U.S. Coronavirus: High Risk For States To Relax Covid-19 Restrictions Now, Experts Warn

“It’s absolutely essential that we continue to take steps beyond vaccination to keep this under control,” Besser said. “The reason is that the more this virus is allowed to spread in our communities, the more we will see these variants spread.”

“And if the vaccines aren’t as effective against some of these variants, then we might see the gains that we’re so excited about right now, we might see the ones reversed in a very short period of time.”

Vaccine challenges remain

And while officials have expressed optimism about the continued ramp-up of vaccines in the coming weeks, local and state leaders continue to face challenges, especially when it comes to the number of doses they need. have and to ensure equitable access to vaccines.

Los Angeles County health officials announced that as of Tuesday, the county will only offer appointments for second doses of the vaccine due to a supply shortage.

“Making an appointment now is difficult due to the limited supply of vaccines the county receives each week,” county health officials said in a press release. This will last the rest of the week.

The move is meant to “ensure that we have enough doses to ensure a second dose for people who have already received the first,” Los Angeles County Director of Public Health Barbara Ferrer said at a conference. press Monday.

In Kentucky, Gov. Andy Beshear said in a statement Monday that the state would produce weekly demographic data on where vaccine doses are going, so they are “held accountable” for equitable access.

“Black and African American Kentuckians, to date, have received about 4.3% of the vaccinations of which we know the race. This is unacceptable,” the governor said.

“About 1.1% of vaccines, of which ethnicity is known, went to our Hispanic population – also too few,” he added in a statement.

For fully vaccinated Americans, more guidelines on what they should and shouldn’t do may be on the way, Dr Anthony Fauci said in a meeting on Monday.

“Under the existing guidelines, you still have to wear a mask, you still have to do social distancing, but I think that’s going to change,” Fauci said. “We’re talking about it at the CDC level.”

What a trip might look like

“What we do know is that this is the appropriate measure for international travel, people traveling to the United States given some of these considerations. You know I would say the national situation is very different, but you know the CDC is always evaluating what can be best done to keep Americans safe, ”Buttigieg said.

When asked if he supported the idea of ​​requiring proof of a Covid-19 vaccination before air travel, Buttigieg said it was up to the CDC.

“It’s not a step that has been taken, and again the CDC is really in the lead in deciding what the right steps will be,” Buttigieg said. “Right now the goal, especially at a time when most Americans haven’t received a vaccine, haven’t had access to a vaccine, is to make sure that while we are distributing these vaccines to everyone, we can, we’re also maintaining measures that we know are available and working, such as wearing a mask. “

More than 2.9 million children have had Covid-19

Childhood Covid-19 cases account for nearly 13% of all cases in the United States, the report adds.

In the week of January 28 to February 4, more than 117,000 new childhood infections were recorded, the report added, while in the two weeks ending February 4, there was a 10% increase in Covid cases -19 in children.

“However, there is an urgent need to collect more data on the long-term effects of the pandemic on children, including the ways in which the virus may adversely affect the long-term physical health of infected children, as well as its effects on the emotional and mental health, ”he added.