It’s been a year since the stay-at-home orders were issued, and we are finally seeing some positive trends: COVID-19 vaccinations are increasing, and hospitalizations and deaths were decreasing.
The country is averaging about 2.4 million COVID-19 vaccinations per day, and nearly 30% of adults have received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine as of March 15. Hospital admissions have declined to just over 4,700 per day, and the latest seven-day average for deaths is just over 1,200 per day, according to CDC Director Rochelle P. Walensky, MD, MPH.
So is it time to dust ourselves off and go back to normal? The governors of several states seem to think it is the right thing to do, but history tells us that maybe it is not. Several times last year saw decreases change course by people ignoring the mitigation factors.
“With the coming warmer weather, I know it’s tempting to want to relax and to let our guard down, particularly after a hard winter that sadly saw the highest level of cases and deaths during the pandemic so far,” Walensky said at a White House briefing earlier in the month.
And that seems to be what people are doing. On March 12, 1.3 million travelers passed through U.S. airports. “This is the most travelers that we’ve had in a single day since last March, before the WHO declared the global pandemic,” she said. We are now seeing an uptick in seven-day cases, hospitalizations and deaths.
And news reports of people enjoying spring break shows many people, crowded together without wearing masks. It is understandable—we are tired of putting our lives on hold—but is it prudent when there are still 50,000 to 60,000 new COVID-19 cases reported daily?
Will we continue to see the gains our sacrifices have won and finally see the end of this virus, or will we see yet another resurgence like the one occurring in some European countries—countries with similar trends and surges as the United States experienced last year?
“Each of these countries has had nadirs like we are having now, and each took an upward trend after they disregarded known mitigation strategies. They simply took their eye off the ball,” she said.
“I’m pleading with you, for the sake of our nation’s health. These should be warning signs for all of us. Cases climbed last spring. They climbed again in the summer. They will climb now if we stop taking precautions,” Walensky said.
The data tell us that we are starting to turn a corner, but to maintain that trend, more people need to be vaccinated and everyone must protect themselves until they are. The CDC said some activities can resume among people who are fully vaccinated, but for most of us, the agency still recommends wearing a mask and practicing social distancing and handwashing (https://www.cdc.gov/ coronavirus/ 2019-ncov/ more/ fully-vaccinated-people.html).
I am so tired of this sequestration, and even though I enjoy gardening, I would really love to get off my property and start seeing family and friends, and visiting all the wonderful U.S. cities I love.
We have come this far. Can’t we just stay put with masks on our faces for a little longer to defeat this virus, until more people are vaccinated?
The views expressed here belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the publisher.
This article is from the March 2021 print issue.