What is at stake in the coming months of the pandemic in the United States?

Dr. Elmer Huerta: Put your shoulder to the vaccine against covid-19 that they offer you 1:27

(CNN) -

Americans have received good news lately about the coronavirus.

But that doesn't mean they're safe yet, experts warn.

A third COVID-19 vaccine, Johnson & Johnson's single shot, has been licensed for emergency use and is now on its way to states across the country.

And for several weeks, COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations were trending downward, with several state and local leaders reporting some of the lowest numbers in months.

• Fauci: I would get whatever vaccine was available to me

In California, Los Angeles County health officials announced that the daily test positivity rate is the lowest ever.

In New York, Governor Andrew Cuomo said last week that COVID-19 hospitalizations had fallen to the lowest levels since December 12.

And West Virginia Governor Jim Justice announced Monday that, for the first time since November, the state had gone a full day without reporting a virus-related death.

Despite progress, Covid-19 numbers in the US remain alarmingly high.

And they could quickly climb even higher if Americans gave in now, an expert told CNN on Monday.

advertising

“We must not relax, allow indoor dining, large groups… get rid of the orders to wear a mask.

We have to endure another two or three months in this condition, "said Dr. Zeke Emanuel, who was a health adviser for the Obama White House and a member of the Covid-19 Advisory Board of Joe Biden's transition team.

“We still have an average of 2000 deaths a day.

We can't get used to that.

If Americans relax too soon, the COVID-19 numbers "will reverse and go up," he added.

A worrying trend is already underway.

While the number of covid-19 cases experienced a sharp decline for weeks, the most recent seven-day average of new cases shows an increase of just over 2% compared to the previous seven days, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Dr. Rochelle Walensky.

About the same increase was reported in the most recent seven-day death rate, it added.

"With these new statistics, I am really concerned about reports that more states are backtracking on the public health measures that we have recommended to protect people from COVID-19," Walensky said.

Several state leaders have started easing covid-19 restrictions.

And more governors were added to that list on Monday.

Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear said many businesses can increase their capacity to 60%, including hair and beauty salons, bars and restaurants, bowling alleys, gyms, movie theaters and government offices.

"This capacity increase is an initial step in which we will observe to ensure that there is no corresponding increase in cases," the governor said in a statement.

• Donald and Melania Trump were secretly vaccinated against covid-19 in January

Pennsylvania state officials announced that they had revised maximum occupancy limits for indoor and outdoor events and removed out-of-state travel restrictions, adding that measures such as mask use and social distancing should continue.

"We need to balance protecting public health with leading the state to a strong economic recovery," Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf said in a statement.

"We are lifting mitigation efforts only when we believe it is safe to do so."

The Stake: Thousands of Lives

But now is an especially crucial time for Americans to remain cautious and practice safety measures, the CDC director warned.

"Please hear me clearly," Walensky said.

At this level of cases with variants that are spreading, we may completely lose our hard-won ground.

These variants are a very real threat to our people and our progress.

Highly contagious variants circulating in the US that threaten to cause another rally include variant B.1,1.7, which was first identified in the UK and the CDC warns that it will become the predominant variant in the US. .US this month.

A report that recently sounded the alarm says that the proportion of cases of this variant was increasing rapidly in parts of the United States and a "significant spike in cases, hospitalizations and deaths in the near future remains a great possibility."

Keeping wearing face masks, maintaining social distance, practicing good hand hygiene and avoiding crowds could help prevent that, experts have said.

"Really what's at stake here, taking off the mask, dining indoors, is really the lives of thousands of people," said Emanuel. "

That doesn't seem like a very big burden to save other people's lives and maybe even your own.

Some leaders await the first doses of Johnson & Johnson on Tuesday

As the country works to vaccinate as many people as possible, state and local leaders expect their first doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine this week.

Three Federal Emergency Management Agency vaccination sites in Texas are expected to receive about 24,000 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine on Tuesday, according to Lara Anton, press officer for the Texas Department of State Health Services. .

It is not clear if the doses will be given on the same day.

More than 200,000 doses of Johnson & Johnson are expected to be available to the state for allocation next week, Anton said.

In Houston, Mayor Sylvester Turner said he expects the first delivery of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine on Tuesday.

"It will certainly be the best option for our transient populations," he said of the single-dose vaccine.

"For example, our homeless population, it is very difficult for them to return for their second dose."

• This is how the Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine differs from the others used in the United States.

In Colorado, health officials said they expect to receive more than 45,000 doses of the vaccine by Friday.

Licensing the vaccine "will make it easier for the state to meet its vaccination goals as more people become eligible in the coming weeks," said Dr. Eric France, medical director for the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment.

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine announced that the state will receive more than 96,000 doses of the vaccine this week, increasing the total number of doses from the state expected this week to more than 448,000.

Due to the additional doses, DeWine said the state will expand its eligibility for the vaccine to Phase 1C on March 4 - people living with type 1 diabetes, pregnant, bone marrow transplant recipients, or living with ALS as well. as individuals working in child care services, funeral services, and police and correctional officers.

The state will also begin its Phase 2 on the same day, expanding age eligibility to those 60 and older.

Across the United States, more than 50.7 million people have received at least their first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine so far, according to CDC data.

More than 25.4 million have received both doses.

CNN's Jen Christensen, Jamie Gumbrecht, Gisela Crespo, Kristina Sgueglia, and Rebekah Riess contributed to this report.

Pandemic