GREENSBORO, N.C. — COVID-19 cases are creeping up in spots across the nation. On Monday, the CDC's director Rochelle Walensky went off script, to deliver a warning.
"I'm going to reflect on the recurring feeling I have of impending doom," she said, "We have so much to look forward to - so much promise and potential of where we are, and so much reason for hope. But right now I'm scared."
Loosened restrictions, losing the mask, more travel, and even the increase in COVID-19 variants play a role in what could be the fourth nationwide spike in coronavirus cases.
"I so badly want to be done. I know you all so badly want to be done. We are almost there - but not quite yet," Dr. Walensky said.
Local health experts, like Cone Health's chief pharmacy officer DeAnne Brooks say, another wave is possible.
"Absolutely we could have another wave coming, which is why it is so important to continue those three Ws we talk about all the time," she said, "As more things are opening up and those numbers are going down, if we do not have the vigilance that we have had, we will absolutely have another surge in case."
The first COVID-19 spike happened right as the pandemic started last March. Shutdowns and new protocols were a way to stop the spread and flatten the curve. Though it was different for everyone - a second surge occurred over the summer as restrictions loosened for the first time. The third spike had the highest number of COVID-19 cases, around and after the winter holidays.
As shots go into arms and people feel more free to live their lives, Brooks says it's crucial to keep in mind vigilance and variants.
"The variants that are out there spread more easily than the original COVID-19 virus, so that is absolutely a possibility," she said.
"We can change this trajectory of the pandemic but it will take all of us recommitting to following the public health prevention strategies consistently while we work to get the American public vaccinated," Walensky said.
