Experts Urge Vigilance Over Spring Break – NBC 7 San Diego

Pfizer and Moderna, the makers of the two coronavirus vaccines approved in the United States, told Congress on Tuesday that they expect a jump in shot supplies within the next month. Executives insisted they will be able to provide enough vaccine for most Americans by summer.

Meanwhile, sporting arenas reopened in New York City for the first time in nearly a year. Barclays Center, home of the Brooklyn Nets, and Madison Square Garden, home of the New York Knicks, welcomed fans at 10% capacity Tuesday night, marking the first in a series of major reopening steps for New York this week.

The U.S. has reported more than 503,000 deaths and 28 million coronavirus cases since the start of the pandemic, according to a tally by NBC News.

Here are the latest coronavirus updates from the U.S. and elsewhere:

As Spring Break Approaches, Public Health Experts Urge Caution

The pandemic outlook in the U.S. continues to improve, with confirmed COVID-19 cases falling for the sixth consecutive week and deaths having declined for the past three weeks. But spring break is on the horizon, bringing with it a potential uptick in travel, which has public health experts concerned about the consequences if people don’t remain vigilant, NBC News reports.

Anxiety over spring break travel is rising after a particularly grim few months when case numbers, hospitalizations and deaths spiked dramatically after the end-of-year holiday season. And with several strains of the coronavirus circulating in the country — including some variants that are thought to be more transmissible — some experts worry that spring break getaways could threaten recent progress.

“Any event that involves increased travel and people relaxing preventative measures is a concern,” said Amber D’Souza, a professor of epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

D’Souza said patterns that have emerged over the past year demonstrate how much the trajectory of the pandemic is driven by behavioral changes. For example, as places experience severe outbreaks, people typically respond by staying home, practicing social distancing and wearing masks. But as the situation improves and restrictions are rolled back, many tend to become more lax, which can cause new outbreaks to surge.

“This is exactly what we saw after Thanksgiving and after Christmas,” she said. “It’s an ongoing cycle and an ongoing concern.”

Read the full story on NBCNews.com

Tracking COVID Vaccine Progress by State