Houston, TX. – There are signs that the Houston area is heading in the right direction as hospitals report shorter wait times for beds for COVID and non-COVID patients.
A local doctor said while we are on the backside of the fourth wave, we should not let our guard down and should remain cautious.
“I would say we’re really not out of the woods until we see a very, very low incidence of disease in our community,” said Dr. James McDeavitt, Executive Vice President And Dean of Clinic Affairs at Baylor College of Medicine.
McDeavitt said ideally, we’d be looking at 50 or fewer cases per 100,000 people for seven days. He said right now across the greater Houston area, that number is 290.
Doctors said vaccines will continue to stem the spread in the U.S., and while they don’t foresee another major surge, as many viruses as there still is around the world, it will still replicate in areas where the percentage of unvaccinated people is high.
“We could have a resurgence even if vaccinated well because a different variant emerges from someplace else around the world. I think it’s unlikely to happen,” said McDeavitt.
McDeavitt added it will never be a matter of flipping a switch to make COVID disappear. He said it could be a year or more before it fades into the background and becomes something we manage each year like the flu.
“Where it becomes just one more risk we have to pay attention to,” McDeavitt said.
