What does the US report reveal about the origin of covid-19?
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(CNN) -
With nearly 100,000 Americans hospitalized with COVID-19 and infections rising among the unvaccinated population, an additional 100,000 people may die from the virus in December, according to a recent model from the University of Washington.
"What is happening now is completely predictable, but completely preventable," Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told CNN's Jake Tapper on Sunday, saying the outcome of the model is possible.
"We know we have the means with vaccines to reverse this."
About 80 million eligible Americans are not yet vaccinated, the same group that could help reverse the pandemic, Fauci said.
"We could do it efficiently and quickly if we just vaccinate those people. That is why it is so important now, in this crisis that we are in, that people put aside any ideological, political or other differences and just get vaccinated." , said.
But with a daily average of 155,000 new infections reported, many hospitals are buckling under the weight of another surge.
Across the South last week, many hospitals reported oxygen shortages amid an increase in hospitalizations for the virus.
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Among those hospitalizations were pediatric patients, which have also been on the rise since students returned to classrooms in some areas.
Thousands of children were quarantined in the past week due to exposure to COVID-19, creating an uncertain start to the school year as officials, teachers and parents weigh safety precautions.
Almost 40% of the world's population is at least partially vaccinated.
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Vaccinations for children under 12 may be available in the coming months
While vaccines are currently the best defense against the spread of the virus, they have not yet been approved for children under 12 years of age.
For these children, the use of masks and the vaccination of the adults and adolescents around them are their only protection.
But that could change in the coming months.
Pfizer is working on data files that would help authorize its vaccine for ages 5 to 11, Dr. Scott Gottlieb, former US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) commissioner, said Sunday on CBS.
Gottlieb, who is on Pfizer's board, said the drugmaker might be in a position to submit the data for authorization "sometime in September."
He went on to say that Pfizer could submit the Emergency Use Authorization application for this age group "potentially from October."
Gottlieb told CBS's Ed O'Keefe on Sunday that "we have to do everything we can" to minimize cases among school-age children.
"I don't think we should start the school year by removing mitigation that may have worked and probably worked last year to control outbreaks in the school setting, until we have firm evidence of what works and what doesn't," he explained, adding measures. as frequent testing and putting students in social 'capsules' "are probably the two most effective steps schools can take."
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Schools that have been successful in mitigating the spread include those that frequently test, trace contacts, and establish quarantine protocols when a positive case is detected.
"Wearing masks and improving ventilation will also be very important. And finally, vaccinating children. Approximately 50% of children who meet the requirements to be vaccinated have been vaccinated. So there is still a lot of work that we can do. to do there, get more information to encourage parents to get their children vaccinated, "Gottlieb added.
Fauci agreed with this statement when he told CNN on Sunday that he would support an order for school-age children to be vaccinated if the FDA approves the use of the vaccine in children under 12 years of age.
"I think requiring vaccinations for children to attend school is a good idea," Fauci said.
He noted that this would not be out of the question, saying that schools already have many vaccination orders in place.
"This is not something new. We have orders in many places in schools, particularly in public schools, if you actually want a child to come in ... we have done it for decades and decades requiring (vaccines) for polio, measles. , mumps, rubella, hepatitis. So this would not be something new, requiring vaccines for children to come to school, "he explained.
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Reinforcements and treatments
Those who are already vaccinated will likely need a booster shot to combat the spread of new variants.
Starting the week of September 20, those who received their second dose eight months ago should be eligible for the third, according to Fauci, who noted that there is flexibility in the plan based on available data.
On Wednesday, Pfizer began submitting data to the FDA for approval of a third dose of its covid-19 vaccine.
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"I have no doubt that we should give people who received both doses of mRNA a booster dose. There is no question based on the data we have seen," Fauci explained.
The possibility of a third dose comes as many hospitals face increased hospitalizations and declining supplies, with cases in the South increasing as oxygen becomes available, a key component in treating people with the virus. , It has decreased.
"We've had some very challenging situations over the past two weeks where hospitals have had hourly delays in their oxygen deliveries, which puts them in a situation where they have had very low oxygen supplies," Mary told CNN. Mayhew, president and CEO of the Florida Hospital Association.
"Hospitals are using 3-4 times the amount of oxygen they would normally use," he added.
Another ongoing challenge in the fight against covid has been misinformation, the latest example of which is people taking antiparasitic drugs in an attempt to fight the virus.
Fauci urged those considering taking the drug ivermectin, which is used to treat parasites like worms and lice in humans and is used by veterinarians to deworm large animals, to avoid it.
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"Don't do it," he said Sunday on CNN's "State of the Union."
"There is no evidence whatsoever that that works and it could potentially have toxicity ... with people who have gone to poison control centers because they took the drug at a ridiculous dose and ended up getting sick, there is no clinical evidence to indicate that this it works".
The CDC has already issued a warning about the drug, saying they have seen an increase in reports of serious illnesses caused by the drug to poison centers.
CNN's Madeline Holcombe, Kristen Holmes and Maggie Fox contributed to this report.
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