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MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – A drop in COVID-19 cases in the United States in recent weeks has relieved overwhelmed hospitals, but administrators are bracing for a possible further increase as the cold pushes people inside.
Health experts say the fourth wave of the pandemic peaked across the United States, particularly in the Deep South, where hospitals were overcrowded weeks ago.
But many northern states are still grappling with an increase in cases, and what lies ahead for the winter is much less clear.
The unknowns include how the flu season can strain already exhausted hospital staff and whether those who have refused to be vaccinated will change their minds.
An estimated 70 million eligible Americans remain unvaccinated, fueling the highly contagious delta variant.
“If you are not vaccinated or if you are not protected against natural infections, this virus will find you,” warned Mike Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota.
Nationally, the number of people currently hospitalized with COVID-19 has fallen to around 75,000, from more than 93,000 in early September.
New cases are down to about 112,000 a day on average, down about a third over the past two and a half weeks.
Deaths also appear to be declining, averaging around 1,900 a day from more than 2,000 about a week ago, although the United States on Friday closed the heartbreaking milestone of 700,000 total deaths since the start of the pandemic.
The easing of the summer wave was attributed to more masks being worn and more people vaccinated.
The decrease in the number of cases could also be due to the fact that the virus burned susceptible people and ran out of fuel in some places.
In another promising development, Merck said on Friday that its experimental pill for people with COVID-19 was halving hospitalizations and deaths.
If cleared by regulators, it will be the first pill to treat COVID-19 – and an important and easy-to-use new weapon in the pandemic arsenal.
All treatments now authorized in the United States for the coronavirus require an IV or an injection.
Dr Anthony Fauci, the government’s top infectious disease specialist, warned on Friday that some might see the encouraging trends as a reason not to get the vaccine.
“It’s good news that we’re starting to see the curves lower,” he said.
“This is no excuse to move away from the problem of needing to be vaccinated.”
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