With many millions of people getting vaccinated for COVID-19 every week and infection rates decreasing in recent weeks, medical experts have been expressing some optimism about the future course of the pandemic. But Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, warned on Friday that the declines are now “stalling.”
In a briefing on Friday, the CDC director explained, “Over the last few weeks, cases and hospital admissions in the United States had been coming down since early January — and deaths had been declining in the past week. But the latest data suggests that these declines may be stalling, potentially leveling off at still a very high number. We at CDC consider this a very concerning shift in the trajectory.”
President Joe Biden has been pushing for an aggressive increase in COVID-19 vaccinations, and owners of brick-and-mortar businesses in the United States are hoping that it will be safe to ease restrictions in the months ahead. But Walensky warned against easing those restrictions prematurely — especially in light of highly infectious new COVID-19 variants that have emerged. Continue reading.