Coronavirus: US faces worst health crisis in its history: CDC director

In a sobering prediction, CDC director Robert Redfield said total deaths in the US could jump to 450,000 by February.

The United States faces the most difficult public health crisis in its history in the coming months as the coronavirus surges uncontrolled across the nation, America’s top health expert has warned.

In a stunning and sobering prediction, Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said total deaths in the US could jump from 273,000 to 450,000 by February.

“The reality is, December and January and February are going to be rough times,” Dr Redfield said. “I actually believe they’re going to be the most difficult time in the public health history of this nation.”

“We’re in that range potentially now, starting to see 1,500 to 2,000 to 2,500 deaths a day from this virus,” he said. “The mortality concerns are real, and I do think, unfortunately, before we see February, we could be close to 450,000 Americans” dead from the virus.

Dr Redfield said such a death toll was not a given and would depend on whether Americans stepped up to take greater precautions in the months ahead.

“It’s not a fait accompli,” he said. “We’re not defenceless. The truth is that mitigation works. But it’s not going to work if half of us do what we need to do. Probably not even if three-quarters do.”

The US is firmly in the grip of an unprecedented surge in new coronavirus infections which are now averaging around a record 170,000 a day. Picture: AFP.

He spoke with the US firmly in the grip of an unprecedented surge in new coronavirus infections which are now averaging around a record 170,000 a day – four times the level of one month ago.There were 2760 deaths on Wednesday, the highest daily toll ever.

The surge comes as the country is caught in an intractable political and social bind in dealing with the virus.

At a social level, coronavirus fatigue is rife, with tens of millions of Americans choosing to travel over last weekend’s Thanksgiving holiday despite warnings and the growing risks.

Most Americans are also opposed to strict lockdowns to combat the virus with even the wearing of face-masks still dividing much of the population.

At a political level, the president Donald Trump has all but abdicated leadership on the virus, refusing to initiate steps to stem its spread and choosing only to spruik the coming vaccines.

The president-elect Joe Biden has given speeches imploring Americans to wear masks, socially distance and modify their behaviour until a vaccine becomes available. But until he takes office in January he is not in a position to implement what he says will be stronger federal leadership in tackling the pandemic.

Dr Redfield says he feared that the combination of the Thanksgiving holiday and the upcoming Christmas holiday season at a time of cold weather would only fuel the pandemic further.

He said the debate over wearing masks had contributed to the crisis despite the clear scientific evidence that masks reduced the spread of the virus.

“When you really want to get everybody on board, you’ve got to have clear, unified, reinforced messaging,” Dr Redfield said. “The fact that we were still arguing in the summer about whether masks work,’’ he said, “was a problem.”

“The time for debating whether or not masks work or not is over (even though) we clearly have scientific evidence.”

The Trump administration is pressuring the FDA to approve a vaccine co-developed by US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer after the UK became the first country to approve it this week.

The US is expected to approve the vaccine and begin vaccinations later this month (December) with health workers and aged people in nursing homes being the first recipients.

As greater quantities of vaccines become available early next year the general population will begin to be vaccinated, although the specific criteria for that is yet to be decided.

Young and middle aged Americans without underlying conditions are not expected to receive the vaccine until mid-2021.

(Cameron Stewart is also US Contributor for Sky News Australia)