New cases prompt heightened warnings

CDC director fears "impending doom" as cases jump 10%, deaths up 3% in past week; President urges continued mask mandates and other public health measures, calling the situation "deadly serious."

Half of the states report increasing COVID-19 numbers, and the 7-day rolling average is up 10% in the past week and 15% in the past two weeks, prompting dire warnings from federal and other health experts. Hospitalizations and deaths are increasing now, too.

CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said Monday, “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.” The president issued a “plea” to states to reinstate or maintain mask mandates and other precautions.

• The CDC published an update showing data that the Pfizer and Moderna mRNA COVID vaccines are 90% effective at preventing infection, based on “real world” use.

• The CDC also updated its list of underlying conditions that heighten COVID-19 risk to include substance abuse.

And other news:

• A paper published by JAMA Psychiatry documents brain and other neurological damage found in COVID-19 patients.

• Lots of noteworthy tidbits in CNN’s report that included interviews with several of the top Trump administration COVID-19 experts. Former COVID task force coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx said more than 400,000 of the USA’s deaths could have been prevented if the president had taken COVID-19 more seriously, and former CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield said his “opinion” was that the virus emerged from a Wuhan laboratory, perhaps via an accidental infection of a lab worker.

• The WHO report on the origins of COVID-19 will not give a conclusion on the origins of COVID-19 but that a “lab leak” was unlikely.

Let’s try not to catch the Fourth Wave. Please stay safe, everyone.