Introduction
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, recently warned that some states may be in for a “painful” few weeks as the coronavirus pandemic continues to surge. In this article, we’ll take a look at what Dr. Fauci said and what it means for the states that are currently experiencing a surge in cases. We’ll also provide some tips on how to stay safe and healthy during this difficult time. So, if you’re living in one of the states that Dr. Fauci is referring to, read on to find out what you can do to protect yourself and your loved ones.
Dr. Fauci Says “It’s Going to Be Painful” for These States
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, recently warned that some states may be in for a “painful” few weeks as coronavirus cases continue to surge. He specifically mentioned Arizona, California, Florida, and Texas, which have all seen a dramatic increase in cases in recent weeks.
“It’s going to be painful for a while,” Fauci said in an interview with CNN. “We’re going to have to hunker down and really try to address the issues of the surge that we’re seeing in certain states.”
Fauci urged states to take steps to reduce the spread of the virus, such as wearing masks, avoiding large gatherings, and practicing social distancing. He also said that states should consider implementing stricter measures, such as closing bars and restaurants, if the situation does not improve.
“We’re going to have to be very, very careful and very, very stringent in the measures that we take to try and turn this around,” Fauci said. “It’s not going to be easy.”
The surge in cases has been linked to a number of factors, including people not following social distancing guidelines, large gatherings, and the reopening of businesses. Fauci warned that if states do not take the necessary steps to reduce the spread of the virus, the situation could get worse.
“If we don’t do something about it, it’s going to get worse and worse and worse,” Fauci said. “We’ve got to do something about it.”
Eat This, Not That
If you live in one of the states that Dr. Fauci mentioned, it’s important to take extra precautions to protect yourself and your loved ones from the virus. One way to do this is to make sure you’re eating the right foods. Eating a healthy, balanced diet can help boost your immune system and keep you healthy.
Instead of eating processed foods, opt for fresh fruits and vegetables, lean proteins, and whole grains. Avoid sugary drinks and snacks, and opt for water or unsweetened tea instead. Eating a healthy diet can help you stay healthy and reduce your risk of getting sick.
Coronavirus cases are finally going down or peaking in many states, as Omicron retreats—but not everywhere. Some regions are still seeing cases go up, and hospitalizations, too. Where? Dr. Anthony Fauci, the chief medical advisor to the President and the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, spoke with Chuck Todd on MTP Daily about that and also warned about a new variant, and said how you can stay safe. Read on for all 6 pieces of advice—and to ensure your health and the health of others, don’t miss these Sure Signs You’ve Already Had COVID.
Dr. Fauci said here’s what we “have now in this country: It’s 99% of the classical Omicron, which is what’s referred to as B.1 Omicron, that we’ve been dealing with for some time.” He said some places “in the country, the Upper Northeast, characterized particularly by New York City and the upper Midwest with Chicago, where the cases have peaked, that are coming down sharply, which is really good news, particularly in a situation in which this variant appears to be and looks like it certainly is less severe on a case by case basis, with regard to hospitalizations and deaths…The rest of the country, particularly the South and the Western states, either have not yet peaked, maybe still surging and leveling off, but almost invariably are gonna turn around and come down. It’s gonna be a little bit more painful for them, because those are the regions of the country, which for the most part are under vaccinated or less vaccinated, for example, than what we’re seeing, but overall the trend, and I believe we can be cautiously optimistic about this, that the trend is starting to come down and will ultimately, as a net effect come down for the whole country.”
With cases going down, “if we then superimpose that upon the now major availability of testing to the tune of a half a billion tests now coming soon and another half a billion, the availability of therapies like Paxlovid and other therapies, as well as our hope that more people who are vaccinated will get boosted—because the data that have recently come out from the CDC are really striking about how effective a third shot boost of an mRNA is in getting protection to Omicron, not only up to where it was, but even higher than it a originally was—so that’s the reason why, although we always have to be careful and not get over confident that I am cautiously optimistic about that.”
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There is a “new variant, which is really essentially a sub lineage of the original Omicron,” said Dr. Fauci. “And it’s referred to as B.2 now, it is pretty much in Denmark, more than half of the isolates. And in the UK, there are several percent. We are still at a very low level of a fraction of a percent. It may have some transmission advantage over the original”—meaning it may be more transmissible. Is it more severe than the original Omicron? He says “the risk of each is probably somewhat similar…we haven’t proven it yet, but it’s suggested that it has a transmission advantage because it did kind of push the other variant off the table a bit in Denmark. But the principles don’t change. If you look at what we’ve been saying, if you look at the people who have vaccinated and boosted, even though you do get a protection against infection, but there will be many breakthrough infections, no doubt about that. But the major difference is that the level of hospitalization and severity in the unvaccinated versus the vaccinated is really quite striking. And that will hold true for BA.2. Almost certainly. We don’t have enough experience to nail that down, but there’s no reason to believe it’s gonna be any different with BA.2.”
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Dr. Fauci called pushback against vaccine mandates unfortunate. “They do work every time they’ve been implemented, be it at United Airlines or Tyson’s Food or any of the other big organizations, it does work. So I think the pushback of obviously is an issue for people don’t want to do that. That is going to slow and impede the broad, comprehensive way of getting this outbreak under control. I think there’s no doubt. If you look at history, tells us in our dealings for other viruses, be it smallpox, polio, measles: When you get the overwhelming proportion of the population vaccinated, you get quite good control.”
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Host Chuck Todd asked if the public has lost trust in the experts due to its messaging seeming to change. “First of all, we, we have to stick with the science and one of the treacheries of this, if you want to call it that, is that this is a moving target and the public understandably expects a very consistent message that doesn’t change. And in fact, when the virus which has changed,” said Dr. Fauci. “I mean, let’s just look at the facts. We’ve had the original Wuhan strain, and we had Alpha, Beta, Delta, Omicron, each with a different bit of a characteristic to it. So things have changed and what the change in the virus has come change in some of the scientific issues that have resulted in change in some recommendations. That’s the reality. Could we have done better in communicating that? No doubt. I think we all need to admit that and realize that, but the underlying reason for the change and some of the underlying reason for some of the communication issues is the fact that the fact that people need to, we’re not dealing with a static target. We’re dealing with a moving target, and I know that’s so difficult for people to appreciate, but that’s just what the reality is.”
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Follow the public health fundamentals and help end this pandemic, no matter where you live—get vaccinated or boosted ASAP; if you live in an area with low vaccination rates, wear an N95 face mask, don’t travel, social distance, avoid large crowds, don’t go indoors with people you’re not sheltering with (especially in bars), practice good hand hygiene, and to protect your life and the lives of others, don’t visit any of these 35 Places You’re Most Likely to Catch COVID.