Epidemiologist Michael Osterholm urged the potential spread of the new, more contagious Covid-19 variants, saying they could trigger a wave of cases in the United States to levels “we have not yet seen in this country.”
Dr. Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota and member of President Biden’s transition team advising on coronavirus, said Meet the press host Chuck Todd said he expects cases of the new Covid-19 variants to increase “over the next six to 14 weeks.” As a result, he said the US may need to make a major shift in its vaccine strategy, focusing on giving the first dose of the vaccine to as many people as possible rather than trying to give people their second dose.
“We still want to get two doses in everyone, but I think right now, ahead of this wave, we should get as many one-time doses as possible in as many people over the age of 65 as possible, to reduce serious illness and deaths. will take place in the coming weeks, ”said Osterholm.
Osterholm predicted that B117, the more contagious strain of the virus that engulfs England and has been found in bags from the United States, will become the dominant strain of the virus in the country. “When we see that happen, what my 45 years in the trenches tells us we’ll do, we’ll see something like we haven’t seen yet in this country,” he said. ‘That hurricane is coming. We have to understand that because of this wave we have to ring a sound signal. “
The epidemiologist said that if we see a wave of the new variant this spring, it will be worse than the previous peaks. “We literally saw our healthcare system on the verge of being unable to provide care,” said Osterholm. “Imagine we have what happened in England, twice as many of those cases. We must prepare for that now. “
However, there is some good news with the England strain. So far, the vaccines appear to be relatively effective in the fight against B117. ‘Fortunately [B117 strain] has not shown that it is able to evade protection against the vaccine, ”he said. “But it can cause many more infections and much more serious illnesses.”
Other variants, such as those seen in South Africa and Brazil, Osterholm said, raise other potential concerns, as they “ could actually lead to immune defense evasion by natural diseases or by [the] vaccine. ”However, Osterholm noted, in the Johnson & Johnson vaccine study in South Africa,“ No one who had the vaccine variant that was vaccinated died. So it can alleviate the serious disease and not just prevent it completely. ”
Osterholm emphasized that he knows that many are feeling pandemic fatigue and economic stress, which has led some states to relax restrictions on activities such as eating indoors. But with the new virus strains, Osterholm believes those openings will be reversed soon. “As soon as we open restaurants, we will likely close them shortly,” he said.
So how can you protect yourself? Osterholm recommended focusing on simple things you can do, such as wearing a mask that fits and wearing it properly. “One thing that’s really important to me is that we see up to 25% of people wearing it [their mask] under their noses, ”he said. “You know, that’s like repairing three of the five doors in your submarine … We need to get people to put these to good use. That would help enormously there. “