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In the absence of lockdowns, Gandhi said a ramp-up in testing would also be a crucial part of the pandemic control equation. That’s in addition to keeping up proven mitigation strategies such as physical distancing, masking, and hygiene practices, especially as cases ramp again. “Keeping up with routine vaccinations is crucial to help prevent the spread of infectious disease, especially as we enter a particularly dangerous period with COVID-19 colliding with the cold and flu season,” Bansal said. That mandate is now being debated in the courts. The Biden administration has proposed that workers at businesses with 100 or more employees get vaccinated - a move that covers 100 million U.S. With lockdowns likely off the table, experts say the United States should instead focus on improving its vaccination rates and encouraging people to get vaccine boosters. In contrast, other states actively banned some of those same mitigation strategies. Some imposed multiple lockdowns, mask mandates, and other restrictions. Pandemic mitigation in the United States to date has taken a patchwork approach, with states at times taking different approaches to contain COVID-19. “So, even if the federal government wanted to take the hit for imposing unpopular restrictions, it couldn’t really do so in any meaningful way.” “Moreover, the federal government isn’t able to do much in the way of restrictions given our federalist system that largely empowers states to dictate policies that directly impact the health of their population,” Creel added. “COVID fatigue is simply too deeply entrenched in the population at this point, such that the blowback politicians would face for trying to tighten things back up would be career-ending in scope.” Creel, PhD, a political scientist and assistant professor of business law at Georgia College and State University, told Healthline. “The political will to do so just isn’t there,” Nicholas B.
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“Though the orders do vary, restrictions are surging in multiple spots as cases spike nationwide.”īut what form those restrictions take remains to be seen and likely won’t include strict measures. Bansal, FACP, a fellow of the American College of Preventive Medicine, told Healthline. “We are already seeing changes in restrictions across the country,” Dr. Parents and concerned citizens in Michigan and New York have begun calls for renewed COVID-19 restrictions as cases have started to surge again in recent weeks. Instead, changes will likely come at the state, county, or city level. “With the exception of Sweden, which did not implement any lockdowns, most European countries imposed strict national lockdowns, especially at the beginning of the pandemic.” Manoj Gandhi, a senior medical director of symptomatic testing solutions at Thermo Fisher Scientific, told Healthline. “As compared to most European countries who have addressed lockdown/mitigation strategies at the national level, the United States has left these decisions to the discretion of state or local public health agencies,” Dr.
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Anthony Fauci, the top infectious disease expert in the United States, recently warned of a potential “dangerous” winter spike.īut even if that happens, most experts agree that full lockdowns aren’t likely to return to the United States. Meanwhile, Germany is also looking at tighter restrictions, as is Portugal.ĭr. COVID-19 cases are on the rise in many parts of Europe and some countries are already imposing new lockdown measures, while others warn that new restrictions may be on the horizon.Īustria, one of the least vaccinated countries in Europe, entered a 10-day lockdown of all nonessential businesses on Monday and will make vaccinations compulsory starting Feb.
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