On Christmas Day alone, more than 616,000 people were screened at TSA checkpoints across the country, and thousands of people traveled in the days before the holiday. The numbers are expected to climb again this weekend.
Emergency physician Dr. Leana Wen told CNN: “People who are traveling may not go camping in the wild. Maybe they will go to meet their relatives, eat without a mask, and stay crowded indoors for a long time.” “There are many people who may have Covid-1
She added: “My concern is that these people will be in the intensive care unit of the hospital in two to three weeks.” “I am really worried about the surge we are going to see and how fast we will be. More than 400,000 people died.”
Dr. Peter Hotz, an infectious disease expert at Baylor College of Medicine, said: “These predictions are simply nightmarish.” “People can still save the lives of their loved ones by staying away from society and wearing masks. Remember, vaccines are just around the corner.”
On top of the already devastating death toll, another wave of cases and hospitalizations will inevitably mean more deaths.
Experts say that vaccines are slow to spread in some places
According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly 2 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine have been administered in the United States, and 9.5 million doses have been distributed.
These numbers now include Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna Covid-19 vaccines. Despite the lag in data reporting, some experts say that the speed of vaccine distribution is not as fast as officials hoped.
Dr. Esther Choo, a professor of emergency medicine at Oregon Health and Science University, said: “Every time we go back to the vaccination market, it seems to be going slowly.” “This is a very complicated thing. Each step has its complexity and the possibility of delay, whether it is individual national planning, distribution, training, vaccine supply, storage…At this stage, there are too many factors.”
Joe said: “We need to be prepared for this fact, because it will slowly roll out in many places and will not change our behavior in the short term, nor will it necessarily change the trend in this country.”
Choo’s words echoed the opinions of some other experts, who warned the American public not to relax their vigilance when they started vaccination and continue to follow public health measures, including wearing masks, staying away from society, avoiding crowds and washing hands regularly.
Officials say that the vaccine may not be widely available until the summer and begin to have a meaningful impact on the course of the pandemic. Dr. Anthony Fauci estimates that approximately 70% to 85% of the population needs to be vaccinated against Covid-19 to immunize the country’s cattle herd.
Expert: Test requirements do not help control the spread of Covid-19 variants
Passengers must undergo a PCR or antigen test negative within 72 hours after boarding a flight from the United Kingdom to the United States and provide proof of laboratory results. The airline is required to confirm the test before flying.
But one expert said that the new test requirements for travelers to the United States have not been implemented quickly enough to effectively resist the reported variants.
Emergency medicine physician Dr. Richina Bicette told CNN: “With our new measures, it makes sense for any place experiencing regional peaks.” “But if they try to ensure that the virus is not imported into the United States , Then these measures will have no effect on this.”
Bicette added: “The CDC requirements will not take effect until Monday.” “By then, thousands of people have entered the United States from the UK, if not thousands. Therefore, this new variant is very likely. It’s already listed in the US, we just don’t know.”
CNN’s Hollie Silverman, Virginia Langmaid and Pete Muntean contributed to this report.
