U.S. COVID Cases on the Rise Again

Widespread vaccine availability and warm sunny weather that allowed people to socialize outdoors brought COVID-19 cases to an all-time low in June. And while the Delta variant provoked another spike in cases from July to October, that surge eventually started to decline.

As cold weather sweeps across the nation, and frigid winter temperatures force more people to spend time indoors, COVID cases are once again rising in the U.S. We now average more than 83,000 cases per day, which represents a 14% increase from the previous week’s numbers.

This spike is mainly due to outbreaks in the Northeast, Midwest, and Mountain West, including Vermont, Minnesota, New Mexico, Colorado, and Idaho. Crisis standards of care are currently in effect in Idaho, Colorado, and New Mexico.

This uptick in COVID cases is being blamed on multiple causes:

Cold weather is forcing people indoors.
Americans are returning to their pre-pandemic movements.
Mask wearing has waned.
Protection from both prior infection and vaccinations is declining.

With the arrival of the holidays and larger social gatherings, experts expect this to be the start of another winter surge.

The good news is that experts don’t expect this winter to see as much death and disease as last year. Still, even a moderate surge will be a strain on hospitals, which are struggling with capacity as it is.

Vaccines for Kids and Antibody Infusion Centers Lend Hope

One source of hope amid the growing infection rates is the recent approval of the Pfizer vaccine for children five and above.

So far, kids are getting vaccinated at a rate three times faster than that of adults when the first vaccines became available. This rise in vaccinations will put us that much closer to reaching herd immunity.

The growing prevalence of antibody infusion centers has also been crucial in keeping those who become infected out of the hospital. Via monoclonal antibody therapy, healthcare staff introduce lab-made antibodies into patients’ blood that can block viruses from entering their cells.

It now rests with local governments and healthcare organizations to promote vaccinations and monoclonal antibody therapy, in addition to testing, as much as possible to reduce the expected surge.

As more kids receive vaccinations and booster shots become approved for a wider range of people, having an adequate amount of space for administering vaccinations will be crucial. And with growing infection rates, space for testing and monoclonal antibody therapy will be equally important.

For hospitals that are lacking space, BLU-MED Response Systems^® provides military-grade and temperature-controlled medical facilities for:

BLU-MED Response Systems® (BLU-MED) was formed in 2004 as a division of Alaska Defense™ – the military division of AKS Industries, Inc.

Alaska Structures® is the leading supplier of engineered fabric structures in the world, including military shelter systems used for tactical operation centers for the U.S. military and coalition forces.

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