“The worst of the pandemic” arrives in these many weeks, according to an expert

Health officials in the United States have been able to breathe a rare sigh of relief lately as the past few weeks have shown a sustained decline in COVID cases across the country. As of February 15, the seven-day average was 85,812 new cases per day, marking a 41% drop in the past two weeks, according to The New York Times. But experts warn that progress against COVID since early January is not necessarily guaranteed, a White House COVID adviser warning that “the worst of the pandemic“could arrive in a few weeks. Read on to see what will happen, and to find out more about how the pandemic is already affecting where you live, find out how severe the COVID outbreak is in your condition.

While discussing the process of reopening schools during an interview with CBS This morning February 15th Michael Osterholm, PhD, a member of the White House COVID advisory committee, issued a stern warning: “I think the next 14 weeks will be the worst in the pandemic.”

He continued: “People don’t want to hear this, but if we look at what these variants are doing, especially the UK one, and see what it has done in Europe, see what it does in the Middle East. , that is we are now starting to start here in the US. We’ll see that unfold. “And for more on the strain from England, check out UK Top Scientist Has Scary COVID Warning for Americans.

Osterholm went on to say that efforts to open schools were based on the currently optimistic outlook provided by the national crisis in the cases. “At this point, many areas can open up, [but] I don’t think they’ll be open for very long because of what’s going on in the pike with cases, ”he predicted. According to Osterholm, the upcoming push would see most schools shut down in just six to eight weeks and those closures “likely last for at least up to 14 weeks.”

“We are in a race with this variant in terms of vaccination”, he warned. “If we look at the numbers right now, there will be over 30 million Americans over 65 who will not have the vaccine by the end of March, when we are going to be in very, very days. dark… In the meantime, masks are the best thing we have in terms of drivetrain reduction – of course besides just outrunning you [and] do not put yourself in danger. And for more COVID information delivered straight to your inbox, sign up for our daily newsletter.

Osterholm wasn’t the only one predicting that another wave of cases could await the United States. “It’s good to see the number of cases go down, but it can be misleading.” Andy slavitt, said the senior advisor to the White House COVID-19 response team in a live interview with MSNBC Hallie Jackson February 15.

Asked about his thoughts on Osterholm’s fears that the worst days of the pandemic are looming, Slavitt reaffirmed his colleague’s warning that highly contagious variants could indeed spark the next dark chapter – and that getting complacent would be. a big mistake.

“Unfortunately, we can’t predict the future and we know this virus has only been full of surprises for us… and I think there are more surprises to come,” Slavitt warned. “I don’t think we’re close [to] out of the woods. I don’t expect us to witness smooth sailing from here. It would be a shame to ease off too soon. “And for more on what you shouldn’t do when trying to put on your PPE, check out If You’re Layered Up These Masks CDC Says: Stop Immediately.

The terrible predictions of Slavitt and Osterholm were also echoed by Anthony Fauci, MD, chief advisor to the White House COVD, in a February 13 interview with The New York Times. “If you look at the pattern of cases, they have peaked, they turn around and start to decrease,” he explained. “Probably the more time passes, the fewer cases we will see. Unless – and this is a possibility – we have an unexpected surge related to some of the variants.”

Fauci specifically pointed out that the UK variant, due to take over in the US next month, could potentially reverse the progress we’ve made unless the public remains vigilant. “The variant that is in the UK that’s probably going to become more dominant in the US, the models tell us that will likely happen by the end of March,” Fauci said. “If we don’t stick to public health measures as we should, it could take us off. That’s why I say I’m cautiously optimistic, because we might turn around and go in the opposite direction pretty quickly. . ” And if you’re looking to get vaccinated to avoid these variants, check out Dr Fauci says you’ll easily get an appointment for a vaccine after that date.