plateau – COOPER GENERAL NEWS

Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute for Allergies and Infectious Diseases, testifies prior to the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) hearing on June 30, 2020 on Capitol Hill in Washington DC in Washington DC.

Kevin Dietsch | AFP via Getty Images

The Chief Medical Officer of the White House, Dr. Anthony Fauci, warned that Covid-19 cases in the United States could plateau again at very high levels, even if the nation quickly gave three vaccines.

The decline in the number of cases observed since the beginning of January now appears to be “declining a little more slowly,” Fauci told the Center for Strategic and International Studies during an interview on Tuesday afternoon. “That means we could plateau again at an unacceptably high level.”

The nation registers at least 58,100 new Covid-19 cases and at least 1,560 virus-related deaths each day, based on a 7-day average calculated by CNBC using data from Johns Hopkins University. The US hit a high of nearly 250,000 cases per day in early January after the winter break. Cases have spiked before falling and plateauing two more times in the past year.

Some health professionals fear the US may see a “fourth wave” of infections as new, highly contagious varieties continue to spread and some states lift restrictions on containing the virus. Senior U.S. officials, including Fauci, say resetting restrictions too early could reverse the downward trend in infections and delay the nation’s recovery from the pandemic.

“There is a light at the end of this tunnel, but we must be prepared that the road ahead of us may not be slippery,” said CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky earlier this month.

Fauci urged Americans on Tuesday to wear masks, social distancing and get vaccinated. The virus cannot mutate if it cannot infect hosts and cannot multiply.

He also said the US is now assessing the effects of “native” varieties, including those believed to be from New York. The strain, which researchers call B.1.526, is spreading rapidly in New York City and, according to The New York Times, has a mutation that could weaken the effectiveness of vaccines.

Last week, Fauci said the Biden administration was taking the emergence of the New York tribe “very seriously.” He said US officials must “keep an eye on” the strain, including the possibility that it could evade protection from antibody treatments and vaccines.

Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Chip Somodevilla | Getty Images

The head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Monday that she is “really concerned” that some states are pulling back public health measures to contain the coronavirus pandemic, as the US cases appear to be “very serious.” high “flatten.

The decline in Covid-19 cases since the beginning of January now appears to be stalling at around 70,000 new cases per day, said CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky during a press conference at the White House. “With these statistics, I’m really concerned that more states are rolling back the exact public health measures we have recommended to protect people from Covid-19.”

“Seventy thousand cases a day seem good compared to what we were a few months ago,” she said. “Please listen to me clearly: at this level of cases with expanding variation, we are completely losing the hard-earned ground we have gained.”

The U.S. has at least 67,300 new Covid-19 cases every day based on a 7-day average calculated by CNBC using data from Johns Hopkins University. The US hit a high of nearly 250,000 cases per day in early January after the winter break.

Senior U.S. health officials including Walensky and Dr. Anthony Fauci, Chief Medical Advisory of the White House, have warned over the past few weeks that the rise in more contagious variants could reverse the current downward trend in infections in the US and delay the nation’s recovery from the pandemic.

As of Sunday, the CDC had identified 2,400 cases of variant B.1.1.7, which were first identified in the UK. The agency identified 53 cases of the B.1.351 strain from South Africa and 10 cases of P.1, a variant for the first time in Brazil.

Fauci said Monday that U.S. health officials are also closely monitoring another variant in New York that contains mutations that help evade the body’s natural immune response.

Officials say viruses cannot mutate unless they infect hosts and cannot replicate. They are also urging Americans to get vaccinated as soon as possible before potentially new and even more dangerous variants continue to take hold.

Walensky said Monday that vaccinations will help the US get out of the pandemic, noting that the Food and Drug Administration has approved Johnson & Johnson’s Covid-19 vaccine for emergency use. This makes it the third shot approved for distribution in the United States and the only vaccine that requires only one dose. Walensky canceled the vaccine on Sunday.

The J&J vaccine is a “much needed addition to our toolbox,” she said. By adding the permit, more people can be vaccinated.