The pandemic is not over: In a worrisome trend, COVID-19 cases are rising again in Mass. – The Boston Globe

With coronavirus cases nationally plateauing at a relatively high level, experts have warned of the possibility of a winter surge for multiple reasons, including people gathering indoors because of cooler weather, holdouts refusing to get vaccines, and immunity from the shots waning.

Coronavirus outbreaks in Massachusetts have recently made headlines, including one that forced the closure of Bostons Curley K-8 School and one that hit the Essex County jail in Middleton.

The latest numbers are a reminder that its not over till its over, said Dr. Howard Koh, a former assistant US secretary of health and human services and Massachusetts public health commissioner.

These state trends are disconcerting, but not surprising, as national declines in COVID cases have stalled in recent weeks. We need to be extra vigilant and careful as the winter season approaches. We must push the states vaccination rates even higher, resist suggestions to drop mask requirements too early and eliminate disparities, Koh, who is now a professor at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, said in an e-mail.

Dr. Sabrina Assoumou, an infectious disease physician at Boston Medical Center and an assistant professor at the Boston University School of Medicine, said, We definitely need to pay attention to the new numbers.

We sort of knew this was going to happen, as colder weather causes people to spend more time indoors which is when COVID tends to be transmitting more efficiently, she said.

We should use it as a warning sign to double down on those measures we know have worked, she said.

The best way we can address this, she said, is vaccinating as many people as possible so we can stop transmission in the community. Vaccination is still our best way out of this pandemic.

She said the recent authorization of COVID-19 vaccines for children 5 to 11, a cohort that numbers 515,000 in Massachusetts, would be a major help in combating the pandemic. We now have a new group of people who are eligible. Lets use that and lets vaccinate them. She said its also important to push up the number of teenagers 12 to 17 who have been vaccinated.

She also said, We need to decide whether this is a time to encourage more masking in indoor public spaces. Its probably time to think about that.

Other key measures to address the pandemic include improving ventilation and the use of rapid at-home testing, she said.

Society has tools to address the pandemic and these numbers are reminding us that we really need to use them as best we can, she said.

Were watching case numbers closely, as most northern states (like ours) are showing an increase. Much of this is due to cases rising rapidly in children, teens, and young adults, who both have lower rates of vaccination and are more likely to engage in activities that facilitate spread of the virus. This is especially true with colder weather bringing people indoors, said Dr. Paul Sax, clinical director of the Division of Infectious Diseases at Brigham and Womens Hospital.

I do think this is a real increase, and we always worry about the vulnerable populations when cases start going up, he said in an e-mail.

Massachusetts is a national leader in vaccinations and experts say that if cases rise here, the number of people who get severely ill and die will likely be lower than in other less-vaccinated places.

We are probably in one of the regions of the country which has the least cause for anxiety, said William Hanage, an epidemiology professor at Harvards Chan School.

But he said people should be sure to get their vaccinations and booster shots. The pandemic is not over. People should behave responsibly, he said.

He also warned, Its really important to note that the Delta variant will find you. Youre not going to be able to dodge Delta. What you want to do is make sure you have the best preparation.

Martin Finucane can be reached at martin.finucane@globe.com.

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The pandemic is not over: In a worrisome trend, COVID-19 cases are rising again in Mass. - The Boston Globe