White House adviser says this thing is about to make COVID worse



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In just one day, president-elect Joe biden will be in office with a new administration at the helm as the United States continues to fight the COVID pandemic. Just before officially entering his role as COVID advisor to the White House, Michael Osterholm, PhD, MPH, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, gave a grim prediction about what lies in store for the spread of the virus. The official appointed by Biden warned that the new strains of COVID would turn the pandemic into something “unlike anything we’ve seen yet.” For more on his prediction, read on, and for another recent warning from a new official, check out New CDC Director Just Posted This Very Dark COVID Warning.

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At present, the British strain, which is believed to be 50% more transmissible than the current dominant strain of coronavirus in the United States, has been identified in 20 states, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). However, two other highly contagious strains – one from South Africa and one from Brazil – raise additional concerns, as they have mutated the virus more dramatically and could make our current treatments and vaccines less effective, a theory that experts say. are currently studying. Although these two strains have not yet been identified in the United States, Anthony Fauci, MD, recently said Newsweek the new variants would be discovered in the United States “sooner or later”.

But one thing is certain: these new strains are likely to increase cases. During an interview on CNN New day On January 19, Osterholm warned: “We are suddenly going to see these variants come into play,” he said. “Based on the experience we have seen in Europe, particularly South Africa, these variants can dramatically increase the number of cases.”

Osterholm fears the aftermath of the pandemic is unprecedented. On January 14, he told WCCO, a local Minneapolis CBS News affiliate, that these strains are a serious curve. “The challenges are immense, just immense,” he said. “If you think we’ve had a problem so far with this virus, if these variants are spreading here and causing the issues they have in [England and Ireland], May God help us. And to receive the most up-to-date COVID information straight to your inbox, sign up for our daily newsletter.

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Osterholm predicts a frightening change in the pandemic is quickly approaching. “I worry desperately in the next six to 12 weeks we’re going to see a situation with this pandemic unlike anything we’ve seen so far,” Osterholm told CNN. “And it’s really a challenge that I don’t think most people realize yet.”

On January 15, the CDC issued a warning that the British variant could become the dominant strain in the United States by March, and experts like Scott Gottlieb, MD, the former commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, also shared a similar warning. During an appearance on CBS News’ Face the nation on January 17, he said: “Right now this new variant accounts for about 0.5% of all infections nationwide. There are hot spots in Southern California and Florida that are maybe closer to 1%, but that’s going to double every week. which doubles every week. This is the experience of other countries and this is the experience that we have seen so far in the United States. So it’s 1% now. It will be 2%, then 4%, then 8%, then 16%, then 32 percent. So in about five weeks, it’s going to start to take hold. “That would put us in mid-February, according to Gottlieb’s prediction.

“What we are considering is a relentless attack of this virus which is heading towards the spring, when infections have really started to decline in the spring,” he said. “We would have had a calm spring. We could have had consistently high infection levels in the spring until we finally had enough people vaccinated.” For helpful advice on masks to keep you safe, check out the CDC Warns Against Using These 6 Face Masks.

Doctor injecting vaccine on male patient's arm.  The man wears a face mask while sitting with a healthcare worker.  They are in the medical clinic during the coronavirus.
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Osterholm said vaccines are also a key component in mitigating the impact of the pandemic and the new strains. However, he says, “we cannot make the vaccine go much faster than it is now.”

In a Jan. 17 interview with NBC Meet the press, Fauci also said the vaccine was the way to prevent further spread of COVID, even as the new variants create more infection. “The easiest way to avoid this negative effect of these new isolates is to… just as the vaccine becomes available, people should get the vaccine,” he said. “If we can get vaccinated … the overwhelming majority of the population, we would be in great shape and could beat even the mutant.” And for more on the UK strain’s current situation, check out The New COVID Strain Is Now In These States.

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As to the severity of the next phase of the pandemic, Osterholm said, it all depends on how quickly we act. “The difference will be, are we going to react now or later,” he explained. According to Osterholm, the Biden administration will take “dramatic steps” to mitigate the spread of the new variants. However, he added that “the question is when are we going to do it? Do we put the brakes on after the cars have wrapped around the shaft, or do we try to brake before leaving the intersection?” To see what precautions we could afford to give up, check out These 2 COVID Precautions May Not Be Necessary After All, A New Study Finds.

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