The director of US Health asks not to lower our guard against covid-19

Delta variant sends more young people to hospital in the US 0:36

(CNN) -

Although vaccines have offered many Americans hope of curbing the covid-19 pandemic, officials are scrambling to get rates where they need to be.

And having been fooled by the virus before, the US chief health officer says now is the time to be cautious.

"There have been many times when the covid-19 has misled us, when the cases went down and we thought we were free and then the cases went back up," Dr. Vivek Murthy told CNN's Anderson Cooper.

"It means we must not let our guard down until cases are not just down but are kept low, and right now cases are really going up. Cases are going up, hospitalizations are going up, death rates are going up," Murthy warned. .

The average new daily cases this week is up 66% from last week and 145% from two weeks ago, as cases increase in 44 states, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

In addition, hospitalizations increased 26% compared to last week.

And 99.5% of deaths occur among the unvaccinated, Murthy told CNN's Dana Bash on "State of the Union" on Sunday, a figure cited by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. UU (CDC).

earlier this month.

Amid rising covid-19 metrics and the spread of the highly transmissible delta variant, more than half the US is still not fully vaccinated, according to the CDC.

This is an obstacle that has become increasingly worrisome for health experts as resistance to vaccination increases with the spread of misinformation.

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Dr. Anthony Fauci said the United States can expect a "latent" outbreak for "a considerable period of time" if many of those who are resisting do not get vaccinated.

Some hospitals are already overwhelmed again by COVID-19 patients, Murthy said.

"It breaks my heart to see how hard (the doctors) are working, how exhausted they are," Murthy said.

"Many of them suffer from depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, suicidal ideation, as a result of the stress they have endured during this pandemic."

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Request to be vaccinated against covid-19

Murthy urged Americans to get vaccinated.

If not for themselves, then for healthcare workers who need protection against burnout and children who are not yet eligible for the protection provided by the vaccine.

Even if parents are vaccinated, wearing a mask in high-risk areas for transmission is "the right thing to do," he said.

Murthy, father of two children, ages 3 and 4.

He assured that he takes such precautions because "I want to take all possible measures to protect my children."

"Our children who cannot get vaccinated depend on us getting vaccinated to protect them from the spread of the virus. We are their shields," Murthy said.

"Even if you don't want to do it yourself, consider getting vaccinated to protect the children in your community. They depend on us," he added.

Delta variant sends more young people to hospital in the US 0:36

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The risks of returning to school

In addition to protecting children from infection, many experts and officials have emphasized the importance of their safe return to the classroom.

Most children are at lower risk than adults for serious illness from COVID-19.

And the benefits of learning in a classroom outweigh the risks, said Dr. Greta Massetti, a member of the CDC's Covid-19 emergency response team.

"However," he added, "for some families, particularly those with children or family members who are at increased risk of severe disease from covid-19, or who cannot get vaccinated, those families may feel more comfortable with a choice of remote learning this fall. "

Pediatric Association recommends masks in schools

On Monday, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) released a new guide for schools that supports in-person learning and recommends universal mask use in schools for all people over the age of 2.

"The AAP believes that, at this point in the pandemic, what we know about the low rates of transmission in schools when appropriate prevention measures are used, along with the availability of effective vaccines for those 12 years and older, The benefits of school in person outweigh the risks in all circumstances, "said the guide.

The guide differs in part from the CDC's recommendations, which recommend that all people who are not fully vaccinated wear masks indoors.

But Fauci said the CDC leaves flexibility for localities to make decisions based on their situation.

And when there is a high rate of spread of the virus in a community and a low proportion of people vaccinated, "you really want to go a step further, an extra mile, to make sure there is not a lot of transmission, even infections among vaccinated people." Fauci said.

"They just want to be more secure."

There are some states, including Connecticut, Hawaii, New Mexico, New York, Virginia, and Washington, that follow the AAP guidelines for requiring masks among K-12 students, regardless of their immunization status.

But an updated analysis by CNN has found that at least nine states - Arkansas, Arizona, Georgia, Iowa, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Texas, Utah and Vermont - have enacted laws prohibiting districts from requiring masks in schools.

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Local leaders urge residents to put covid-19 masks back on

While some states are stepping away from mask-wearing mandates, others are adopting a return to preventative measures.

As California reports an increase in cases to levels not seen since February, when new cases declined after a winter surge, about half of the state's population is back under mask mandates and recommendations.

"This is inevitable," California Governor Gavin Newsom said of the new requirements and recommendations.

"If we want to end this pandemic once and for all, if we want to turn the page, we can do it in a matter of weeks, not months. It is as simple as this: if you are not vaccinated, get vaccinated."

In Massachusetts, Provincetown officials issued a public health advisory on Monday, strongly advising the public to wear masks and get vaccinated if they haven't already done so.

The public health advisory comes amid a surge in cases in Provincetown after the July 4 holiday weekend, according to the notice.

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The advisory also states that "high-density locations where social distancing cannot be achieved are strongly encouraged to enforce pre-admission vaccine verification."

New Jersey is also seeing a rise in rates, with a positivity rate increased to 2.5% and a 20% increase in unvaccinated patients in hospitals, said State Health Commissioner Judy Persichili.

But the state will not return to a mask mandate at this time.

"We still feel comfortable where we are, but we have this with our eyes on it. And our strongest, strongest preference is not to go back," Gov. Phil Murphy said.

CNN's Deidre McPhillips, Lauren Mascarenhas, Sarah Braner, Naomi Thomas, Jacqueline Howard and Elizabeth Stuart, Cheri Mossburg, Kay Jones and Christina Bowllan contributed to this report.

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