Fauci said he “hoped by aspiration” that a vaccine for Covid-19 would be ready in early 2021
The United States is “going in the wrong direction” in its efforts to contain the new coronavirus, and the number of daily cases could more than double if behavior does not change, infectious disease expert Anthony Fauci said on Tuesday.
Identifying indoor gatherings, especially bar scenes with queues and customers standing side by side, Fauci told a Senate panel that new cases of Covid-19 could reach 100,000 a day, compared to around 40,000 currently.
Several southern and western states are seeing an increase in the number of new cases, prompting some to suspend plans for reopening. Hospitalizations have increased in 12 states, said the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Robert Redfield, to members of the Senate Health Committee. Miami-Dade County, Florida, has reported its highest number of hospitalizations, intensive care patients and ventilator use in at least two months. In Houston, intensive care units reached 97% of normal capacity on Tuesday.
“The figures speak for themselves. I am very worried. I am not satisfied with what is going on because we are going in the wrong direction,” said Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergies and Diseases infectious. “Obviously, we are not in total control right now.”
He declined to estimate the number of potential deaths from the virus, but said, “This is going to be very worrying, I guarantee it.”
Texas announced a new case record Tuesday and California its second largest daily jump. The two states have recently taken steps to curb the new wave, with California demanding masks and locking bars in Texas. On Monday, Arizona suspended operations in bars, gymnasiums and cinemas. Florida, which recorded an average 5.6% increase in cases over the past week, banned drinking from bars on Friday. Meanwhile, New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, hot spots earlier in the pandemic, added 16 states to their orders for visitor quarantine.
‘Please please please’
Vice President Mike Pence sought to find a more positive tone in comments Tuesday after meeting with the coronavirus task force in Rockville, Maryland. The United States is “in a much better place” than it was several months ago.
“For all Americans, we want to make sure we are ready,” he added. “More ready than ever.”
In the Trump administration’s strongest push to date for using masks to contain the virus, general surgeon Jerome Adams, speaking at the same briefing, said: “Please, please wear a face cover “when you go out.
“It is not a disadvantage. It is not a denial of your freedom,” said Adams. “It adds to your convenience and freedom because it allows us to open more places and keeps them open.”
Although Pence also encouraged the use of masks, he did not get as much approval as Adams. He urged people to cover their faces in accordance with recommendations from their local authorities and when they cannot distance themselves socially.
Political mask
At the previous hearing, Senator Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, chair of the committee, said that wearing masks should not be a political statement. He spoke about the need for self-quarantine after a staff member was diagnosed with the virus and said that the Senate doctor credited Alexander’s protection staff mask against infection.
“Unfortunately, this simple life-saving practice is now part of a political debate that says: If you’re for Trump, you don’t wear a mask. If you’re against Trump, you do,” said Alexander.
The key is that the audience stops what Fauci has called “an all-or-nothing phenomenon,” which means the state is locked or people are in bars without masks.
“I think we need to focus on the responsibility we have as individuals and as part of a societal effort to end the epidemic and we all have to play a role.”
Pence said in later comments that he agreed with Fauci. “We must not regard public security measures as an obstacle to the opening of America, but rather we must consider them as a means of opening up,” he told reporters.
Redfield told the Senate panel that businesses must also insist on social distancing and masks. Friday, the announcement by American Airlines Group Inc. that it would resume selling its flights at full capacity instead of capping passengers to distance them socially caused “substantial disappointment” among public health officials, did he declare.
Back to school?
The United States has recorded more than 2.6 million cases of Covid-19 in total, with more than 126,000 deaths from the virus, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
Regarding the return of students to school, Fauci said that schools may need to consider online lessons or staggered schedules to bring students back safely. Although children seem to respond less severely to Covid-19 than adults, it is still unknown if they could become vectors of the spread of the virus to teachers and family, something that health agencies are investigating and hoping to have. more data, he said.
Speaking after the working group meeting, the surgeon general said the masks will be essential for any return to school.
“If you want college football to return this year, wear a face covering,” said Adams. “If you want to have a chance at the ball next spring, wear a face covering”
“Hope by aspiration”
Several drug manufacturers are rushing to complete clinical trials of candidate vaccines, with some expecting to complete studies within a few months which, under previous circumstances, tended to take years. The Food and Drug Administration has set standards for the approval of an inoculation, stating that any candidate should be at least 50% more effective than a placebo.
Fauci said he “hoped by aspiration” that a vaccine for Covid-19 would be ready in early 2021, but warned that there is no guarantee that a safe vaccine will be developed.
Some health experts have expressed concern that the FDA is rushing to approve a vaccine before they know enough about the safety or efficacy, but the agency has sought to allay these fears with advice.
“The American people must know that we have not lost sight of our responsibility to maintain regulatory independence and to ensure that our decisions regarding all medical products, including those related to Covid-19 vaccines, are based on solid science and available data, “FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn told the panel.
(With the exception of the title, this story was not edited by GalacticGaming staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
