The end is near, for some anyway, as the new pandemic data looks promising
CNNCNN — While the pandemic is not over, experts say the US may be in for, at the very least, a “near normal” spring and summer, based on new US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data. According to the CDC’s updated data on Covid-19 community levels, the number of counties with “high” Covid-19 levels dropped from about 1,200 on February 24 to 472 on March 3. “But,” and having lived through the pandemic the last couple of years, you knew there would be a “but.” “I think it’s really important to state that when people look at community transmission levels as being low, that does not mean that it’s zero,” Madad said. “You know whether it’s monoclonal antibodies or medication, if you think you’re sick, you still need to get tested right away,” said Dr. Claudia Hoyen, the director of pediatric infection control at UH Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital in Cleveland. “It’s also important to remember that there are still people who are vulnerable to severe disease.” Still, 45% of the US population is unvaccinated, according to the CDC, and about 3% of the population– around 9 million people –are immunocompromised and vulnerable to severe disease, regardless of where they live.