Unvaccinated people, not arriving migrants, driving rise of COVID infections in US, health experts say

PHOENIX (AP) – As the Delta variant leads to a surge in COVID-19 cases in the US, some critics of President Joe Biden blame the surge in his border policies that allow some migrants to enter the country for asylum to apply.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis last week accused Biden of “helping spread the coronavirus”. Fox News host Sean Hannity pointed to migrants who caused “the biggest super-spreader event” and falsely claimed that none had been tested.

But public health experts say incoming migrants are not fueling rising infections in the US. The main culprits are people who refuse to get vaccinated. Additionally, migrants who are allowed to enter are typically tested for COVID-19 and, if tested positive, are quarantined in hotel rooms, although federal agencies have not provided data on such cases.

What is happening today Receive your daily news with the FOX8 newsletter.

WHAT HAPPENS IF MIGRANTS ARE STOPPED AT THE BORDER?

It varies, but most single adults are turned away, while unaccompanied children and some families are admitted to apply for asylum. This practice is in line with the Biden administration’s continued use of Title 42, a health rule passed by the Trump administration at the start of the pandemic.

In June, the last month with numbers available, Customs and Border Protection stopped single adults 117,602 times, resulting in 96,704 deportations, or 82% of the total. Families were stopped at the border 55,805 times in June, with only 8,070 evictions, or 15%. (Since some people try to cross more than once, these numbers refer to stops, not individuals).

Families who are allowed to travel to the United States to apply for asylum will be given appointments for an immigration court or an appointment with the immigration service. After being dropped off in border communities, families usually travel to meet up with relatives, friends, or supporters.

Children who arrive without parents are exempt from deportation. They are typically held in shelters for less than a month until they can be released to relatives or transferred to licensed shelters.

NEXT → Did the Delta variant make COVID-19 herd immunity impossible?

ARE MIGRANTS THAT ARE NOT EXPORTING TESTED FOR COVID-19?

Generally yes. CBP, the agency that detains migrants first, says they will be given masks and referred to local health care providers to be tested and treated if they have symptoms.

From there, the test protocols can vary depending on the federal agency involved. Most single adults and some families are being transferred to Immigration and Customs detention, where they will take all COVID-19 tests.

All newcomers are separated from the general population for 14 days and isolated if the test is positive. Unaccompanied children are also tested before they are moved to ministry ministries’ facilities, and then given ongoing testing.

Some migrant families are discharged directly from CBP facilities in border communities, and here the government information is less clear. The government says it is working with local partners and “appropriate agencies” to test this population and quarantine those infected, but it has not clarified whether this is happening across the board. Often times, local governments or nonprofits will arrange tests and send those who test positive to hotels.

More US cities that need proof of vaccination to visit places

HOW MANY MIGRANTS TEST POSITIVE FOR COVID-19?

The federal government has not disclosed this data, but in Texas’ Rio Grande Valley – the busiest section of the border for illegal crossings – local officials recently released their own data.

On August 4, local officials in McAllen, Texas announced that of the nearly 88,000 migrants released by CBP in the city since mid-February, more than 7,000 had tested positive for COVID-19, a positivity rate of more than 8 is equivalent to %. Catholic charities in the Rio Grande Valley arranged hotel rooms for those infected. Positive tests have become more common in the past few weeks, exceeding 16% – a rate that, according to district officials, is similar to the local population.

Why some doctors and nurses warn of “compassion fatigue” in the COVID-19 crisis

WHAT PUBLIC HEALTH OFFICERS SAY WILL THE INCREASE IN CASES LEAD IN THE US?

The key factors behind the recent surge in COVID-19 cases, according to public health experts, are people in U.S. communities who are not vaccinated and who do not follow the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention instructions regarding the highly contagious Delta variant.

At a press conference last week, Dr. Ivan Melendez, who serves as the local health department in Hidalgo County, Texas, said incoming migrants were “part of the problem,” but also said they pose no greater danger than he does. “I was in seven COVID units today.”

He said migrants were not responsible for introducing the virus, nor did they have higher rates of infection compared to the general population.

“Is it a migrant pandemic? No, it’s a pandemic of the unvaccinated, ”Melendez said.

The number of incoming migrants is far too few to drive the huge increase in cases in the United States, said Dr. Joseph McCormick, a doctor and former CDC epidemiologist who now works on the Brownsville campus of the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston School of Public Health.

“Given what we’re seeing across the country now, it just doesn’t work to attribute this to migrants,” McCormick said. In addition, experts say, the Delta variant, which was first identified in India, began circulating in the US before it was in Mexico or other parts of Latin America, where most of the migrants arrive.

“So the claim that migrants coming from the southern border brought the Delta into the US is baseless rhetoric,” Max Hadler, senior policy director at Physicians for Human Rights, said in a statement. “Prices are rising everywhere, in every state in the country. It’s not a border or migrant problem, it’s a national problem. “

For those who escape the border patrol and enter the United States undetected, there is no reason to believe they would have a higher rate of COVID-19 infection, McCormick said.

Outdoor concerts and events can still be risky as the Delta variant continues to spread, health experts say

HOW DO BORDER COMMUNITIES TREAT MIGRANTS, HOW THE DELTA VARIANT SPREADS?

In many locations along the border, local governments and nonprofits have a long history of providing food, clothing and travel arrangements for migrants emerging from federal custody. Local officials say the Delta variant poses another challenge.

McAllen officials worked with Hidalgo County last week to build a tent city to quarantine migrants who tested positive for COVID-19 and their family members. In other Texas cities, local leaders have expressed frustration with the governor’s approach to the pandemic, which has included blocking local governments from passing masked mandates.

Brownsville, Texas, launched a vaccination program for incoming migrants about a month ago and has given syringes to more than 860 migrants to date. Similar efforts are being made in other communities that are hosting migrants, including El Paso and Phoenix.

“Shocked and Horrified”: Doctors in NC are alarmed about the severity of COVID-19 in pregnant women

SHOULD THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT OFFER MIGRANT VACCINATIONS?

The DHS denied recent media reports that federal officials were preparing to offer vaccines to migrants after they were arrested at the border. However, ICE has started vaccinating detained immigrants. The government has also started vaccinating unaccompanied children ages 12 and over with the Pfizer vaccine.

Shut down

Suggest a correction

Suggest a correction