US Coronavirus: Michigan’s Covid-19 Crisis Could Be A Sign of What’s To Come For US, Expert Says

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“Michigan is really the bellwether for what it looks like as the B.1.1.7 variant … is spreading in the United States,” Dr. Celine Gounder on Sunday to CNN. “It is causing an increase in the number of cases and it is causing a more serious illness, which means that even younger people, people in their 30s, 40s and 50s, get very sick and are hospitalized as a result.”
According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Florida has the highest number of cases of the variant, followed by Michigan, Minnesota, and Massachusetts.

Michigan is ‘on fire’

Michigan’s rise is a combination of two factors, Gounder says: the spread of the B.1.1.7 variant coupled with people relaxing through mitigation measures before enough residents have been vaccinated.

And while some officials – including Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer – are trying to advocate for the federal government to ramp up vaccines to the state, Gounder says that won’t help in this case.
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Here’s why: It takes about two weeks after the second doses of Pfizer and Moderna and about two weeks after the Johnson & Johnson vaccine for people to be immune, she said. Meanwhile, Gounder added, “the incubation period, the time from when you are exposed to when you are infected with the coronavirus, is four to five days.”

“So there is no way that an increase in vaccination will help curb this when the transmission happens now,” she said. “The harsh truth is that the only thing that will curb transmission at this point will be measures that will take immediate effect.” For example, masking, not eating indoors and socializing outdoors, she added.

Michigan is now reporting thousands of new Covid-19 cases daily, while a few weeks ago state records showed that the number of cases reported daily was as low as 563 cases. In part of the state, emergency room physician Dr. Rob Davidson, that the number of hospital admissions has quadrupled in the past two weeks.

“Hospitals are inundated,” said Dr. Jonathan Reiner, a professor of medicine and surgery at George Washington University, at CNN. “Michigan must be closed.”

But he added that the government should send more vaccines to the state.

Think about it this way: Every year during the fireseason, when wildfires get out of hand, we don’t just leave the states to get the best of us. we have to put that out, ”he said.

Other state leaders were shocked

But it’s not just Michigan.

Minnesota health officials warned that the state issued a “sharp rise” in Covid-19 cases, saying that it is “more important than ever” to keep wearing a mask and keep physical distance.
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Ohio government Mike DeWine said the state was seeing increasing Covid-19 cases, hospital and ICU admissions and urged residents to get vaccinated to avoid another wave.

“This is a race,” he said. ‘We are in a race. And it is a race to the death. ‘

In Pennsylvania, Governor Tom Wolf last week warned that the state was seeing an increase in cases and urged residents to “do their part and practice proven public health practices to protect each other.”

Also last week, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy expressed concern about the state’s consistently high Covid-19 case numbers and what could happen next.

“That’s why we will continue to enforce things like our statewide mask mandate, especially for indoor operations that we know are more likely to transfer,” Murphy said. “It is also why we have aggressively pushed back our vaccine eligibility schedule.”

The US should address hesitation about vaccines, expert says

Some experts say the US could beat another potential surge in the coming weeks if Americans stick with it a little longer and continue to implement safety measures while a larger proportion of the population is vaccinated against the virus.

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To date, about 35.9% of all Americans have received at least one dose of Covid-19 vaccine, according to CDC data. And about 21.9% of the population is fully vaccinated.
With the record rate the US is administering vaccines, the country could meet the vaccination rates needed to keep the virus under control in the coming months, Reiner said.

“The way to do that is to vaccinate like crazy,” he said.

But there are challenges ahead.

“The last 20 to 30% will be the hardest because a lot of people in this country are still hesitant to get the vaccine. We see it all over the country,” said Reiner. “We really need to start from scratch, talk to people about their hesitation and get shots in the arms.”

“Because if we don’t vaccinate that last 30% or so, we’re going to have to live with this virus for a long time.”

CNN’s Anna Sturla contributed to this report.

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