It is now predictable that the South will see jumps in the summer and the northern states will see jumps in the winter – especially around the holidays, Birks said.
Birks said he was closely following data from South Africa, where new Covid-19 cases had recently risen.
“Each of these jumps has an interval of about four to six months. This tells me that natural immunity is declining enough in the general population in four to six months – that a significant jump will happen again, “Birks told Face the Nation. ”
“This is what we need to be prepared for in this country. We need to prepare right now for a potential jump in the summer in the southern states, because we saw it in 2020 and we saw it in 2021.”
Public health officials need to make it clear to the public that protection against infection is declining over time and precautions must be taken with vulnerable or compromised people, Birks said.
She said Covid-19 home test kits and boosters are critical tools to help Americans cope with jumping.
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