March 30, 2021

CDC Director Fears 'Impending Doom' If U.S. Opens Too Quickly

 

Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the CDC's director, 

Susan Walsh/Pool/AFP via Getty Images

Amid growing optimism about the rising pace of vaccinations in the U.S., the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has one request for the American people: Don't act as if the pandemic is over – it's not.

In an emotional plea during the White House COVID-19 Response Team briefing on Monday, the CDC chief, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, described a feeling of "impending doom."

"We have so much to look forward to, so much promise and potential of where we are and so much reason for hope," Walensky said. "But right now, I'm scared."

The cause of her concern? A rising number of coronavirus cases in the United States. The most recent seven-day average is just below 60,000 cases per day – a 10% increase compared with the previous week.

Hospitalizations are up, too: about 4,800 admissions per day over the last week, up from an average 4,600 per day in the previous seven-day period. And deaths, which tend to lag cases and hospitalizations, have also begun to rise: increasing nearly 3%, to a seven-day average of about 1,000 per day.

On the subject of vaccination, the news was considerably better.

"We are vaccinating the country as quickly as humanly possible," Slavitt said, noting that the U.S. has averaged 2.7 million vaccinations a day over the last week. On Sunday, that number stretched higher still: 3.28 million vaccinations.

Among seniors, 73% have now received at least their first dose. Among all U.S. adults, 36% have received at least one dose. And more than 50 million Americans – nearly one in five adults — are fully vaccinated.

Biden also announced plans to help at-risk seniors and people with disabilities get vaccinated, including with transportation assistance.

Officials also discussed the latest in terms of vaccine "passports" like those proposed in the European Union and announced in New York, that would offer proof that a person has been vaccinated or tested negative for the coronavirus.

Slavitt reiterated that the federal government does not see its role is to create such a passport or hold that data: "We view this as something that the private sector is doing and will do," he said, following requirements set by the federal government.

An interagency process is now under way with requirements for equitable and free access, data privacy and security, and availability in multiple languages.

Unlike the EU, the White House will not have government administer such passports. Slavitt explained the administration wants to be sure that Americans are comfortable with getting vaccinated.

"We do know that there is a segment of the population that is concerned that the government will play too heavy-handed of a role in monitoring their vaccinations," he said. "In point of fact, it would discourage people, to feel like that was the role we're playing."

Instead, the plan is what Slavitt calls "the best of all worlds:" the government putting forth guidelines, but not itself being the keeper of vaccination data.


  • Across the nation, the seven-day coronavirus case average has increased by 12 percent from last week, reaching its highest point in nearly a month and bringing evidence of a fourth wave of infections. [The Washington Post / Erin Cunningham and Marisa Iati]
  • Dr. Anthony Fauci said while the new British variant is partly to blame, the easing of restrictions that have allowed for mass spring break gatherings as well as increased indoor dining are facilitating spread. [The New York Times / Apoorva Mandavilli]
  • Health experts are now calling the situation a race between vaccines and variants, though they also stressed continued social distancing and mask-wearing will be critical. [NPR / Pien Huang]
  • Walensky, Fauci, and others are pleading with people to balance their optimism about vaccines and the impending end of the pandemic with continued caution. Some states have removed mask mandates. Others, including Michigan, New York, and New Jersey, are seeing cases and hospitalizations rise. [Axios / Marisa Fernandez]
  • Twenty-five states have seen hospitalizations related to the coronavirus rise over the past week, most dramatically in Michigan and South Dakota. Two-thirds of coronavirus patients are now under 65; 72 percent of seniors have received at least one vaccine dose. [Bloomberg / Jonathan Levin]