This Delta variant could be the last major surge of the Covid-19 pandemic, but now is not the time for the US to grow complacent as it has yet to run its course, an expert said for CNN.
Too Early to Celebrate
“We still have a couple of months to go until this Delta wave sweeps across the country in a regionalized fashion and we are sort of done with it,” said Dr. Scott Gottlieb, the former director of the US Food and Drug Administration.
Still, an average of about 1,500 people died every day in the last week of Covid-19, according to JHU data.
Gottlieb has predicted the worst of it will be over for much of the country around thanksgiving and prevalence levels will decline around Christmas, but not all health officials are so certain.
“I think it’s too early for us to celebrate and say that the worst is behind us,” CNN medical analyst Dr. Leana Wen said.
“We need the overwhelming proportion of those unvaccinated people to be vaccinated and then we can be quite confident that if we can do that, you will not see a resurgence,” Dr. Anthony Fauci said.
Vaccines will Bring Down the Covid-19
Vaccines, in addition to other tools like testing, are what will help bring the Covid-19 pandemic into its endemic stage in the US, Gottlieb said Monday.
When a virus becomes endemic, it poses a persistent risk of infection but is not causing large numbers of cases with severe disease and death.
“If you look at past pandemics, they’ve lasted upwards of five years,” he said.
If approved, the increased accessibility will benefit the health of young children and the communities they occupy, experts said.
Children represented 24.8% of weekly reported Covid cases last week when 148,222 cases were reported.
Vaccination is Safe and Effective
As part of the drive to increase vaccinations, many health experts are calling for mandates in schools, workplaces and businesses.
Fauci told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer the federal government is trying to persuade people to get vaccinated on their own, but some may need to be required to do so.
“We’ve obviously been trying very hard,” Fauci said.
On Monday, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott issued an executive order prohibiting any entities from requiring individuals to get vaccinated.
“The COVID-19 vaccine is safe, effective, and our best defense against the virus, but should remain voluntary and never forced,” said Abbott.
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Source: CNN
