In a May 29 ABC News report on projected mortality rates in the coming months, Wafaa El-Sadr, MD, MPH, MPA, director of ICAP at Columbia University and professor of epidemiology at Columbia University, said that “it is without a doubt that unfortunately more Americans will die through the Summer” from COVID-19. “It is inevitable that we will continue to see new infections with deaths amongst the most vulnerable populations, the elderly, the poor, African Americans, Latinx, those with other serious conditions,” she added.

“It is very difficult to make projections that far in advance, particularly as the U.S. is now going through a moment of high uncertainty in terms of the trajectory of the epidemic,” El-Sadr told ABC News. “The next few weeks will be critical as more and more communities and states are easing mitigation measures and opening up businesses and activities. What happens next is dependent on what we are doing today in terms of easing of restrictions as well as our willingness to put back restrictions in the event that we see a blip in the number of cases. Right now is a critical time point. What we see in the next few weeks will be critical and how we act and react in the next few weeks will be equally critical.”

Read the full article on ABCNews.com

Read the latest ICAP updates on COVID-19 here