This story was originally published by the WND News Center
(WND News Center) – Amid the midterm election primaries and a push for another $22.5 billion in emergency aid to pay for a fourth round of COVID shots, as well as treatments and tests, top Biden administration officials warned Wednesday that one-third of Americans live in communities experiencing rising levels of coronavirus cases and hospitalizations.
The officials, urging people to resume personal protection measures such as masks, said there are nearly 100,000 new infections a day ahead of the Memorial Day weekend of large gatherings and travel, the Washington Post reported.
“As we’re currently seeing a steady rise of cases in parts of the country, we encourage everyone to use the menu of tools we have today to prevent further infection and severe disease, including wearing a mask, getting tested, accessing treatments early if infected and getting vaccinated or boosted,” declared CDC Director Rochelle Walensky.
The fall season, in which the midterm elections will take place, could see up to 100 million new COVID infections the White House previously warned.
However, in December, epidemiologists and medical scientists such as Dr. Peter McCullough and Dr. Robert Malone said the highly contagious yet mild omicron variant could serve as a natural vaccine that could help shift the pandemic to endemic status.
Walensky has also acknowledged that 95% of Americans have protection due to vaccination and natural immunity. Further the 100 million figure cited by the administration is based on models, which haven’t proved to be reliable over the pandemic’s two and a half years.
Earlier this month, more than 17,000 physicians and medical scientists from around the world signed a declaration calling on nations to lift health emergency declarations, restore scientific integrity and address “crimes against humanity.”
“We declare the state of national emergency, which facilitates corruption and extends the pandemic, should be immediately terminated,” wrote the signatories.
They also argued masks “have never been effective protection against an airborne respiratory virus in the community setting” and called for funding and research to address “vaccination damage, death and suffering.”
Supporting the signatories’ letter, an Axios/Ipsos Coronavirus Index in April found that fewer than one in 10 Americans now describe COVID-19 as a crisis.
Axios said the findings indicate “the public’s growing desire to be done with mask mandates and other restrictions,” raising “significant challenges for public health officials in managing new surges, and could create real political headwinds ahead of the midterms.”
The survey found that Democrats were five times as likely as Republicans to say COVID-19 is a crisis, 16% to 3%.
Meanwhile, Republicans were 10 times as likely as Democrats to say COVID-19 is not a problem, in a ratio of 31% to 3%.
Reprinted with permission from the WND News Center