Kayyem: Current U.S. COVID Spike is "Deja Vu All Over Again"

Cases of COVID-19 are on the rise in the U.S., something national security expert Juliette Kayyem described as “deja vu all over again.”

The CNN analyst returned to Boston Public Radio on Wednesday, where she weighed in on the surge of coronavirus cases and hospitalizations throughout the U.S., which are nearing their midsummer peak.

"We’re seeing the cycle that we saw in February to March and we saw again in the spring and early summer, which is infections first, then hospitalizations… and then, likely, the death toll,” she said, adding that the situation is “bad, by any stretch of the imagination.” 

In a moment of optimism, Kayyem said she believes hospitals and supply chains are better prepared this time around. However, she also noted that the situation is muddled by the sheer number of states seeing a rise in cases.  

"This time around there’s no epicenter, and so where you could’ve focused March in New England, June in Florida and Arizona and Texas, this is now everywhere,” she said.

“In the way that one should worry that 50 states are demanding the same thing, this is what worries me."

Kayyem is an analyst for CNN, former assistant secretary at the Department of Homeland Security and faculty chair of the homeland security program at Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.