This is a symbolic milestone: since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, more than 100 million cases have been detected on the American continent. More than half (51 million) have been reported in the United States, which has a population of 329.5 million, and 22 million in Brazil (out of 212.6 million people).
“Countries must maintain their public health measures to limit the transmission of the virus and adjust it to local risks” of spread, the director of the Pan American Health Organization, Carissa Etienne, said in a statement.
And given the rapid growth of Omicron, that number is likely to increase quickly. In the United States, moreover, faced with the contagiousness of the new variant – already in the majority – residents are flocking to tests as the holidays approach. The lines are stretching out in front of the screening centers and some pharmacy chains or even the e-commerce giant Amazon have decided to ration purchases, for lack of sufficient stocks.
The Biden administration, which promises to distribute 500 million free tests but only from January, nevertheless denies having anticipated the situation badly. “No, I do not think it is a failure,” said Joe Biden in an interview broadcast this Wednesday evening on the ABC channel.
People tested and vaccinated invited to gather
The American president had previously reiterated that the country was “ready” to absorb a possible increase in hospitalizations, and estimated that vaccinated Americans should not “panic”. However, the health authorities recommended to avoid too many gatherings, and to privilege the festivities in small groups, between vaccinated people.
“If you are tested and if you know where you are in terms of vaccines”, there is “no reason why you should not get together with family and friends,” said, for his part, Joe. Biden on ABC.
Another source of optimism: the United States Medicines Agency (FDA) urgently authorized, this Wednesday, the pill against Covid-19 from the Pfizer laboratory. “This authorization provides a new tool to fight Covid-19 at a crucial time in the pandemic,” said an FDA official, Patrizia Cavazzoni, quoted in a press release.
The American president hastened to greet this “good news” which makes it possible to garnish “the medicine cabinet of the country”. The White House intends to procure 250,000 treatments from January, and 10 million in total.
This antiviral drug can be administered to high-risk patients aged 12 and over, specifies the FDA, which however emphasizes that vaccines remain the first line of defense against the pandemic.
Pfizer’s treatment, marketed as Paxlovid, consists of a combination of two pills taken twice a day for five days, upon diagnosis and within five days of onset of symptoms. It can reduce hospitalizations and deaths in at-risk people by 88% when taken within the first five days after symptom onset, according to clinical trials. Pfizer also announced that its antiviral treatment should remain effective against Omicron.
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