If you are not vaccinated against Covid-19, you shouldn’t go into a bar or restaurant, expert says

Madeline Holcombe
Less than half of the US population is fully vaccinated against Covid-19 — and with cases on the rise, experts are urging a return to precautions reminiscent of the earlier days of the pandemic.

“What I would say bluntly is: If you are not vaccinated right now in the United States, you should not go into a bar, you should probably not eat at a restaurant.

You are at great risk of becoming infected,” CNN medical analyst Dr. Jonathan Reiner, professor of medicine and surgery at George Washington University, told CNN’s Fredricka Whitfield.

In 48 states, the rate of new Covid-19 cases in the past week jumped by at least 10% compared to the previous week, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. In 34 of those states, the rate of new cases increased by more than 50%.

And with the highly transmissible Delta variant now the dominant strain, the US could see 200,000 new Covid-19 cases a day within the next six weeks, Dr. Tom Frieden, former director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said Monday.

The last time there were more then 200,000 new US cases in one day was in January, according to Johns Hopkins University data.

And hospitals are filling up with Covid-19 patients again, except now, patients are younger than before, said doctors in Alabama, Mississippi, Florida and Missouri.

Despite the encouragement of many officials and experts’ warnings that the best protection from the virus comes from vaccinations, only 49.1% of the US population is vaccinated, according to data from the CDC.

If a large swath of people remains resistant to vaccination, Reiner said, the US is left with two options to control the spread: shut down businesses — which few people want to do — or return to masks.

“The only way to get the unvaccinated to mask up is to mask everyone up,” Reiner said.

While masking, like vaccination, could come from mandates by state leaders, Vanderbilt University Medical Center professor of infectious diseases Dr. William Schaffner said he anticipates more success if the push to return to precautions comes from local officials and trusted community leaders.

And for those who say vaccination is a personal choice, Schaffner said, they are half right.

“This is a little like driving on the red light. Yes, that’s your decision, puts you in danger, but endangers others also,” Schaffner said.- CNN