Doctors within the United States are worried about another potential COVID-19 after coronavirus cases continue to surge in Europe and Brazil. In Brazil, 25 of the country’s 27 states have hospitals that are more than 80% full. Over recent weeks, European countries have reported 242 cases per million residents, a 33% increase from mid-February. Medical officials believe that this recent spike in COVID-19 cases is largely among younger people. The B.1.1.7 variant of COVID-19 is reportedly much more infectious than previous variants, even among children.
“Even if we are able to reduce the number of cases in the older age population of serious disease, we will pick up more in younger populations, which is exactly what we’ve seen in Europe,” Michael Osterholm of the University of Minnesota told The Hill.
It is unlikely that the United States would experience a spike similar to the one seen in Brazil. However, doctors are starting to worry of a slight uptick in positive COVID-19 cases along the east coast and the midwest. Adding on, health professionals have begun to see COVID-19 positivity rates spike in Phoenix, Los Angeles and Las Vegas. Not to mention, there has been an increase in hospital visits in Flint, Michigan and Macomb County, Michigan.
“Our country remains very much in a period of sustained COVID-19 transmission. Although increases in transmission are somewhat expected as communities begin to reopen, these trends are concerning and a reminder that this pandemic is far from over,” PolicyLab researchers stated.
“The regions of most concern right now are metropolitan areas. This is likely because they are more densely populated, facilitating easier viral transmission and making it more difficult to achieve higher population-level vaccination rates.”
Experts hope that Americans will continue to be vaccinated at a rapid rate in order to curb the spread. At this time, approximately two million Americans are receiving vaccine doses per day.
