Health officials warning people to keep their guard up to not allow another COVID-19 surge

DALLAS - The White House shared positive news in the battle against COVID-19 on Friday.

However, doctors on the national and local level are urging people to not let their guard down too much as cases ease up.

In North Texas, there has been a recent decline in adult and pediatric cases. This came after vaccination rates went up as people saw the surge of the delta variant. Doctors now want to keep that rate up and put the worst of the virus behind us.

Friday was a dreary day at Neighborhood Medical Center’s testing site in North Dallas, but it was still busy.

"We’re still seeing over 200 a day, so it’s still pretty robust in the testing department," Dr. Martin Mcelya said.

But there’s hope.

The numbers are down from where they were in August when Dr. Mcelya said they were seeing around 400 a day. They were seeing around 700 daily in early September.

"I think about four weeks we saw it level off and then, as time went on, the trajectory started down a little bit," Dr. Mcelya said.

At a briefing by the White House COVID Response Team Friday, officials shared that nationwide cases and hospitalizations are down. However, they are urging people now is the time to prevent another resurgence.

"You know, one point that I think is important to make is I think that the people who are unvaccinated when they see the curve starting to come down, that is not a reason to remain unvaccinated, because if you want to ensure that we get down to a very low level and that we don't resurge again," Dr. Anthony Fauci said.

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The White House is now hanging its hat on vaccine mandates in the new strategy, including the requirement that most companies make employees routinely test if not vaccinated. Officials pointed to companies, like United Airlines, that had nearly all of its employees vaccinated before a company deadline.

"The data is clear. When organizations implement vaccine requirements, vaccination rates soared in 90% or greater," White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator Jeffrey Zients said.

At North Texas testing sites, the number of people getting tested may have leveled off. However, they are prepared to see more people in the upcoming flu season who are unsure of what illness they have.

The CDC reported the lowest number of flu-related hospitalizations on record last season.

Texas officials warned Friday that people should expect a more severe flu season this fall and winter for obvious reasons.

"We expect fewer people to be wearing masks and social distancing. As a result, there are reasons to expect a worse flu season than last year," Texas DSHS Commissioner Dr. John Hellerstedt said.

Dr. Mcelya said they’re prepared to test for COVID-19, flu, or strep.             

"It’s nice to have those weapons in our arsenal. We can do all three tests while the patient’s here," he said.