Op-Ed: New COVID strains are coming. It’s no time to let down our guard.
COVID-19 will go on to infect millions in this country, and the United States may not see the end of this pandemic.
As more states reopen their economies, some places will have higher rates of infection than others.
Here, 10 things to keep in mind as we await the next wave of COVID-19.
1. The surge in coronavirus cases isn’t just in the U.S.
According to Johns Hopkins, nearly 2.4 million people have now tested positive for COVID-19 — at least 10,000 of them in California.
That means the United States has now surpassed Spain as the country with the most cases.
2. There are no signs the virus will ease up.
We keep hearing that we’re now “curing” the virus, but it’s not happening.
In an interview with Bloomberg’s John R. Emshwiller, Vice President Mike Pence said, “As we look into May, we’ll see what the trajectory is as the virus continues to spread…As the numbers become more widespread, you’ll see more, more, more people experiencing this disease.”
This is the right attitude. COVID-19 is not going away. It’s here to stay. Public health officials continue to recommend people stay away from large gatherings for fear of passing the virus to others.
3. The elderly are the worst hit.
The CDC reports that, if no precautions are taken, as many as 20 percent of elderly citizens could die.
“The elderly population is especially vulnerable to COVID-19 because of their weakened immune systems and compromised ability to fight off infections,” the agency says.
The only good news for the elderly is: this virus is not airborne. There’s nothing we can do to infect them or anyone else at a gathering, like a church or sports or movie theater or restaurant.
4. We no longer have the flu as a
