CDC director warns of ‘impending doom’ as Covid-19 cases spike in most states

And the combination of young, carefree revelers and states ditching safety mandates has helped send the country backward, said Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

“What we’re likely seeing is because of things like spring break and pulling back on the mitigation methods that you’ve seen now,” Fauci told CBS’ “Face the Nation” on Sunday.

“Now is one of those times when I have to share the truth, and I have to hope and trust you will listen,” Walensky said.

“I’m going to reflect on the recurring feeling I have of impending doom … We have so much to look forward to, so much promise and potential of where we are and so much reason for hope. But right now, I’m scared.”

Before she became CDC director, Walensky was on the front lines of the pandemic, witnessing some patients die from Covid-19.

“I know what it’s like as a physician to stand in that patient room — gowned, gloved, masked, shielded — and to be the last person to touch someone else’s loved one, because they are not able to be there,” she said.

The US has come “such a long way,” Walensky said, pleading with all Americans to keep masking up and “hold on a little while longer” as more people get vaccinated.

Young people are fueling much of this new surge

People gathered as an 8 p.m. curfew went into effect on March 21 in Miami Beach, Florida. College students flooded the area for spring break, prompting officials to impose a curfew due to the pandemic.

At least 27 states have averaged at least 10% more cases each day this past week compared to the previous week, according to Johns Hopkins University.

“A lot of the spread is happening among younger people,” said Dr. Ashish Jha, dean of the Brown University School of Public Health. “That’s the group that is moving around, kind of relaxing, getting infected.”

“We’re weeks away from a point where we can begin to do these things a bit more safely,” Jha said. “But I think states have just moved too fast.”

Khaldun attributed the rise in cases to a number of factors, like more gatherings, more mobility, business reopenings and specific outbreaks in some prisons and schools.

Illinois officials are planning to deploy rapid response vaccination teams to several counties and expand vaccine eligibility after a “concerning possible trend in increasing COVID hospitalizations and case rates.”

“We cannot move forward if our metrics are going backward.”

Vermont just reported its worst day for new cases reported since this pandemic started, with more than 250 new infections reported Friday.

“Our efforts to vaccinate Vermonters is a race against what the virus does best: move easily from person to person,” Levine said. “Throughout the country, including up and down the Eastern Seaboard, case numbers are up.”

New Hampshire has recently suffered not just an increase in new cases, but also increasing test positivity rates. And the number of infections is increasing among young people, especially in teenagers and young adults, officials said.

Gov. Chris Sununu said he expects New Hampshire to endure a “spring surge.”

New data shows vaccines are highly effective

But there’s great news on the vaccine front: The CDC says the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines offer strong protection — not just against illness, but also against infection.

With just one dose, the vaccines were about 80% protective, the report said.

The CDC tested volunteers routinely, regardless of symptoms.

“Reducing the risk for transmissible infection, which can occur among persons with asymptomatic infection or among persons several days before symptoms onset, is especially important among health care personnel, first responders, and other essential and frontline workers given their potential to transmit the virus through frequent close contact with patients and the public,” the report said.