SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Director for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Rochelle Walensky, testifies during a Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee hearing on the federal coronavirus response on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. on March 18, 2021. (Photo: Susan Walsh/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)
CDC Director Warns of 'Impending Doom' as Covid Cases Rise Across US
"We have so much to look forward to, so much promise and potential of where we are and so much reason for hope, but right now I'm scared."
Mar 29, 2021
Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said during a pandemic task force briefing Monday that she feels a sense of "impending doom" as she watches Covid-19 cases rise across the country in the wake of state leaders' premature moves to relax or completely lift coronavirus-related restrictions.
"We have so much to look forward to, so much promise and potential of where we are and so much reason for hope, but right now I'm scared," said Walensky, who warned that the current case trajectory threatens to derail encouraging progress in the ongoing vaccine rollout. While vaccinations are trending in the right direction, just 20% of the adult population of the U.S. is fully inoculated, according to CDC figures.
"I'm speaking today not necessarily as your CDC director and not only as your CDC director, but as a wife, as a mother, as a daughter, to ask you to just please hold on a little while longer," Walensky added, an emotional plea that came as states across the nation--from Arizona to Iowa to Montana--rush ahead with reopening plans despite dire warnings from public health officials.
Watch:
Walensky's remarks came as new data from Johns Hopkins University showed that U.S. is currently averaging more than 63,000 new coronavirus cases each day, up 16% from a week ago. Around 970 people are dying from the virus each day as the nation closes in on 550,000 total deaths, according to the data.
In an interview on Sunday, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert, attributed the rising infection numbers to "things like spring break and pulling back on the mitigation methods that you've seen."
During Monday's briefing, Fauci said that "we can win this by just hanging in there a bit longer," echoing Walensky's call for continued mask wearing and social distancing.
"Hang in there, as Dr. Walensky said," Fauci added. "We really need to hold on to the public health measures as we get more and more people--from two to three-plus million people--vaccinated every day."
We are at a crossroads
This country and this world are at a monumental crossroads. US voters have an opportunity to beat back the forces of fascism and confront the billionaires who are rigging the economy, our media system, and our democracy, making it increasingly impossible for ordinary people to get by. We’re not just talking about the election. We’re talking about what must be done once these fascist elements are vanquished from power. We need a bolder set of solutions than what either major party has so far been willing to offer and a working-class movement ready to fight like hell for it. Trump didn't emerge from nowhere. The conditions that fueled MAGA authoritarianism were created by decades of radical neoliberal economic policies and a corrupt political system dominated by corporate interests. They slashed taxes on the super-rich, promising that the benefits would trickle down. They said giveaways to the corporate titans would make life more affordable for the rest of us. It was all bullshit. And when a bitter, betrayed populace searches for someone to blame, right-wing demagogues have little trouble finding scapegoats. People know when they're being lied to, but you won't hear any of this from the corporate media. Only independent journalism—powered and funded by people who believe in building a better world—can deliver truly trustworthy daily news. If you share our vision, please contribute whatever you can to sustain our work. |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said during a pandemic task force briefing Monday that she feels a sense of "impending doom" as she watches Covid-19 cases rise across the country in the wake of state leaders' premature moves to relax or completely lift coronavirus-related restrictions.
"We have so much to look forward to, so much promise and potential of where we are and so much reason for hope, but right now I'm scared," said Walensky, who warned that the current case trajectory threatens to derail encouraging progress in the ongoing vaccine rollout. While vaccinations are trending in the right direction, just 20% of the adult population of the U.S. is fully inoculated, according to CDC figures.
"I'm speaking today not necessarily as your CDC director and not only as your CDC director, but as a wife, as a mother, as a daughter, to ask you to just please hold on a little while longer," Walensky added, an emotional plea that came as states across the nation--from Arizona to Iowa to Montana--rush ahead with reopening plans despite dire warnings from public health officials.
Watch:
Walensky's remarks came as new data from Johns Hopkins University showed that U.S. is currently averaging more than 63,000 new coronavirus cases each day, up 16% from a week ago. Around 970 people are dying from the virus each day as the nation closes in on 550,000 total deaths, according to the data.
In an interview on Sunday, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert, attributed the rising infection numbers to "things like spring break and pulling back on the mitigation methods that you've seen."
During Monday's briefing, Fauci said that "we can win this by just hanging in there a bit longer," echoing Walensky's call for continued mask wearing and social distancing.
"Hang in there, as Dr. Walensky said," Fauci added. "We really need to hold on to the public health measures as we get more and more people--from two to three-plus million people--vaccinated every day."
Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said during a pandemic task force briefing Monday that she feels a sense of "impending doom" as she watches Covid-19 cases rise across the country in the wake of state leaders' premature moves to relax or completely lift coronavirus-related restrictions.
"We have so much to look forward to, so much promise and potential of where we are and so much reason for hope, but right now I'm scared," said Walensky, who warned that the current case trajectory threatens to derail encouraging progress in the ongoing vaccine rollout. While vaccinations are trending in the right direction, just 20% of the adult population of the U.S. is fully inoculated, according to CDC figures.
"I'm speaking today not necessarily as your CDC director and not only as your CDC director, but as a wife, as a mother, as a daughter, to ask you to just please hold on a little while longer," Walensky added, an emotional plea that came as states across the nation--from Arizona to Iowa to Montana--rush ahead with reopening plans despite dire warnings from public health officials.
Watch:
Walensky's remarks came as new data from Johns Hopkins University showed that U.S. is currently averaging more than 63,000 new coronavirus cases each day, up 16% from a week ago. Around 970 people are dying from the virus each day as the nation closes in on 550,000 total deaths, according to the data.
In an interview on Sunday, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert, attributed the rising infection numbers to "things like spring break and pulling back on the mitigation methods that you've seen."
During Monday's briefing, Fauci said that "we can win this by just hanging in there a bit longer," echoing Walensky's call for continued mask wearing and social distancing.
"Hang in there, as Dr. Walensky said," Fauci added. "We really need to hold on to the public health measures as we get more and more people--from two to three-plus million people--vaccinated every day."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.
To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good.
News & Opinion
Trending
Common Dreams, Inc. Founded 1997. Registered 501(c3) Non-Profit
Privacy Policy