With millions traveling or planning to join large family gatherings, there is a rush to get tested — and many people are running out of luck, either to get rapid tests at clinics or to buy at-home test kits.
Long lines were seen this week in New York City, Boston and Miami, as well as Ohio and Minnesota.
The demand is only going to grow, said Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota.
“We do have some testing. But what we’re going to need, I think, over the course of the next two to eight weeks is going to be remarkable. We are going to see this big surge nationwide,” he predicted.
A former assistant secretary of the US Health and Human Services Department is concerned the administration’s pledge on tests will not meet the demand, he said.
“Unless we have a billion or 2 billion a month, I think we’re still going to have to be selective to make sure that we keep people who can die from the disease from dying from the disease,” Adm. Dr. Brett Giroir told CNN.
This is the first antiviral Covid-19 pill authorized for ill people to take at home, before they get sick enough to be hospitalized. It’s authorized for people age 12 and older who weigh at least 88 pounds.
Covid-19 cases in the US are rising: The country averaged more than 148,000 new cases a day over the last week, 23% higher than a week ago and back to levels last seen in mid-September, according to Johns Hopkins University data.
More than 69,700 Covid-19 patients were in US hospitals on Wednesday — a number that’s been trending up since it dipped to around 45,000 on November 8, according to Health and Human Services Department data.
The US averaged 1,324 Covid-19 deaths a day over the last week, 11% higher than a week prior, according to Johns Hopkins.
Hospital beds scarce in some parts of the country
The surge in cases has also led to a scarcity of hospital beds in pockets of the country.
In Delaware, ChristianaCare Hospital is running over 100% capacity, often reaching 110% to 115%, said its president, Sharon Kurfuerst.
“There are patients receiving care in hallways because that is the only place we have to put them in the emergency department right now,” she said.
Many people who delayed treatment for nearly two years for non-Covid-19 related health issues currently need medical attention, Kurfuerst added.
“That, compounded by the amount of Covid patients that we are seeing today is really straining our health care system and resources,” she said.
“We need your help,” the ad read. “We now have more COVID-19 patients in our hospitals than ever before. And the overwhelming majority are unvaccinated.”
People who have been previously infected with Covid-19 and remain unvaccinated “should not assume that (they) have protection against Omicron,” US Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy said Tuesday.
“That’s not enough to be able to come to a family gathering and say, ‘This is just as good as being vaccinated,'” Murthy told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer. “So, if you’re not vaccinated, it is more urgent than ever to get vaccinated. If you are vaccinated, please get boosted.”
In Israel, those eligible for the fourth dose can receive it if at least four months have passed since the third dose, the nation’s Prime Minister’s Office said. Almost all vaccinated citizens in that country have received the Pfizer/BioNTech mRNA vaccine.
As to whether the US could move to a fourth dose eventually, CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky told CNN this:
“Certainly when we see science, we’ll examine that we will absolutely consider it,” she said Tuesday on “AC360.” “Right now, we’re working to make sure that our vaccinated people get (a) booster — we really do want to make sure that people get a boost.”
Local officials impose new rules to combat surge
Some local officials are again imposing new regulations to curb the spread of the virus.
In Chicago, customers at most businesses that serve food or drinks must show proof of vaccination beginning January 3, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said. The measure will apply to all customers over age 5 at restaurants, bars, gyms, theaters and other entertainment and sporting venues that serve food and drink.
“The unvaccinated are affecting the health, well-being and livelihoods of all the rest of us,” Lightfoot said. “To control the spread, we have to limit the risk.”
Florida’s Miami-Dade County is reinstating a mask mandate in county buildings, Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said Wednesday.
Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms also moved to reinstate the city’s indoor mask mandate, while Massachusetts’ public health department is recommending that all residents wear a mask indoors when not in their own homes, regardless of their vaccination status, officials said Tuesday.
Covid-19 isolation period could be reduced
“For example, if you get a health care worker who’s infected and without any symptoms at all, you don’t want to keep that person out of work too very long … particularly if we get a run on hospital beds and the need for health care personnel,” said Fauci, who is the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
The isolation period also affects airline staffing, prompting Delta Air Lines officials to ask the CDC to reduce the period to five days as Christmas approaches — adding that more than 90% of its workforce is vaccinated.
Officials are conducting analysis on whether it’s safe to shorten the isolation period, Murthy said.
CNN’s Melissa Alonso, Amanda Sealy, Jason Hanna, Oren Liebermann, Artemis Moshtaghian, Jennifer Henderson, Pervaiz Shallwani, Mark Morales, Ben Tinker, Gregory Lemos and Naomi Thomas contributed to this report.