What’s next for COVID-19? Here’s what to expect after Thanksgiving

A Lufthansa flight arrives from Munich, Germany, as an American Airlines aircraft takes off at Miami International Airport on Monday, Nov. 8, 2021, in Miami. | Lynne Sladky, Associated Press

There will be post-Thanksgiving spike, Dr. Scott Gottlieb says

There will be a post-Thanksgiving COVID-19 spike across the country, according to Dr. Scott Gottlieb, the former Food and Drug Administration commissioner.

Gottlieb, who sits on Pfizer’s board, said on “Face the Nation” that there is “no question” there will be a COVID-19 spike after Thanksgiving.

• “We’re going to see a post-holiday spike, there’s no question about that. People are exhausted right now, but we need to remain vigilant just for a little bit longer,” he said.

Specifically, Gottlieb said areas that haven’t experienced a major COVID-19 surge yet will get hit hardest by the new surge.

• “If you’re in the Southwest right now, you’re in the Great Lakes region, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan, you’re in parts of New England or western Pennsylvania or northern New York, or certain mountain states like Colorado, things don’t look good,” he said.
• “You haven’t experienced the Delta wave yet, and things are going to get worse before they get better,” he said.

Right now, many of the coronavirus spikes have been in the Mountain West, which includes states such as Utah, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado and New Mexico, as the Deseret News reported.

• “To some extent, it’s difficult to say why certain areas, I think, are having their big surges at particular times. Like, why us now and the Midwest previously, the South earlier in the summer,” said Stephen Goldstein, a virologist and postdoctoral researcher with the University of Utah School of Medicine, in an interview with the Deseret News.

Gottlieb said earlier in November that fully vaccinated people should be getting the COVID-19 vaccine booster shot to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

• “This is the fastest way that we can increase the total immunity in the population because someone who has an old vaccine that may only have 50% of its effectiveness left, they go out and get a booster, they restore 95% effectiveness based on the data that we’ve seen within a matter of days,” said Gottlieb.

What’s next for COVID-19? Here’s what to expect after Thanksgiving
Source: Gabriella Pinoys