A fourth wave of COVID-19 is here with many states experiencing a drastic increase in infections. Here in Miami-Dade County, public health experts are seeing five times as many cases as they saw in early June. The highly contagious Delta variant is rapidly spreading and poses significant risks to unvaccinated and vaccinated people.
In an interview with CBS 4 , Dr. Mary Jo Trepka, infectious disease epidemiologist and chair of epidemiology at the Robert Stempel College of Public Health & Social Work, commented on the new surge, and shared what steps families could take to stay safe this summer.
Dr. Mary Jo Trepka is the chair of epidemiology at FIU’s Stempel College
On the rise in COVID-19 cases in Florida: “We’ve had a sharp increase in terms of the numbers of cases and also the percentage of people testing positive,” Dr. Trepka said. “We’ve seen an increase in hospitalizations, and we may end up seeing many more deaths, as well. Although it’s not as bad yet as it was last summer, we are certainly in a very bad situation.”
Why the rise in COVID-19 cases? “I think it’s because we don’t have high enough vaccination rates, particularly with people under the age of 65 and people who are in their 20s and 30s. We need to improve our vaccination rates. The Delta variant is making it more difficult. The problem with the Delta variant is that it is so much more contagious.”
The importance of getting vaccinated: “We have three highly effective and safe vaccines. We have the tools to control this pandemic – we just need to use them,” Dr. Trepka said. In the interview, Dr. Trepka urged parents to get their teens vaccinated.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 57% of Americans ages 12 and older are fully vaccinated. To learn more about the COVID-19 vaccine, go here .
How to keep children under 12 safe: “Do the best you can to protect your children until the vaccine is available for children under the age of 12. That means to be very careful in terms of having them wear masks at all times when they are in public settings. I would avoid crowded areas because there’s so much SARS-CoV-2 in the community right now,” she shared.
To watch the full clip and for more tips, go here .
For the latest information on COVID-19 cases in Miami-Dade County, visit the Miami COVID project’s website .