Europe’s Covid spike has Biden officials concerned, could lead to return of masks

The US has experienced Covid waves similar to those in Europe in the past two years.

Anthony Fauci, President Joe Biden's chief medical officer, said that there are always differences. We have to monitor it very carefully.

In recent days, officials from the White House Covid-19 task force and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have met to game out how the administration will respond if cases begin to rise. The group has discussed the possibility of recommending communities reinstitute mask mandates indoors and how to ensure hospitals across the country are prepared for a potential spike in patients seeking care. The fourth Covid-19 shot has been debated by officials.

Pfizer asked the FDA to grant emergency use authorization for a fourth dose of Covid-19 vaccine for people 65 and older because of fears of waning immunity.

White House officials warned that they could soon run out of money to purchase life-saving drugs or provide free treatments to patients, despite the fact that more than 15 billion in Covid-19 funding is stuck in Congress.

That shortfall could affect efforts both domestically and around the world, as well as hamper the distribution of tests and masks just as cases begin to spike in the U.S.

There is a long list of things that would really help to combat this imminent BA.2 wave and then the next one. The music isn't pretty and we have to face it.

During a call with prominent public health leaders and doctors this week, the administration warned of what could be lost if congressional funding does not come through. The CDC's recent guidance that most Americans can remove their masks detracted from the administration's efforts to convince Congress and the public that Covid-19 remained a threat.

The administration officials were pushed on the call to consider changing their messaging because of the spread of BA.2.

The White House did not comment for this story, and referred reporters to comments made by Jen Psaki earlier this week about the possibility that BA.2 could continue to spread in the country, causing an increase in cases.

Two officials familiar with the discussions say that Biden has reached out to health leaders in Europe to inquire about the level of spread of the subvariant and how hospitals are handling the influx of patients.

The administration believes that the surge in the United Kingdom is due to a number of factors, including decreased immunity among the vaccine recipients, the transmissibility of Omicron and the subvariant, and the easing of public health restrictions such as indoor mask mandates. The U.S. has many of those factors.

There is immunity waning and all of this is happening. CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said during a panel discussion that they relaxed many of their strategies.

China's reliance on its own vaccine and zero- Covid policies means spikes there may not offer the same clues as to what might happen here. U.S. officials have more information about what is happening in Europe. European data sharing and scientific analysis has helped bolster the U.S. response over the last two years, while its communication with China is more limited.

The administration is not currently seeing an increase in the severity of disease in the country despite the recent increase in the BA.2 subvariant.

Walensky said during Thursday's panel that she expects the U.S. to see more and more.

She said that it may become the main variant in the weeks ahead.

If a Covid-19 wave similar to that currently moving through Europe were to hit the U.S., it is possible that the CDC would recommend Americans wear masks indoors where community transmission levels are high, Fauci said.

The transmissibility of this virus is profound. How much will be a blip in cases? Fauci wondered if the cases would translate into a significant amount of disease. People have forgotten that.