A Fourth Wave of COVID-19 Is Brewing in the U.S. Is There Enough Time to Stop it?

With every passing day, the United States appears more likely to be on the cusp of a dreaded fourth wave of COVID-19 infections, even as the percentage of fully vaccinated Americans inches toward 50%. In the past two weeks, the number of average new daily cases has more than doubled, from 13,200 on July 4 to more than 32,300 on July 18, a surge that harbors grim reminders of the fronts of the second and third waves in the summer and fall of 2020. But on closer inspection, this surge looks significantly different than those we have seen in the past—and may very well be worse than it looks on the page. [time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”] The coronavirus pandemic has never, even in its worst heights last winter, struck the U.S. uniformly. Instead, it has wandered from eruptions in specific urban areas to suburban and rural counties and then back again, like a persistent hurricane. Now, as the gap between states’ completed vaccination rates widens—Alabama has vaccinated just 33.7% of residents, compared to nearly 70% in Vermont—the per capita rate of new cases has clustered in a handful of regions where a majority of adults remain unvaccinated even as reopening continues apace. Here’s a county-level map of the 14-day growth of cases per 100,000 residents by county: To draw on my amateur oceanography, the current crest resembles less a wave than a rip tide, with surges of current inundating several hotspots while the remainder of the country...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized COVID-19 Source Type: news