States are loosening social distancing rules, but it is “too early” to reverse Covid’s restrictions, Dr. Atul Gawande warned in CNBC’s “The News with Shepard Smith.”
“We are currently at the level of cases that are still above the highest level of our latest wave, so we haven’t even gotten below last summer’s peak,” said the surgeon and professor at the TH Chan School of Public Health. from Harvard. “We still have 2,000 deaths a day, so this is not the level where we are in good shape, we have to push further down.”
According to a CNBC analysis of data from Johns Hopkins, the US currently sees a 7-day average of 67,365 daily new cases, down 73% from a peak average of about 249,000 in mid-January.
Gawande reiterated concerns about the reopening shared by Rochelle Walensky, director of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, who said she is still “very concerned” about the virus.
“Our recent declines seem to be slowing – by more than 70,000 cases a day,” Walensky said at a White House news conference Monday. “With these new statistics, I am really concerned about reports that more states are rolling back the exact public health measures we have recommended to protect people from Covid-19.”
Gawande argued that the new Covid variants circulating in the US, including the latest variant circulating in New York, B.1.526, should be an additional reason for Americans to remain vigilant when it comes to coronavirus.
The CDC reports that nearly 25.5 million Americans are fully vaccinated, about 8% of the country’s population, and with production lagging, the demand for shots is scarce.
“I think the evidence is pretty solid that it would be smart to give just one injection to people who have reported being infected before and that more vaccination could go to others as well,” Gawande said of a temporary strategy to reduce it. expanding the current offer.
Two new studies from Great Britain show that one injection of vaccine can provide “robust” protection for Covid survivors. However, the CDC is currently debating the topic. Gawande told host Shepard Smith that he would like the CDC to publish their evaluation as soon as possible.
The US vaccination effort is now armed with the Johnson & Johnson Injection, the third approved vaccine in its arsenal to combat Covid. The White House said Americans could get the one-time vaccine starting Tuesday.
“In terms of the expected supply of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, we will distribute 3.9 million doses this week,” said Jeffrey Zients, the White House’s coordinator of coronavirus response. “That’s Johnson & Johnson’s full current inventory. We get these doses out the door right away to make sure vaccines get to the arms as quickly as possible.”