Page 18 - HOH

Infiniti
by Chef Irvin Croes
Wednesday
January 19, 2022
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A r u b a ’ s O N L Y E n g l i s h n e w s p a p e r
Aruba’s ONLY English newspaper
US faces wave of omicron deaths in coming weeks, models say

By CARLA K. JOHNSON cases still soaring in many
AP Medical Writer states, means many vulner-
The fast-moving omicron able people will become
variant may cause less se- severely sick. If the higher
vere disease on average, end of projections comes
but COVID-19 deaths in to pass, that would push
the U.S. are climbing and total U.S. deaths from COV-
modelers forecast 50,000 ID-19 over 1 million by early
to 300,000 more Ameri- spring.
cans could die by the time "A lot of people are still go-
the wave subsides in mid- ing to die because of how
March. transmissible omicron has
The seven-day rolling aver- been," said University of
age for daily new COVID-19 South Florida epidemiolo-
deaths in the U.S. has been gist Jason Salemi. "It unfor-
trending upward since tunately is going to get
mid-November, reaching worse before it gets better."
nearly 1,700 on Jan. 17 — Morgues are starting to
still below the peak of 3,300 run out of space in John-
in January 2021. COVID-19 son County, Kansas, said
deaths among nursing Dr. Sanmi Areola, director
home residents started ris- of the health department.
ing slightly two weeks ago, More than 30 residents
although still at a rate 10 have died in the county of it — that a small percent- sick," said Katriona Shea States will crest in late Janu-
times less than last year this year, the vast majority age of a very high number of Pennsylvania State Uni- ary or early February, Shea
before most residents were of them unvaccinated. of infections can yield a versity, who co-leads a said. In early February,
vaccinated. But the notion that a gen- very high number of deaths team that pulls together weekly deaths could equal
Despite signs omicron caus- erally less severe variant — is difficult to visualize. several pandemic models or exceed the delta peak,
es milder disease on aver- could still take the lives of "Overall, you're going to and shares the combined and possibly even surpass
age, the unprecedented thousands of people has see more sick people even projections with the White the previous U.S. peak in
level of infection spreading been difficult for health ex- if you as an individual have House. The wave of deaths deaths last year.
through the country, with perts to convey. The math a lower chance of being heading for the United Continued on next page