U.S. is in a race between vaccines and variants, says public health expert

Coronavirus infections and related hospitalization are rising again in the United States despite the growing number of Americans getting vaccinated. Official data from the White House show that more than 410,000 people tested positive over the past week, up 9% from the week before, and more than 33,000 were hospitalized with COVID-19, for a 2% increase. Health officials, who blame the emergence of highly transmissible virus mutations, are worried that mortality will be next to pick back up. The potential for a fourth surge in infections, which comes after several weeks during which infections and hospitalizations hit a plateau, is particularly worrisome as some states loosen pandemic restrictions and some exhausted Americans increasingly ignore those that remain in place. CDC Director Rochelle Walensky, MD, and other health officials are urging Americans to keep masking, practicing social distancing, and improving indoor air ventilation as the vaccination campaign continues—or risk being in the same predicament as Europe, where some countries have reinstated lockdowns and other restrictions.