They’re really trying to make this happen
US warned to get ready as Europe deals with new COVID-19 rise
Rising COVID-19 cases in Europe are setting off warnings that the U.S. could experience a new surge this winter.
Previous jumps in the U.S. have followed a pattern in which cases first rise in Europe, making officials nervous they could see a spike in U.S. cases as the weather turns.
The most recent data from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control shows that cases began going up around the beginning of September in Europe
The seven-day average is roughly 230,000 cases per day, reflecting rates that were seen in late July when Europe was still dealing with the omicron BA.4/BA.5 subvariant wave.
World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stated last week that a rise in cases in Europe was expected due to cooling temperatures, but stressed that hospitalizations and deaths did not have to rise as well due to the viral therapeutics that are now available.
I’m sure the powers that be will start crushing us with ads and such about getting vaxed and boosted, but, really, do most people really trust that anymore? It really has become basically a flu shot, where it mostly will just keep you from getting the Wuhan flu badly?
Ali Mokdad, epidemiologist and professor of Health Metrics Sciences at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington, told The Hill the contrast in the regions can be attributed to multiple factors, including warmer temperatures in the U.S. and differing levels of community immunity.
“In the U.S., we have a higher infection rate than many European countries, where more people have been infected here. So we have a little bit more immunity than they do, but still we have waning immunity,” Mokdad said.
Well, Europe opened up much earlier, they made sure that more people were exposed to COVID, giving them natural immunity, rather than keeping people locked down for too long
COVID-19 cases, deaths and hospitalizations in the U.S. will likely begin going up in three to four weeks, Mokdad said, though they won’t reach the same levels seen during the omicron wave last winter. He emphasized that this projection is contingent on a situation in which new coronavirus variants that are better at escaping immunity don’t rise in dominance.
Do you think they’ll try and implement masking again? And then when masking doesn’t work, vaccine mandates?
Experts who spoke with The Hill strongly encouraged people to get the updated bivalent booster ahead of the holiday season.
“The best holiday present that you can give — whatever you celebrate — that you give for yourself and your family members is protection and safety. And the best way to do it is to go and get your booster and your flu shot,” Mokdad said.