CDC director warns of "impending doom"

CDC director warns of "impending doom"

 

On Monday, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, made her most dire warning yet.    "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,” she said.    She noted that much of the nation’s recent progress against Covid-19 has been erased by a jump in new infections nationwide. Americans are traveling again, with millions flying and breaking pandemic records. Spring break crowds have swelled in popular beach destinations, including South Florida, where local leaders said the vacationers were more than they could handle.   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. Michigan is suffering another surge driven by young people ages 10 to 19, the state’s chief medical executive said. Vermont has reported its worst day for new cases since the pandemic started, with more than 250 new infections reported Friday. Test positivity rates in New Hampshire are jumping.    President Joe Biden echoed Walensky's sentiment during a press briefing on Monday, as well. “We're giving up hard-fought, hard-won gains and as much as we're doing, America, it's time to do even more," he said.  "All of us have to do our part."   While vaccines have proven effective, just over 15% of the country is fully vaccinated and Walensky pleaded with Americans to mask up and “hold on a little while longer.”    "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.