Dr. Anthony Fauci said Thursday that he is concerned about a possible fourth rise in COVID-19 cases, as numbers are rising in some states and Europe, which the U.S. has traditionally followed for about four weeks in its COVID trajectory.
Fauci said the situation in the United States has improved greatly since the sharp rise in cases after the winter break, but that he still worries that the country will “declare victory” over the virus too soon and relax the behaviors that they could lead to another increase in the number of cases.
“I’m worried that if we lose our enthusiasm for the vaccines being rolled out and things look good, if we go back prematurely, we can cause another increase. And that would really put us back in all things. we are trying, ”he told lawmakers.
While the daily average of U.S. domestic cases continues to decline (around 32.5% over the past month), nearly a third of all states have recently seen their average number of cases increase by at least 10%.
Fauci said trends in the number of cases in Europe have been a good predictor of trends in the United States and should serve as a warning about the importance of staying alert to prevent the spread of the virus.
In recent weeks, cases have increased in Poland, France and Italy, leading to increased restrictions, hospital acceptance and school closures.
“In general, Europe has about three or four weeks ahead of us in the dynamics of its outbreak. And what they saw recently was a plan for its decline. They went down very well and then stagnated. And then , just as you may have predicted that then one started to climb, ”he said.
According to the CDC, vaccination rates in Europe have been lower than in the United States, where about 22% of people have received the first dose and about 12% of people have been completely vaccinated. However, this leaves the vast majority of the country unprotected from the virus and variants from the United Kingdom, New York and California are spreading.
Public health experts such as Fauci and CDC director Rochelle Walensky have said that even when many states relax restrictions on things like indoor food or allow the reopening of outdoor sports venues, North Americans Americans still need to be cautious and continue steps like wearing masks and avoiding large gatherings.
“The combination of rapid reopening, increased mobility and the spread of new variants of COVID is likely to be driving the upward trend in cases in many parts of the country,” said Drs. John Brownstein, director of innovation at Boston Children’s Hospital and contributor to ABC News “While we should be optimistic about the vaccine launch, the new increase, albeit short-lived, it will probably lead to hospitalizations and preventable deaths. “
The CDC has said that fully vaccinated individuals can be reunited with other fully vaccinated individuals without masks, but that everyone should continue to wear masks around people at high risk for severe COVID-19 or in groups of unvaccinated people from multiple households. .
This orientation has been somewhat pushed back by people who argue that vaccinated people are safe to travel and that Americans should be allowed to do more as an incentive to get the vaccine, but Fauci and Walensky have said that until vaccinating more population, increasing travel or relaxing with masking could still spread new variants of the virus.
Fauci sharply backed Senator Rand Paul’s criticism that the administration is pressuring people to wear masks unnecessarily, saying that since more unknown variants are spreading in the U.S., masks can prevent the virus from spreading even if people have been vaccinated or already contracted COVID-19.
“We are not facing a static situation of the same virus,” Fauci said.
Public health experts like Georges Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association, urge Americans to remain cautious during the spring months as more people begin to travel, which the CDC still recommends.
“Despite so much good news about the speed of vaccination efforts, it is important to recognize that COVID-19 remains a real threat. Fully vaccinated adults remain a minority and the number of infected remains too high to allow our col To be blunt, we are far from leaving this virus behind, “he said in a statement.
David Kessler, former FDA chief Biden, who led the vaccination efforts, said the administration is working to help people understand that COVID-19 vaccines are safe and that getting vaccinated can help to end the pandemic, which he said would be the largest in the country. short-term challenge.
“I think we need to make sure that people understand the importance of vaccination and how: what the safety profile is. It didn’t convince me when I started, but I’m convinced that, like Dr. Fauci he said we are in a race against these variants, “he said.
“And the most important thing we can do right now is for citizens to step up, not for us, but for our families and for our fellow citizens to get vaccinated.”