As Americans prepare to celebrate the end of the summer, health officials are once again urging the public, especially those not yet vaccinated, to act responsibly over Labor Day weekend, given the country’s ongoing struggle with the virus.
“First, if you don’t have a vaccine, we would recommend not traveling,” Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said during a White House COVID-19 briefing.
Holidays, which often involve traveling and numerous meetings, have proven to be a catalyst for the rapid COVID-19 spreading across the country.
Last year, in the weeks leading up to Labor Day, the country experienced a steady decline in COVID-19 cases, with a daily average of approximately 38,000 national cases.
However, the late summer holiday weekend set the stage for the country’s largest pandemic viral surge. Between mid-September and Thanksgiving, the nation’s daily average of cases rose more than 400%, followed by a record influx of hospitalizations and deaths.
The country’s current average is now more than 100,000 cases a day higher than a year ago, with the United States reporting more than 153,000 new cases every day, after weeks of rising metrics. Since July 4, COVID-19-related infections, hospitalizations, and deaths have risen to levels not seen since last winter.
“As we head into Labor Day, we should all worry about history repeating itself. High or intense transmission across most of the country, combined with population mobility with limited masking and social distancing, has been a constant predictor of large floods, ”said Dr. John Brownstein, epidemiologist at Boston Children’s Hospital and contributor to ABC News.
Experts warn that while vaccination rates may help partially reduce the impact of an increase in Labor Day holidays this year and protect people who are inoculated against serious illness, the country could still be in risk of unwanted impacts of unmitigated spread.
“While we now have widespread vaccine uptake, we still have large segments of the population that remain fertile ground for the virus to spread, including our children,” Brownstein said.
With more than 47% of Americans not yet fully vaccinated, there is concern that an increase in infections could cause health systems that already have problems in states with low vaccination rates to come close, he said. add Brownstein.
Seven states (Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi and Texas) have approximately 90% or more full intensive care units, and nationally nearly 8 out of 10 staffed adult ICU beds are occupied by COVID or non-COVID patients.
A recent report released by the CDC found that unvaccinated people were five times more likely to get COVID-19 than vaccinated people, and 29 times more likely to be hospitalized for their infections, and the capacity of the ICU bed continues. being scarce in several states with low vaccination rates.
“We need more people to step up as people across the country prepare for Labor Day weekend,” Jeff Zients, the White House’s COVID-19 response coordinator, said during the information session on Tuesday. “It is critical that vaccination is on their checklist before the holidays.”
Walensky added that while fully vaccinated people may feel comfortable traveling, with the added protection of masks, it is important to consider the risks of COVID-19 infection, given the high transmissibility of the variant. delta, before deciding whether to fly or not. do not travel.
It is also essential, Walensky said, that those who choose to celebrate the weekend vacation take precautions to stay safe, such as meeting outside and with other vaccinated people.
“Throughout the pandemic, we have seen that the vast majority of transmission occurs between unvaccinated people in closed and enclosed environments,” he warned.
In addition, Walensky said that while he was inside, he wore masks to mitigate the spread of the disease.
Warnings reach another critical turning point in the pandemic, and infection rates continue to rise thanks to the highly contagious delta variant.
Currently, all states in the country are experiencing high community transmission and nearly 103,000 Americans are hospitalized with the virus, one of the highest numbers of patients receiving care in seven months. Today, an average of 1,000 Americans also lose their lives every day because of the virus.
In addition, COVID-19 pediatric infections and hospitalizations are reaching the highest point of the pandemic, as many unvaccinated children are victims of the virus.
“With children returning to face-to-face school after Labor Day, health officials stress that it is critical to act with caution and responsibility to reduce transmission,” Brownstein said.
In the last week alone, nearly 204,000 children have tested positive for COVID-19, marking the second-highest week on record, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children’s Hospital Association.
Since July 4, the per capita income rate in children’s hospitals has multiplied by seven, coinciding with the rapid spread of the highly infectious delta variant. In addition, hospitalization rates among unvaccinated teens were ten times the rate of fully vaccinated, according to a recently published CDC study.
“It will be critical that eligible Americans who are not yet vaccinated receive the shot and protect those who are still vulnerable,” Brownstein said.