DETROIT – Can we stop a spring surge of coronavirus in Michigan?
With cases taking a turn in the wrong direction, health officials are urging everyone to do their part.
It’s especially important as the effort to vaccinate adults picks up steam.
As more people are getting vaccinated, everyone is feeling a little more optimistic and perhaps a little less cautious, but feeling more positive won’t protect you.
If we keep giving COVID-19 an opportunity to spread, it will continue to spread, and in the case of the UK variant, it will spread more quickly.
Experts believe Michigan’s coronavirus cases are on the rise due to the more contagious UK variant, the loosening of state restrictions and more people taking fewer precautions.
About 1 million Michiganders are fully vaccinated, but that leaves everyone else at risk.
“It really is going to be a race between the vaccine and the potential surge,” said Dr. Anthony Fauci.
The nation’s top experts are urging everyone to prevent the virus from surging ahead of vaccinations.
“This is what happens when you plateau and start to inch up. History has shown us through three surges that we’ve had that that’s what happens,” Fauci said. “That’s the dynamics of the virus in the community. That it starts to go down, then it plateaus, it inches up and then you get a surge.”
Right now, the scales are tipped toward more spread. The state said to tip the scales back, we need more residents wearing masks, distancing, more activities moved outdoors, more vaccinations and widespread testing.
If you have a known exposure or show symptoms that could be from COVID, get tested and stay home to avoid infecting others.
Michigan is roughly three months from having every adult who wants to be vaccinated to be vaccinated. If we allow cases to continue to climb during that time, there will be more unnecessary deaths and long-term suffering.
We all have a responsibility to prevent that.