, that the Delta variant is already in 111 countries and should become dominant worldwide in the coming months, because it is very contagious.

In addition, the WHO warned that more transmissible versions of the virus could emerge and he anticipated that due to “the relaxation and inappropriate use of social and public health measures”, as well as “greater mobility and greater social diversity”, many countries will register greater number of cases, hospitalizations and deaths in the near future.

“Inadequate planning or assessment of the risk of transmission during a meeting or travel offers the potential for the virus to spread.“the agency warned, given the” considerable pressure “some countries are under to lift restrictions imposed to fight the pandemic.