A Very Dark Pandemic Winter Is Nigh
A deluge of Covid-19 hospitalizations is a warning that a surge in deaths is coming
Were exasperation levels among health experts plotted alongside surging Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations, the curve would be off the charts this week. After months of arguing for relatively straightforward infection prevention measures like indoor crowd limits, physical distancing, and masks for all, and being ignored by the White House and many governors, the exact scenario they predicted and feared is playing out across America.
Frustrations are boiling over on Twitter just as the reality of what’s ahead — another surge in deaths amid an out-of-control pandemic—comes into focus.
“It is very difficult to watch our case counts soar, with few meaningful efforts to turn things around,” says Caitlin Rivers, PhD, an epidemiologist at Johns Hopkins University. “Rising hospitalizations keeps me up at night. The pandemic will accelerate until we slow it down.”
“Honestly, I don’t even know what to say anymore,” tweeted epidemiologist Saskia Popescu, PhD, an assistant professor at George Mason University, upon sharing the latest chart above.
Hospitalizations in the United States have soared above 50,000, deaths are on the rise again, and a record…
