The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is headquartered in Atlanta. (Public Domain)
According to the latest data released Wednesday (May 5) by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as the highly contagious B.1.1.7 variant of the virus spreads nationwide, the number of COVID-19 (Chinese Communist Virus) infections in the United States could spike again, peaking in May and then dropping sharply in July.
The CDC said in its report that the number of infections is expected to increase as states ease outbreak precautions for businesses, mass gatherings and schools, and as the spread of the B.1.1.7 variant of the virus, first identified in the United Kingdom, accelerates across the United States, NBC Business reports.
The agency projected the trajectory of the outbreak based on four different possible scenarios of vaccination rates and reopening scenarios in each state. While the number of infections in each scenario varies, the overall direction of the outbreak remains largely consistent across all four projections: cases spike in May and decline in July.
The CDC says that while the number of people infected with CCLVs (Wuhan virus, New Coronavirus) is likely to increase this month, the national hospitalization and mortality rates are likely to remain low. And as more Americans get vaccinated, the number of infections is expected to drop significantly by July.
Federal health officials wrote in the report that increased vaccination coverage and compliance with outbreak safety measures “are critical to controlling COVID-19 and preventing a spike in hospitalizations and deaths in the coming months.”
At a White House outbreak press briefing late Wednesday, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said the projections should remind Americans that “we already have a way out of this mess.”
“While we are seeing progress in terms of case reductions, hospitalizations and number of deaths, the unknown, the mutated virus, could still reverse the progress we’ve made,” she said. “We are seeing that our current vaccine is preventing the spread of the variant virus in the country. Simply put, the sooner we can get more people vaccinated, the sooner we can get back to normal.”
According to Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins), new infections dropped below 50,000 per day during the weekend and continue to fall. The average for the last seven days is 48,100 infections per day.
The new data comes as Memorial Day and the July 4 holiday are approaching. President Joe Biden said he hopes to see enough Americans vaccinated by Independence Day to safely hold small outdoor gatherings.
On Tuesday (May 4), Biden announced his administration’s latest goal in the fight against the CDC virus: to have 70 percent of U.S. adults receive at least one dose of the CDC vaccine and to have 160 million adults fully vaccinated by July 4.
As of Tuesday, more than 145 million Americans aged 18 or older, or 56.4 percent of the total adult population, had received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. More than 105 million Americans age 18 or older, or 40.8 percent of the total adult population, have been fully vaccinated, according to CDC data.
The number of people receiving their first vaccination has declined in recent weeks, although U.S. health officials say they are working to improve access and encourage more Americans who are still on the fence to get vaccinated.
The CDC used data from the Center for Modeling of Possible Scenarios for COVID-19. The center developed six models to evaluate the U.S. COVID-19 epidemic, including the likely progression of four scenarios. Researchers considered vaccination rates and implemented precautions, such as mask wearing and social distance.
In addition, the projections were based on data through the end of March, when the number of CCPV infections was rebounding.
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