USA: Concern is growing over the Micron mutation

Covid-19 cases rise among Broadway actors, basketball season has been disrupted and US President Joe Biden has predicted “a winter of serious illness and death” for the unvaccinated: concern grows in the US as the of coronavirus.

Biden warned that this new and highly contagious strain is “here” and is going to “spread much faster” than any other variant of the coronavirus.

As of December 1, the number of new, daily cases in the US was 86,000 on average. By December 14, it had reached 117,000, an increase of about 35% in two weeks.

“The only real protection is to inject,” the US president said, predicting “a winter of serious illness and death” for those who have not been vaccinated against covid-19.

Vaccinated or not, winter is predicted to be bleak for Americans.

In New York, show cancellations are on the rise on Broadway due to covid-19 incidents between troupes.

The largest American universities have modified their operation by organizing online courses and examinations in order to prevent the spread of the disease.

The NFL, the national football federation of America, has enacted increased health measures, since about 100 cases between players have been identified since the beginning of the week.

The NBA also has problems postponing two Chicago Bulls games. In addition, last night, Thursday night, two players of the Los Angeles Lakers announced that they will not participate in today’s match due to the protocol for covid-19.

“Message to the Americans”

In the White House the change of tone is obvious.

Biden, who a few weeks ago urged Americans not to panic over the new executive, held a special meeting on the covid-19 pandemic yesterday, Thursday, to which he called on reporters to “send a direct message to Americans.”

And that was how it is “of utmost importance” for the immunized to receive their boosting dose and for the rest to rush to “take the first dose”.

Earlier, White House Deputy Chief of Mission Karin Jean-Pierre had hinted that the US government would not take any specific restrictive measures at this time and would focus on vaccination.

“The tools we have are working,” he said.

Biden, who was elected in part because of his promise to end the pandemic, unveiled a plan on December 2 to protect the United States from a spike in covid-19 outbreaks, illnesses and deaths. However, he seemed reluctant to take restrictive measures, knowing that the issue was particularly sensitive.

Reservations

Americans are tired of the pandemic, and hardline Republicans regularly oppose any attempt to make covid-19 vaccines or mask use mandatory.

Due to Omicron, the US has closed its borders to travelers from some African countries, but has not taken any further action and has not yet adopted any increased sanitation measures for domestic flights.

Moreover, the American president’s room for maneuver is limited, as evidenced by the many lawsuits against compulsory vaccination he wishes to impose on employees of federal agencies and large private companies.

Yesterday, Thursday, the US government asked the Supreme Court to annul the decisions of two lower courts, due to which the mandatory vaccination against covid-19 of the sanitary products promoted by Biden was frozen.

The US president’s mandate has been blocked in 24 states, which have filed lawsuits against her.

The United States is officially the country with the most deaths due to covid-19, while on Tuesday they exceeded the limit of 800,000 deaths from the disease, according to a report by Johns Hopkins University.

About 450,000 deaths, mostly unvaccinated, were recorded in 2021, despite the availability of free and effective covid-19 vaccines since the spring.