Roundup: U.S. mutation virus infection cases surge or face new risks during Independence Day holiday-Xinhua English.news.cn

Xinhua News Agency, Washington, July 3rd Summary: U.S. mutation virus infection cases surge or face new risks during Independence Day holiday

Xinhua News Agency reporter Tan Jingjing

Recently, the number of mutated new coronavirus infections in the United States has continued to increase, and the number of new confirmed cases in the United States every day is on the rise. With the arrival of the US Independence Day holiday on July 4, a large number of people traveled. Experts worry that it may cause the spread of the mutant virus to spread further, bringing new and serious challenges to the US epidemic prevention and control.

According to the weekly epidemic report released by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on the 2nd, the current average daily increase of new crown cases in the United States on the 7th is about 12,500, an increase of 9.1% from the previous week; the average daily increase of hospitalized cases on the 7th is about 1870, compared with the previous An increase of 1.1% in one week; the average daily increase of deaths on the 7th was about 200, a decrease of 11.5% from the previous week.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention predicts that the proportion of infections caused by the Delta strain (the B.1.617.2 mutant new coronavirus first reported in India) will be in the next two weeks Will reach 26.1% of the total number of new cases in the United States.

Rochelle Valensky, director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, recently stated that the delta strain can easily lead to “super transmission.” Viral gene sequencing revealed that nearly 50% of the sequenced viruses in some areas of the United States are Delta strains.

The White House announced on July 1 that in order to curb the spread of the delta strain, the federal government will dispatch multiple special teams to provide more professional guidance and anti-epidemic supplies to areas with high infection rates or high-risk areas.

Experts worry that with the successive unblocking of various places, people are beginning to relax their vigilance, especially during the Independence Day holiday, which may increase the risk of the spread of the mutant virus. The American Automobile Association predicts that more than 47 million Americans will travel by car or airplane during the Independence Day holiday, basically returning to the pre-epidemic level, and the number of travellers is 40% higher than the same period last year.

Recently, the US vaccination progress has shown signs of slowing down. The White House has confirmed that the United States cannot complete the US President Biden’s previously announced goal of vaccinating 70% of adults with at least one dose of COVID-19 before Independence Day on July 4. According to data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website, as of the 3rd, about 182 million people in the United States have completed one dose of vaccination, accounting for about 54.9% of the total population of the United States; among them, the number of people who completed two doses of vaccination is about 157 million, accounting for about 47.3 of the total population of the United States. %.

Public health data show that areas with low vaccination rates are at high risk of being attacked by the Delta strain. Take Mississippi as an example. Less than 30% of the people in the state are fully vaccinated, and of the newly confirmed cases and deaths in the past month, more than 90% are unvaccinated people.

Experts say that vaccinating the public as soon as possible is essential for the prevention and control of the epidemic. If vaccination cannot be advanced quickly, once the more infectious Delta strain becomes the main epidemic strain, it may also evolve a more dangerous mutant virus, leading to more infections, and making another wave of epidemics come back in autumn.

A study by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that the current vaccination rate among the 18 to 29-year-olds in the United States is low, and the 18- to 39-year-old group has the lowest vaccination willingness. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that the three vaccines currently approved for emergency use in the United States can provide protection against mutated virus infections, including the delta strain.