Stephen Parodi, MD, warns of potential post-holiday COVID-19 surge on CNBC

Stephen Parodi, MD, national infectious disease leader for Kaiser Permanente, warned on CNBC that hospitals could be overwhelmed by COVID-19 cases after the holidays if Americans don’t change their behavior.

“If we don’t make the choice now to change the future, then what I’m worried about is we’re going to see a Christmas Day and a New Year’s wave in January, and hospitals will be beyond the breaking point,” said Dr. Parodi, who also serves as associate executive director of The Permanente Medical Group.

Dr. Parodi told host Shepard Smith that predictive models suggest an even larger wave of COVID-19 cases than the wave experienced from the Thanksgiving holiday. He also stressed that the new wave is entirely preventable if people are willing to change their behavior by following COVID-19 safety precautions such as not sharing the same air, wearing masks, and limiting social interactions.

“This year, we’ve got to make the sacrifice,” Dr. Parodi said. “What I tell my patients is that this Christmas has to be different, so that next year all those people we like to gather with — will be here.”

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