Coronavirus in the United States: Generalized vaccinations in the United States will not come until the summer. Here’s what has led to cases of Covid-19 so far

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“That’s what we do well: stay away, wear masks, don’t travel, don’t mix with others inside,” Dr Tom Frieden, former director of the Centers for Disease, said Sunday. Control and Prevention.

The number of Covid-19 infections and hospitalizations is now on the decline across the country after a series of devastating surges that followed the holidays. But that doesn’t mean the United States is in the clear.

“We’ve had three flare-ups,” Frieden added. “Whether or not we have a fourth surge is up to us, and the stakes could not be higher – not only in the number of people who could die in the fourth wave, but also in the risk of Even more dangerous variants emerge if there is a more uncontrolled spread. “

That is why it is particularly important that state leaders do not ease restrictions and lift mask warrants now, experts have warned.

“It’s encouraging to see these trends drop, but they come from an extraordinarily high place,” CDC director Dr Rochelle Walensky told NBC on Sunday. “If we want to get our kids back to school, and I think we all do, it all depends on the size of the community.”

“We must all take responsibility for reducing this spread of the community, including the wearing of masks, so that we can recover our children and our society,” added the director.

Local Covid-19 variants spotted in the United States

Among the strains of Covid-19 of greatest concern that have been detected in the United States is the highly contagious variant B.1.1.7, first spotted in the United Kingdom. More than 1,100 cases of the variant have been reported in 39 states – with about a third of the cases reported in Florida, according to data from the CDC.

The United States has also reported at least 17 cases of a strain initially seen in South Africa and at least two cases of another strain, this one first linked to Brazil.

Lot of local coronavirus mutations seen in the United States

Meanwhile, on Sunday, researchers announced that they had identified a batch of similar disturbing mutations in samples of Covid-19 in the United States that also appear to make the virus more transmissible.

These mutations all affect the same segment of the spike protein – the button-like extension outside the virus that it uses to attach to cells it infects, the researchers wrote in a pre-report. print that has not yet been peer reviewed. .

But these mutations appear to be “relatively rare” so far, one of the researchers said.

States still struggle to source vaccines

Public health experts say the United States is now in a race against time to vaccinate as many Americans as possible before the variants continue to spread and mutate further.

But as states ramp up their vaccinations, challenges remain, including a shortage.

What you need to know before making an appointment for a vaccine at your pharmacy

In San Francisco, officials announced that a high-volume vaccination site will shut down for a week and reopen “once there is sufficient supply to resume operations.” A second high-volume site expects to resume vaccinations on Friday – but only for the second doses. A third high-volume vaccination site is expected to launch this week, officials said, but “with appointments available well below full capacity.”

“The vaccine supply to health care providers in San Francisco and the Department of Public Health (DPH) is limited, inconsistent and unpredictable, making vaccine deployment difficult and denying San Franciscans this potentially life-saving intervention.” officials said in a press release. Sunday.

“The city has the capacity to administer more than 10,000 vaccines per day but lacks vaccines,” they added.

The shortage of supplies has also hampered operations in other parts of the state, even as officials recently announced they will add millions more to the state’s priority vaccine list. Several Los Angeles Covid-19 vaccination sites have been forced to temporarily close due to a lack of vaccine doses.

Small triumphs, some problems as the national Covid-19 vaccine pharmacy program takes off

In Washington state, officials said appointments for the first dose will be “extremely limited” this week as the state will focus on giving second doses.

“We are closely monitoring the distribution of the doses and making the necessary adjustments,” Health Secretary Umair A. Shah said in a statement. “While the limited availability of the first doses will be difficult this coming week, focusing on the second doses will help pave the way for improved and more sustainable vaccine allocation in the weeks to come.”

The two states are far from alone in their struggles. Officials said supply will likely remain a challenge for some time, and experts say vaccines are unlikely to be widely available to the American public until late spring or summer.

Walensky, the director of the CDC, told Fox News on Sunday that she expected that “by the end of the summer we will have enough vaccines to immunize the entire eligible American population.”

Expert: the vaccination of teachers is “ essential ” for the reopening of the school

In the meantime, one of the central issues in immunization today is when educators across the country can get immunized.

Emergency physician Dr Leana Wen told CNN on Sunday that vaccinating teachers was crucial for the school to reopen – which differs from the school reopening guidelines released last week by the CDC.

CDC director says 'we have work to do' when it comes to reopening schools safely

The agency’s guidelines do not list vaccination as a “key” strategy for opening schools, instead focusing on measures like masks and physical distance, among others. Vaccinations for staff and teachers are “an extra layer of protection,” Walensky previously said.

Walensky told CNN on Sunday that while vaccinating teachers is not a prerequisite for schools to reopen, current CDC guidelines state that those who are more at risk should have virtual options.

“I am a strong advocate for teachers who receive their vaccines, but we do not believe this is a prerequisite for the reopening of schools,” she said.

But Wen called vaccinating teachers “essential.”

“If we want students to attend school for in-person learning, the least we can do is protect the health and well-being of our teachers – especially as in so many parts of the country teachers are already trained to return to school in poorly ventilated and cramped areas, with many students who do not always mask themselves and do not always practice physical distancing, ”Wen said.

CNN’s Keith Allen, Ben Tinker, Michael Nedelman, Maggie Fox and Naomi Thomas contributed to this report.

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