As the United States approaches 30 million confirmed COVID-19 cases, health experts express concern over a potential fourth wave of infections coinciding with the arrival of spring. Warmer weather is prompting many states to ease restrictions, raising fears of a resurgence of the virus.
Despite the acceleration of the nationwide vaccine rollout, new infections are rising in several states. The spread of more contagious COVID-19 variants and “pandemic fatigue” are contributing to this uptick, according to reports from The Washington Post.
Over the weekend, Florida declared a state of emergency and imposed a curfew in Miami after large crowds of spring breakers gathered, disregarding social distancing guidelines. This has heightened concerns about the potential for increased virus transmission.
The White House is urging states to “slow down the relaxation” of COVID-19 guidelines. While there is a general decrease in the rate of new infections and hospitalizations, the overall number of cases remains high.
Dr. Rochelle Walensky, Director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), warned of the possibility of another surge driven by emerging variants as restrictions are lifted. “We must act now, and I am worried that if we don’t take the right actions now, we will have another avoidable surge—just as we are seeing in Europe right now and just as we are so aggressively scaling up vaccination,” Walensky stated during Monday’s White House COVID-19 briefing.
In a positive development, AstraZeneca announced that its COVID-19 vaccine demonstrated 79% efficacy in a new study conducted in the United States. The company reported no serious side effects, including the risk of blood clots that led some European countries to pause the vaccine’s use. AstraZeneca expects to file for emergency use authorization with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the coming weeks.
According to the CDC, approximately one in four people in the United States has received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, and about one in eight are fully vaccinated. The continued progress of the vaccination campaign offers hope in the fight against the pandemic, even as challenges remain.
Reference(s):
cgtn.com
