Things finally seem to be looking up amid the current COVID-19 situation – the number of new cases and hospitalizations in the US are falling, mass vaccination events are being rolled out, and COVID vaccine makers could to deliver the much-needed doses earlier than expected.
According to Pfizer, which developed its vaccine with BioNTech, as of Jan. 31, the company has delivered 29 million doses of its two-shot vaccine to the U.S. government – and plans to deliver another 200 million doses to the U.S. by May, which is two months earlier than its initial forecast of July.
The Center For Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky is also hopeful that the “consistent downward trajectory” of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations could result in a decrease in COVID-19 deaths in the following weeks.
“Cases are now back to the level we were before Thanksgiving,” Dr. Walensky said, adding, “The recent decline in hospitalizations gives us hope that the number of deaths should start to decrease in the coming weeks.”
That said, health experts still warn Americans not to become complacent.
“There seems to be already a tendency, including in my own community, to start opening things up again, letting the bar stay open later and that sort of thing,” Dr. Bill Schaffner, an epidemiologist at Vanderbilt University, tells CNBC in a phone interview. “I’m worried about that because I thought we’d learned that lesson. As soon as you do that, cases start to go up again.”
A recent study conducted by a team of researchers at Imperial College London found that younger adults accounted for about 72.2% of Covid-19 infections, specifically those belonging to the 20 to 49 age group. A further analysis showed that adults aged 35 to 49 accounted for 41% of new transmissions through mid-August, while adults 20 to 34 only accounted for 35% of transmissions.
The study involved the analysis of more than 10 million people, using cell phone location data, which was then compared with publicly available information on the spread of the virus, allowing the researchers to calculate which age groups were most responsible for the spread of the virus.
According to the study, containment efforts aimed at this age group, such as mass vaccination programs “could bring resurgent Covid-19 epidemics under control and avert deaths.”
Health experts continue to urge everyone to practice more immediate measure to curb the spread of COVID-19, such as avoiding large indoor gatherings, wearing masks, practicing physical distancing and using other public health measures.
Take care and stay safe, everyone!
