The United States of America, the richest country in the world that managed to hoard nearly 500 million excess doses of Covid-19 vaccines in 2021, reported one million Covid deaths on Monday, the highest death toll among nations. Observers said there are myriad reasons why this happened, including the inadequate initial response of the Trump administration to the virus, the lack of pandemic readiness of the US public health sector, and the political polarization that prompted so many Americans to reject vaccines, a decision hundreds of thousands of them have paid for with their lives.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the US crossed the threshold of 600,000 Covid deaths in mid-June 2021, a point where Covid-19 vaccines were widely available in all states. Among the fatalities, CDC said more than 300,000 were probably unvaccinated.
The US is currently averaging about 300 Covid-19 deaths per day, compared with a peak of about 3,400 a day in January 2021, according to an AP report.
After the lifting of all pandemic-related restrictions, and just as Americans appear ready to move on to a new normal, new cases are on the rise again, climbing more than 60 percent in the past two weeks to an average of about 86,000 a day.
From the Associated Press: “The government web site for people to request free Covid-19 at-home tests from the US government is now accepting a third round of orders. The White House announced Tuesday that US households can request an additional eight free at-home tests to be shipped by the US Postal Service. The announcement comes as coronavirus cases are rising again in some areas of the country.”
A new Omicron subvariant, BA.2, which started spreading around the globe since December, has morphed into two new subvariants, BA.2.12 and BA.2.12.1. They are being cited as a leading contributor to rising infections in New York, according to state health officials.
New York City health officials issued an advisory on Monday urging New Yorkers to wear masks in all indoor public settings as the city approaches “high risk” Covid-19 alert status. Health Commissioner Ashwin Vasan said “everyone regardless of vaccination status or past Covid-19 infection should wear face coverings at all times in settings such as grocery stores, offices and building lobbies.”
In the Philippines, the Department of Health on Tuesday confirmed the local transmission of Omicron subvariant BA.2.12.1 in the country, but assured the public that response is underway to prevent its spread. Health Undersecretary Maria Rosario Vergeire, however, clarified that there is still no detection of “community transmission” of the said subvariant. She said that local transmission means local cases have been detected, which cannot be epidemiologically linked to cases with significant international travel history, while community transmission means there is already huge or an increasing number of local cases whose links cannot be established anymore (Read, “DOH logs local transmission of more infectious Omicron,” in the BusinessMirror, May 17, 2022).
“Now that we have local transmission of Omicron BA.2.12.1, we must act fast. We are asking our health facilities and local government units to actively look for cases. Immediate isolation is advised for any person who has fever, cough, colds, sore or itchy throat, and other Covid-like signs and symptoms,” Vergeire said.
Amid the continuing spread of Omicron and its subvariants in the US, China, North Korea and some European countries, it pays to heed the warning of WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus: “As the experience with this pandemic shows, no country can let down its guard. Complacency can be as dangerous as the virus itself. We must continue to be vigilant.”
The pandemic is far from over. Continue protecting yourself. Wear your face mask, and avoid crowded places as much as possible.