And the New York State Department of Health said in a statement issued Friday, that it is “closely monitoring the increasing rise in hospitalizations of children associated with Covid-19.”
She added that “the largest increase was recorded in New York City, where the number of hospitalizations quadrupled” between the fifth and the nineteenth of December. Half of these cases are for children under the age of five years, that is, they have not yet reached the age of vaccination.
The number of Covid infections in the United States continues to rise, with an average of nearly 190,000 new cases per day over the past seven days, according to Johns Hopkins University figures.
The new mutation and the end-of-year celebrations, with the travel and gatherings witnessed by them, increased the demand for disease detection tests in the United States, which made obtaining them difficult in some regions.
And the White House’s chief pandemic adviser, Anthony Fauci, confirmed, on Sunday, that the shortage of Covid-19 tests will be resolved soon.
“One of the problems at the moment is that (the tests) won’t be available to everyone before January,” the epidemiologist told ABC.
And he added, “But we are addressing the problem of the examinations and this matter will be corrected very soon,” acknowledging that he was disappointed as a result.
Fauci explained that these simultaneous occurrences are partly responsible for this “huge demand” that has led to a lack of testing, and he said: “Of course we have to do a better job.”
And President Joe Biden decided last week to announce a massive purchase of these tests by the federal government: 500 million units will be distributed free of charge to those who request them.
But these tests will not be delivered until January, prompting severe criticism of the White House, which has focused in its strategy to combat Covid-19 for weeks on vaccination.
On December 6, days after the Omicron was detected for the first time in the United States, White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki was asked about the difficulty of securing tests in the country.
She replied sarcastically, “Should we send a free examination to all Americans? Is that required?”
Fauci also touched on the mutant Omicron and its danger.
Recognizing that it is “highly contagious”, he praised the data revealed by studies conducted in South Africa and the United Kingdom, which seem to indicate that the infections of this mutant are less serious.
He added: “The problem that we do not want to show indulgence (…) is that when you have this huge number of new infections, it may exceed the actual decrease in the extent of the risk,” expressing his fear that hospitals are filled with patients.
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