American Coronavirus: Despite the fact that the number of Covid-19 cases in the US is declining, infections are still astonishingly high. Here’s what experts have been concerned about

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But according to experts, now is not the time to give up security measures for several reasons.

More than 54,000 people remain in hospital with the virus nationwide, the COVID tracking project. And this month alone, more than 57,000 Covid-19 deaths have been recorded. On Wednesday, California became the first state to exceed more than 50,000 virus-related deaths, data from Johns Hopkins showed – a stark reminder of the state’s brutal fight against the virus.

In fact, health officials are preparing for a possible third wave that will be driven by a rapidly spreading variant first identified in the UK: B.1.1.7. Data from the CDC shows that more than 1,880 cases of the variant have been discovered in the US, but scientists have warned that this number probably does not represent the total number of cases in the country.

“We could all wish this was the last wave,” said Andy Slavitt, senior White House adviser for the Covid-19 Response Team. “But we wouldn’t be doing our job if we weren’t really focused on variant containment measures, if we weren’t really focused on how therapeutics could help minimize the effects of the variants, how we could ensure that if we have another wave, it feels different, ”he told a webinar for the American Public Health Association.

To address this growing threat, the CDC is partnering with public and private laboratories to expand genomic sequencing capacity. And with the $ 200 million investment in sequencing from the Biden administration last week, the CDC hopes to quickly achieve its goal of sequencing 25,000 sample sequences per week, Walensky said.

Meanwhile, two separate teams of researchers said they have found in New York City and other areas of the Northeast a worrisome new variant that carries mutations that help bypass the body’s natural immune response – as well as the effects of monoclonal antibody treatments. .
And two upcoming studies are raising concerns about a variant that scientists in California have been watching, suggesting that the variant is not only more contagious but may cause more serious illness.
Vanessa Garnes, Chief Supervisor of Nurse's Heart Medical Staffing based in Columbus, Ohio, will conduct a Covid-19 test on Feb. 21, 2021

A third vaccine for the US could be just days away

But there is good news. The US could be just days away from any other vaccine on the market.
Vaccine advisers to the Food and Drug Administration will meet Friday to determine if the Johnson & Johnson vaccine works and if it is safe. They will make a recommendation to the FDA and the agency could give the vaccine green light as early as Friday or Saturday. Next, advisers from the CDC will meet on Sunday to discuss recommendations regarding the possible rollout of the vaccine – recommendations that should be formally accepted by the CDC.
The Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine is safe and effective, FDA analysis finds
And things are already looking good: In an analysis released Wednesday, the FDA said the Johnson & Johnson vaccine meets the requirements for an emergency use authorization.

The vaccine efficacy against moderate to severe / critical Covid-19 in all geographic areas was 66.9% at least 14 days after single dose vaccination and 66.1% at least 28 days after vaccination, according to the analysis.

“No specific safety concerns were identified in subgroup analyzes based on age, race, ethnicity, medical co-morbidity, or previous SARS-CoV-2 infection,” the analysis said.

Millions more vaccine doses are coming

And while the US is struggling with a supply shortage while it works to get Americans vaccinated, the numbers will increase in the coming months.

Questions remain about the rollout of the J&J Covid-19 vaccine as the authorization decision approaches
Pfizer and Moderna – whose vaccines were already approved for emergency use – have pledged to make a total of 220 million doses available for shipment by the end of March. Meanwhile, if it obtains an emergency use permit, Johnson & Johnson has pledged to make 20 million doses available in the same time frame.
And a fourth Covid-19 vaccine could become available in the US in April, adding millions more doses to the country’s supply by the end of that month.
President Joe Biden has previously said the US will have enough vaccines for 300 million Americans by the end of July.

Other challenges facing national and state leaders include the problems of vaccine hesitation and racial inequalities.

Kentucky government Andy Beshear announced an initiative on Wednesday in partnership with the Lexington branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to provide fair access to vaccines and address hesitations.

According to a press release from the governor’s office, black people make up about 8.4% of the state’s population, but about 4.6% of the people vaccinated so far.
Lack of equality within priority groups leaves Covid-19 most vulnerable without vaccine, analysis suggests

Rev. Jim Thurman, president of the NAACP Lexington-Fayette County Branch, said he understands the hesitation in his community and said he was initially reluctant to get vaccinated for historical reasons.

“I quickly realized it was safe and you couldn’t get the virus out of the vaccine,” said Thurman. “COVID-19 was, and still is, the African American community and other communities of colored people much harder. We need the vaccine.”

California officials, meanwhile, said they will make changes to the nationwide Covid-19 vaccine countdown system after access codes distributed to disadvantaged communities are used by outsiders to get vaccine appointments.

Recent data shows that Black and Latino residents collectively received 19% of the state’s vaccine doses, while they account for nearly 60% of California’s Covid-19 cases. In contrast, white residents have received 32.7% of the vaccine doses, while they make up about 20% of the state’s cases.

A new initiative for long haul operators

Meanwhile, a major announcement came this week for those who may be dealing with the aftermath of Covid-19 for a long time after their battle with the virus.

Nearly a third of people with 'mild' Covid-19 still have symptoms months later, study finds
The National Institutes of Health announced a new initiative to study “Long Covid” and “to identify the causes and ultimately the means of prevention and treatment for individuals who have become ill with Covid-19 but do not fully recover over time. of a few weeks, ”NIH Director Dr. Francis Collins said in a statement.

The director said that “large numbers of patients” infected with the virus continue to experience a range of symptoms since they recover, including sleep disturbances, shortness of breath, fatigue and depression.

Clinics are spreading across the country for what some are calling a potential second pandemic: Long Covid

“While still being defined, these effects can be collectively referred to as post-acute consequences of SARS-CoV-2 infection (PASC),” the statement said.

“We don’t yet know the magnitude of the problem, but given the number of individuals of all ages who have been or will be infected with SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, the impact on public health could be significant.” ‘it added.

The statement says Congress provided $ 1.15 billion in four-year funding for NIH in December to support research into the long-term effects of an infection.

Some of the questions the initiative hopes to answer, Collins said, include what are the underlying biological causes of the long-lasting symptoms, and what makes some people vulnerable to them but not others.

CNN’s Ben Tinker, Naomi Thomas, Amanda Watts, Jen Christensen, Maggie Fox, Cheri Mossburg and Christopher Rios contributed to this report.

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