Public health experts say Americans are growing complacent

The number of vaccines will mostly be distributed according to the number of cases in the United States sometime this week.

According to public health experts, the number of Americans getting tested for coronavirus has dropped significantly since January, possibly because Americans are growing satisfied as the second year of COVID-19 marches on, and millions get vaccinated every week.  

Testing remains mandatory to control COVID-19, along with wearing masks, social distancing, avoiding crowded indoor places, and hand hygiene. Though officials believe vaccines will offer protection, some warn the nation might be letting its guard down before enough Americans are protected from the virus.

“A lot of people are just kind of done with the pandemic,” said Mary Hayden, professor of internal medicine and pathology at Rush Medical College in Chicago.

Trends indicate that variants around the U.S. are rising. The country has doubled its known total of such coronavirus infections since Feb. 18. And many states witnessed a rise in case levels rise over the past week after a month of plateaus. 

The U.S. added a record 380 new coronavirus variant cases on Sunday, a trend that has seen the country double its known total of such coronavirus infections since Feb. 18 continues. Though the pace of new infections has generally been falling nationwide, different versions of the virus that causes COVID-19 are spreading quickly.

The variants can spread more easily, escape some treatments and immunities or both, leaving them a threat even as more Americans get vaccinated. According to Johns Hopkins University data, the U.S. has over 28.9 million confirmed coronavirus cases and nearly 525,000 deaths. According to the CDC, more than 116.3 million vaccine doses have been distributed in the U.S. and 90.3 million have been administered.

People who are homeless will be eligible for COVID-19 vaccines in Michigan starting Monday. This news comes as infection rates have reduced and vaccine campaigns are ramping up.