Paramedics arrive with a Covid-19 patient at the emergency department of Sharp Memorial Hospital in San Diego, California.
Bing Guan | Bloomberg | Getty Images
New cases of Covid-19 are again on the rise in more than half of the United States, as officials struggle to vaccinate more people before highly contagious variants become more widespread in the country.
By Sunday, the seven-day average of new cases rose 5 percent or more in 27 states, according to a CNBC analysis of data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. In the US, the nation registered an average of 54,308 new cases per day in the last week – a 1% increase over the previous week after months of rapidly declining case numbers, according to the data.
Although the US is stepping up vaccinations, offering about 2.5 million shots every day, some health officials have warned that the country remains in a precarious position. The lifting of restrictions in many states and the spread of more contagious variants in the US threaten to nullify the nation’s progress, which has seen cases, hospitalizations and deaths drop dramatically from the peak earlier this year.
“Serious threat”
Lifting the restrictions is a “serious threat to the progress we have made,” Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told reporters at a news conference on Monday. She said she was worried about an inevitable increase in cases. “We are at a critical juncture in this pandemic, a fork in the road.”
New daily deaths continue to decline, probably aided by the prioritization of vaccination of the elderly and those with comorbid conditions who are most likely to die of Covid-19. About 68.8% of those aged 65 and over have received at least one vaccine since Sunday, according to the CDC. In total, more than 124.4 million doses have been administered, but most are for two-dose vaccines.
As it becomes optimistic about the steady increase in vaccinations, many states have begun to ease restrictions on businesses and assemblies, despite warnings from the CDC not to do so. Although some states, such as New Jersey, are beginning to do so consider maintaining an additional reopening as cases begin to grow.
White House Chief Medical Officer Dr. Anthony Fauci last week urged states not to declare victory premature.
He said he was concerned about a number of states and cities giving up public health measures and giving up masked warrants.
“So it’s unfortunate, but it’s not surprising to me that you see an increase in the number of cases per day in areas – cities, states or regions – even if the vaccines are distributed in a pretty good clip from 2 (million) to 3 millions a day, “Fauci said Friday.” This could be overcome if certain areas are prematurely withdrawn from the mitigation and public health measures we are all talking about. “
B.1.1.7 in Michigan
Adding to the urgency of the need for rapid vaccination of people is the imminent threat of new variants, which seem to have already caused severe increases in much of Europe and other parts of the world. The CDC projected that the more contagious and potentially deadly variant B.1.1.7, which was discovered in the United Kingdom, could become the dominant strain in the United States by the end of the month.
Some health officials said that variant B.1.1.7 could be what is behind the particularly worrying increases observed in various states, including Michigan, where cases have increased dramatically in recent days. According to data from Hopkins, Michigan reports an average of almost 3,000 new cases per day, up about 50% from a week ago.
The increase in the number of cases comes after the state allowed restaurants to reopen for indoor dining on February 1, pushed schools to offer personal learning by March 1, and reduced restrictions on restaurants and gatherings earlier this month. The recent rise there has even determined Fauci recently to plead along with Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to “hold back a little” on reopening.
Along with reducing restrictions, Michigan also has the second highest number of B.1.1.7 cases in any state in the country, behind only Florida. The state has 616 cases of the variant, according to the CDC, although there are probably many other cases that have not yet been confirmed, which means that the strain could lead to an outbreak there.