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Dr Anthony S. Fauci, the foremost infectious disease expert in the United States, predicted on Thursday that the daily number of coronavirus deaths would continue to rise for weeks to come, and advised patience with the program. vaccination that is being prepared across the country.
Health officials in the United States on Wednesday reported nearly 4,000 virus-related deaths, a record high, and the pandemic total topped 360,000. In an interview with NPR, Dr Fauci said the number remains high of tolls would likely reflect the increase in travel and gatherings during the holidays.
“We think things will get worse as January approaches,” he said.
He stressed that it was still possible to “blunt this acceleration” by strictly adhering to public health measures such as social distancing and the wearing of masks.
“Now is not the time to go back,” he warns.
The virus has wreaked havoc in the United States. In recent days, Wyoming and Arizona have been among the states that have recorded high per capita rates of virus deaths, according to a New York Times database. Florida reported more than 19,800 cases on Thursday, the state’s highest one-day total.
Dr Fauci advised Americans to be patient with the obstacles and delays that have slowed the vaccination effort and caused widespread frustration.
So far, at least 5.9 million people in the United States have received a dose of one of two Covid-19 vaccines approved for use, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That number is well below the target federal officials had set to give at least 20 million people their first shots by the end of December.
Dr Francis S. Collins, head of the National Institutes of Health, said Wednesday he was “not totally surprised” that vaccine distribution got off to a “difficult” start.
“We had this remarkable plan that Warp Speed had in place to get the doses ready for administration the day after FDA approval, but that’s a lot of logistics,” he said. in the Washington Post, referring to Operation Warp Speed, the administration’s vaccine development program. “So maybe we shouldn’t be too shocked that this isn’t going like clockwork.”
He also echoed Dr Fauci’s warning and said that “the next few weeks are going to be really critical.
But the deployment is starting to accelerate. More people would have received their initial vaccine in the third week of the vaccination campaign than in the first two weeks combined. The CDC’s tally rose by 470,000 between Tuesday and Wednesday. then by 612,000 others between Wednesday and Thursday.
In a letter Thursday to Alex M. Azar II, the secretary of health and human services, the American Hospital Association called on the federal government to do more to coordinate what is being done in different states and municipalities.
“Hospitals are committed to playing a central role in the vaccination effort, but hospitals alone cannot do it, especially as we treat an increasing number of critically ill Covid-19 patients and we let’s strive to maintain sufficient staff to have sufficient personal protective equipment and other resources, ”wrote Richard J. Pollack, executive director of the association.
Mr Azar urged states on Wednesday not to stick too strictly to CDC guidelines on who to vaccinate and in what order.
“There is no reason why states need to complete, for example, immunization of all health care providers before opening vaccinations to older Americans or other particularly vulnerable populations.” Mr. Azar said at a press conference. He added, “It would be much better to act quickly and end up vaccinating some lower priority people than to let the vaccines stay put.”
In the NPR interview, Dr Fauci said that any program on such a large scale would have to overcome hurdles and that the timing of the rollout, which began around the December vacation, may have added to the delays.
“I think it would be fair to watch what happens in the next few weeks,” he said. “If we don’t catch up with the original goal, we really need to make changes to what we’re doing.”
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