The fourth wave of the novel coronavirus pandemic may have hit the United States already, Axios reports.
- “America may be at the beginning of a fourth wave in the pandemic. It will almost certainly be far less deadly than the previous three, but this persistent failure to contain the virus has real consequences, and will only make it harder to put COVID-19 behind us,” according to Axios.
Why is it the fourth wave?
Per Axios, about 63,000 people were diagnosed with coronavirus infections over the last week. That’s a jump of 17% from the week before, and it’s a similar climb to the jumps the country saw over the summer.
- Michigan and New York saw some of the biggest spikes in average daily cases, according to Axios. Indeed, Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, Michigan’s chief medical executive, told CNN earlier this week that the next surge in COVID-19 cases has hit the state. Cases have jumped among young people.
The fourth wave may be less deadly
Per Axios, the fourth wave may not bring as many deaths as the earlier waves since 75% of the elderly population has received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
Dr. Fauci is worried over the fourth wave
Dr. Anthony Fauci, one of the country’s top infectious disease experts, said last weekend that the United States saw a plateau in cases, which will lead to a surge, as I wrote for the Deseret News.
- “When you’re coming down from a big peak and you reach a point and start to plateau, once you stay at that plateau, you’re really in danger of a surge coming up,” Fauci said. “And unfortunately, that’s what we’re starting to see.”
Fauci warned states against reopening too soon because lifted restrictions will lead to more cases.