Dr. Michael Osterholm is the director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota. He was also a member of Joe Biden’s COVID-19 Advisory Committee between the time Biden was elected president and inaugurated.
Osterholm previously supported sending children back to school. He said the virus is not a major threat to children. Now the situation has changed.
“Please understand, this B.1.1.7 version is a brand new ball game,” Osterholm told NBC’s Meet the Press. “It infects children very easily. Unlike previous strains of the virus, we haven’t seen children under 8th grade get infected often or they haven’t been very sick, they haven’t transmitted it to the rest of the community.”
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Variant B.1.1.7 was first identified in the United Kingdom. Now it is breaking through parts of the country.
In Minnesota, Osterholm said more than 740 schools reported cases of the variant. In Michigan, more young people have arrived in hospitals struggling with more severe symptoms than previously seen in children with COVID-19.
This is similar to what health officials have seen in other countries.
The British Medical Journal wrote two months ago that “emerging evidence from Israel and Italy (shows) more young children are infected with new variants of COVID-19.”
Seeing this happening in his own backyard, Osterholm questions his own previous advice.
“Everywhere you look where you see this appearing, you see that children play a huge role in conveying this,” Osterholm said. “All the things we have planned for children in schools with this virus are no longer applicable. We need to take a whole new look at this issue.”
Vaccinations are expected to help combat variant B.1.1.7. However, Osterholm said there was simply not enough time to rely on vaccinations alone.
“We will not have almost enough (vaccine doses) in the next 6 to 8 weeks to get over this growth and we will have to look at other ways to do this just like any other country in the world who has had a increase B.1.1.7 had to do. “
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Several young people infected, hospitalized
The difference between previous increases and another possible increase now is “the most affected people are now the youngest people,” emergency doctor Dr. Leana Wen told CNN on Sunday.
Older populations have been prioritized nationally for Covid-19 vaccinations. More than 54% of Americans aged 65 and over have been fully vaccinated, according to the CDC, while more than 75% of the same age group have received at least one dose of Covid-19 vaccine.
But while this age group is now well protected, Wen said, younger groups are still vulnerable as variant B.1.1.7 circulates. The variant is more contagious and can cause more severe diseases, experts said. Research suggests it could be even more deadly.
“We see in places like Michigan that the people who are now hospitalized in large numbers are people in their 30s and 40s,” Wen said. “And now we see even more children getting infected.”
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It’s not just Michigan.
“What we are seeing are pockets of infections across the country, especially among younger people who have not been vaccinated and school-age children,” former Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb told ” Face the Nation “Sunday.
“If you look at what’s happening in Michigan, Minnesota, Massachusetts, for example, you see outbreaks in schools and infections in social cohorts that haven’t been exposed to the virus so far.”
“The infection is changing its contours as to who is affected right now,” he added.
In Orange County, Florida, officials reported an increase in Covid-19 cases in the 18-25 age group late last month.
And a third of all Covid-19 hospitalizations in the county were people under the age of 45, according to Dr. Raul Pino, director of the Florida Department of Health in Orange County.
New Jersey officials said last week that variants, including strain B.1.1.7, are contributing to an increase in cases and hospitalizations – including among younger age groups.
Between the first and last week of March, there was a 31% and 48% increase in the number of hospitalizations among the 20-29 and 40-49 age groups, respectively, state Health Commissioner Judy Persichilli said on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, older residents have seen only single-digit increases, she added.
How can we reduce another wave of infections
Despite the alarming warning signs, the US is not powerless, experts said.
Doubling safety measures – masking, social distancing, avoiding congestion – combined with quick and effective vaccinations, can help reduce a new wave of Covid-19, Dr. Anthony Fauci said on Saturday.
“We say it again and again and we need locals, we need governors, mayors and others to be able to say that we are not out of it yet,” Fauci said.
“People say, ‘Well, you just want to shut us up forever.’ No, this will not last forever because every day you get four million, three million vaccinated people, you get closer and closer to control. “
Hotez estimated on Sunday that the Americans must last “four to six more weeks, and then we will be on the other side.”
“All vaccines seem to work just as well against this variant in the UK, B.1.1.7 … so that’s very good news,” he said. “I am very confident that we will be in a very good place by summer.”
“But if you are not vaccinated, you have to act as if you are extremely vulnerable to this virus, this is not the time to get sick,” Hotez added.
The CNN-Wire & 2021 Cable News Network, Inc., a WarnerMedia company, contributed to this report.
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