What will the U.S. vaccination campaign look like a year later

The rate of corona virus cases in the United States caused by the Omigron variant has risen sharply and a significant increase in infections is expected next month, According to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

For the week ending Saturday, Omicron was responsible for 2.9 percent of cases nationwide, up from 0.4 percent the week before, the agency said. Release predictions on Tuesday.

A Region Including New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands, Omigran’s impact has already reached 13.1 percent.

At a conference with state and local health officials and representatives of public health laboratories across the country on Tuesday, CDC officials warned of two possible scenarios. First, infections that will spread to both Omigron and Delta next month, as well as flu and other winter respiratory infections.

“Early signs of waves coming in,” said Scott Baker, chief executive of the Federation of Public Health Laboratories in charge.

“Since we have already seen a lot of respiratory viruses this fall, we are already expecting a widespread increase, including RSV,” he added.

Federal health officials have proposed a second scenario, in which a small increase in Omigron cases occurs in the spring. It is not clear what the most probable predictions are.

Early evidence of variation is beginning to emergeIt is not clear how often omigran infection leads to hospitalization or death. This variation appears to pass the body’s immune defenses to some extent, but scientists have not yet determined the extent to which vaccination and previous infections can protect individuals from serious illness.

To track variations, the CDC uses a national monitoring system that collects samples, as well as genetic sequences generated by business laboratories, educational laboratories, and state and local public health laboratories.

The U.S. system is relatively slow to take on different cases, perhaps due to travel patterns or restrictions on entry into the United States. But the structure is also limited Blind spots and delays.

Last week, the CDC 43 known infections have been diagnosed In the United States, in the first eight days of December, 34 patients, or 79 percent, were fully vaccinated when they first showed symptoms or tested positive. In the two weeks prior to diagnosis only one-third of the 43 subjects had traveled internationally, indicating somewhat the social spread of the variation.

In the fight against Omicron, Health and Human Services Minister Xavier Bezera on Tuesday recommended that the federal government renew funding to respond. Mr. Bezera Reporters Of the $ 50 billion Congress set aside for testing, this is about $ 10 billion.

For public health laboratories, as far as hospitals are concerned, staffing can be a challenge, Mr Baker said.

“They are the same staff who do the molecular testing, genetic sequencing and flu monitoring,” he said. “We’re already overburdened, so we need to start thinking about bringing in alternative projects, temporary staff and helpers during last year’s golf events.”

“The lab community is tired,” Mr Baker said. The health community is exhausted. “Be prepared, we may have another pay raise” is hard news to hear.

In Europe, Health officials have warned that Omicron cases will increase drastically. The number of cases of variance in Denmark on Monday was estimated to be comparable to the vaccine coverage and life expectancy for the United States, doubling. Every two days.

“Omigron spreads at a rate not seen in previous variants,” says Drs. Director-General of the World Health Organization Tetros Adanom Capreius, during a press conference on Tuesday.

Dr. Tetros and senior WHO officials warned against underestimating the variable. “While Omigron causes less serious cases, a greater number of cases could overwhelm health systems that are not ready again,” he said.

In the United States, state and local health officials are urging Americans to take action to prevent the spread of goiter by wearing vaccines, booster doses and masks in public enclosed areas. Before celebrating a holiday together, family and friends should, if possible, be tested outside or in well-ventilated areas.

Michael Fraser, CEO of Van de Association of State and County Health Officers, zei.

“Hospital capacity in many states has already reached breakdown levels due to the severe cases of Govt-19,” he said.

Nick Cumming Bruce Contribute to the preparation of reports.