Teetering On Knife’s Edge Of Fourth Surge: How Do We Avoid It?

CNN: Another Covid-19 Surge Hangs In The Balance. This Is How Experts Say We Keep It From Becoming Reality
Even with slowed infection rates and increased vaccinations, officials say another devastating Covid-19 spike could be on the horizon depending on what the United States does next. "The question that hangs in the balance right now is, will we have a fourth surge?" the former director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Dr. Tom Frieden told CNN's Wolf Blitzer on Thursday. "Every uncontrolled spread increases the risk that there will be dangerous variants that can be more infectious, more deadly, or can escape from immune protection." (Holcombe, 2/26)

The New York Times: The Coronavirus Is Plotting A Comeback. Here’s Our Chance To Stop It For Good 
Across the United States, and the world, the coronavirus seems to be loosening its stranglehold. The deadly curve of cases, hospitalizations and deaths has yo-yoed before, but never has it plunged so steeply and so fast. Is this it, then? Is this the beginning of the end? After a year of being pummeled by grim statistics and scolded for wanting human contact, many Americans feel a long-promised deliverance is at hand. Americans will win against the virus and regain many aspects of their pre-pandemic lives, most scientists now believe. Of the 21 interviewed for this article, all were optimistic that the worst of the pandemic is past. This summer, they said, life may begin to seem normal again. (Mandavilli, 2/25)

In related news about the spread of covid in the military —

AP: 2 US Navy Warships In Mideast Affected By Coronavirus
Two U.S. Navy warships operating in the Mideast have been affected by the coronavirus, authorities said Friday, with one already at port in Bahrain and another heading to port now. A dozen troops aboard the USS San Diego, an amphibious transport dock, tested positive for COVID-19, said Cmdr. Rebecca Rebarich, a spokeswoman for the Bahrain-based 5th Fleet. The ship is at port in Bahrain. ... The second ship, the guided-missile cruiser USS Philippine Sea, has “several persons under investigation” for possible coronavirus infections, Rebarich said. The ship is expected to pull into port for further testing at a location she declined to name, citing “operational security.” (Gambrell, 2/26)

CIDRAP: Low COVID-19 Transmission Occurred In Air Force Trainees
A 7-week Air Force camp for more than 10,000 trainees had 143 cases (1.3%) after a 2-week quarantine, reports a JAMA Network Open study published today. The researchers write that cohorts, systematic testing, restricted access to public spaces, universal masking, physical distancing, and rapid isolation of COVID-19 cases helped contribute to this low prevalence. Within 48 hours of arrival at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, trainees were tested for COVID-19, and all were quarantined for 2 weeks, after which they had another test. If a trainee developed any COVID-19 symptom during the camp, they received a diagnostic test at the clinician's discretion. Anyone with a positive test, regardless of symptoms, was quarantined for 10 days and had to be free of fever for 24 hours without the use of anti-fever medications before rejoining the camp. (2/25)

Also —

CNBC: CDC Study Finds Nursing Home Residents Who Appear To Have Recovered From Covid Were Reinfected With An Even Worse Case
A new CDC study found that some elderly people who apparently recovered from the coronavirus later came down with a second, even worse case — indicating that asymptomatic or mild cases may not provide a lot of protection against becoming reinfected with Covid-19. The study, published Thursday in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, studied two separate outbreaks that occurred three months apart at a skilled nursing facility in Kentucky. Between mid-July and mid-August, 20 residents and five health-care personnel tested positive for the virus, according to the study. (Higgins-Dunn, 2/25)

ABC News: Do-It-Yourself COVID Treatments An Evolving Threat 
Since the beginning of the pandemic, toxicologists across the country have reported an uptick in poisonings as more people have begun trying at-home coronavirus remedies -- to both prevent catching the virus and to attempt to cure it. (Widmer, 2/26)

ABC News: Children Of Color Disproportionately Impacted By COVID-19, Data Reveals 
Since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, the nation's health inequalities have become even more glaring, with millions of Americans of color, Black and Latino in particular, experiencing more severe illness and death due to COVID-19, than white Americans. New data now reveals that the same racial and ethnic disparities which have affected adults throughout the pandemic, also extend to children of color. (Mitropoulos, 2/25)

ABC News: 'COVID's So Wicked': Families Confront Losing Multiple Loved Ones 
COVID-19 has killed more than 500,000 people in the United States -- an unimaginable toll that has had ripple effects across the country. But some families have endured that loss multiple times over, with the virus taking parents, children and siblings, often in quick succession. (Deliso, 2/25)

KHN: Learning To Live Again: A Lazarus Tale From The Covid Front Lines 
The twinkle in his eyes, the delight in his smile, the joyous way he moved his disease-withered frame. They all proclaimed a single, resounding message: Grateful to be alive! “As my care team and my family tell me, ‘You were born again. You have to learn to live again,’” said Vicente Perez Castro. “I went through a very difficult time.” Hell and back is more like it. (Wolfson, 2/26)