New fears of next wave of coronavirus as case slowly declines

Federal officials are concerned that the decline in daily coronavirus cases nationwide is starting to flatten out as one of the variants, coming from the UK, increases across the country.

They warned of state loosening of COVID-19 restrictions, saying the nation remains at a precarious point that could tip into a fourth wave before more people are vaccinated.

“We’re in this very precarious position that we were in just before the fall push – where anything that could disrupt that could give us another push,” Fauci told reporters in a briefing Friday. “We don’t want to be people who always look at the dark side of things, but you want to be realistic. So we need to take a close look at what happens over the next week with these numbers before we start expressing the understandable need to ease some restrictions. “

“We couldn’t say it in stronger terms: we think it’s a mistake to take the foot off too soon, especially when we’re ramping up our vaccination efforts right now,” said Andy Slavitt, senior COVID adviser at the White House -19 Response Team.

Since the beginning of January, daily cases of coronavirus and COVID-19 hospitalizations have been declining, but “the latest data suggests that these declines could stagnate, potentially stabilizing at a still very high number”, Dr Rochelle Walensky, director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. “At CDC, we see this as a very concerning course change.”

The disturbing figures came on the same day the United States Food and Drug Administration announced it would work quickly to issue an emergency use authorization for a third COVID-19 vaccine, manufactured by Johnson & Johnson.

The country is now reporting an average of around 66,350 new coronaviruses daily per day over the past week, Walensky said on Friday. That’s more than the comparable figure, 64,000 new cases per day, released Wednesday.

The average daily number of COVID-19-related deaths – around 2,000 per day – is slightly higher than it was a few days ago.

“We are monitoring this worrying data very closely to see where it goes over the next few days. But it’s important to remember where we are in the pandemic: Things are precarious. Now is not the time to relax restrictions, ”Walensky said. “The cases, hospitalizations and deaths all remain very high, and the recent change in pandemic must be taken very seriously.”

The recent surge in cases comes as federal officials have expressed concern about the continued increase in variants across the country. The increase in cases may be the result of the increased transmission of a variant first identified in Britain, B.1.1.7, which is believed to be 50% more transmissible than the conventional strain of the virus, Walensky said.

The UK variant now accounts for around 10% of coronavirus cases nationwide, Walensky said, up from 1% to 4% a few weeks ago. Walensky also expressed concern about an emerging variant in New York, B.1.526, and the California variant, B.1.427 / B.1.429, “which also appear to spread more easily and contribute to much of the current infections in these regions. , adding urgency to the situation. “

“The virus is not over with us. We cannot feel comfortable or give in to a false sense of security that the worst of the pandemic is behind us. Not now, not when mass vaccination is so close, ”Walensky said. “I know people are tired. They want to get back to normal life, but we’re not there yet. Give us some time. We need to get more vaccines in our communities and get more people vaccinated. “

Walensky and other federal officials have repeatedly warned state and local governments against loosening COVID-19 restrictions too quickly. Walensky previously said it was too early for states like Iowa and Montana to lift statewide mask orders. New York City began allowing indoor restaurants at 25% capacity on February 12, and Massachusetts will lift restaurant capacity limits on Monday and allow indoor concert halls and theaters to reopen at 50. % of their capacity, with no more than 500 people inside. .

“Considering the trends that we have seen in the last few days alone, I would say that we cannot be in a place where we are lifting the restrictions right now,” Walensky said.

In California, five counties – San Mateo and Marin counties in the Bay Area; Yolo County west of Sacramento; and the northernmost Shasta and Humboldt counties – were allowed by state officials to reopen indoor restaurants and gyms to limited capacity this week. Seven counties could be eligible to do so next week: Santa Clara, San Francisco, San Luis Obispo, El Dorado, Napa, Lassen and Modoc.

One of the variants that worries scientists the most is the strain first identified in South Africa, B.1.351, in which the effect of vaccination is significantly diminished but not wiped out. Fauci said pharmaceutical company Moderna launched a clinical trial this week to test a booster specifically designed to be effective against the South African variant.

Another way to deal with other versions, such as the New York and California variants, Fauci said, could be to simply give a second booster shot of the existing vaccines, which would generate an even more robust immune response that would help. to deal with the problems created by the variants.

Fauci said the rise of variants is one more reason to get vaccinated with currently available vaccines as quickly as possible when you are eligible. Even among the more worrying variants, vaccines still offer decent protection.

“Get vaccinated. The vaccine you have, get that vaccine. It is important to get as many people vaccinated as quickly and as quickly as possible,” Fauci said.

Los Angeles County officials have started to detect a slowing decline in daily coronavirus cases, said Dr Paul Simon, scientific director of the Department of Public Health.

On a weekly basis, LA County averaged about 1,871 cases of coronavirus per day over the past seven days, a 16% drop from the comparable figure a week earlier, which was 2,236 cases per day. This was a smaller drop than the previous week-over-week drop, in which average daily cases fell 35%, according to an analysis by The Times.

A rate of 1,500 to 2,000 new cases of coronavirus per day “still indicates a fairly large level of continued community spread of the virus,” Simon said.

LA County will open immunizations for education and child care workers on Monday; food and agricultural workers; and officers from law enforcement and other emergency services who had not previously been eligible. Together, these groups include over one million adults in LA County.

The county expects 269,000 doses of the vaccine to be distributed to LA County vaccination sites next week, up from 211,000 doses distributed this week. Of the 269,000 doses, 103,000 will be reserved for the first doses.

“Therefore, it will take a considerable amount of time to vaccinate these groups, unless the vaccine supply increases significantly,” Simon said. “We urge the public to be patient as we work through this process as quickly as possible.”

People looking for vaccines in these areas will need to provide proof that they live or work in LA County and proof that they work in an eligible area and some sort of photo ID – it is not it does not have to be government issued, officials said.

LA County officials on Friday unveiled a new map showing the disparities in immunization rates by city and community among people aged 65 and older. Seniors living in southern LA, Southeastern LA County, and the Antelope Valley had some of the lowest vaccination rates for seniors, while wealthier areas had the lowest rates of vaccination. highest inoculation.

For example, according to Simon, more than 70% of seniors in Beverly Hills, Manhattan Beach and Calabasas had received at least one dose of the vaccine by February 20, while less than 35% of seniors in Compton, Cudahy, Lancaster and Palmdale had received been vaccinated.

“We are implementing a number of measures to improve access to immunization services among the elderly and others in underserved communities,” said Simon.

California has now administered 8.2 million doses of the vaccine, Gov. Gavin Newsom said at a press briefing in Fresno on Friday, with the state taking an average of 1.4 million doses per week. Soon, the goal will be to administer 2.7 million doses per week, and ultimately, 4 million doses per week.

This week, California received 1.46 million doses; next week 1.58 million doses are expected, and the following week 1.63 million doses, Newsom said. The governor offered optimistic prospects for the coming weeks, given the gravity of the situation in California two months ago, when the state ordered thousands of body bags. He also thanked California for adhering to rules for wearing masks, practicing physical distancing and hosting social gatherings, which have saved many lives.

Newsom on Friday sought to pay more attention to the state’s efforts to increase vaccinations in the Central Valley, including sending 34,000 additional doses to inoculate agricultural and food workers. Low-income workers in the Central Valley have been hit particularly hard by the pandemic.

“Every day we do better – a little better – on the issue of fairness, and recognize that we have a long way to go, so much work to do to really be held to account for a higher level of performance. high, especially for our Latin American community and our African American community, ”Newsom said.