One patient is lying on a stretcher in a hallway near other patients in the overcrowded emergency room at Providence St. Mary in the midst of a wave of COVID-19 patients in Southern California on January 5, 2021 in Apple Valley, California.
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About 3,000 people in the U.S. die every day, on average, from Covid-19, while top health officials warn that the worst is yet to come.
The United States reported more than 3,400 deaths on Friday from Covid, pushing the seven-day average of nine daily deaths to a record high of 2,983, up 19 percent from just a week ago, according to a CNBC data analysis compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
New daily cases are also rising to new highs. Over the past week, the country has reported an average of more than 247,200 new cases each day, 27 percent more than last week, according to Hopkins data. Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said Friday that the outbreak will get worse before it improves, echoing comments made earlier this week by Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institutes of Health. Allergies and Infectious Diseases.
“We will continue to see mortality between 2,500 and 5,000 daily,” Redfield told McClatchy news agency in an interview. “This will continue to get worse until January and probably parts of February before we start turning the corner.”
Cases are already rising substantially almost everywhere, as the country experiences a projected increase in the virus caused by interstate travel and family reunions for holidays last month. According to Hopkins data, the average number of new daily cases increases by at least 5% in 47 states. Redfield warned Friday that the violent storm at the U.S. Capitol by supporters of President Donald Trump on Wednesday will worsen the outbreak.
“I think you have to anticipate that this is another overvoltage event. You had largely unmasked individuals in a non-distanced way who were through the Capitol,” he said. “So these people are all going home in cars, trains and planes all over the country right now. So I think it’s an event that’s likely to lead to a meaningful outreach event.”
Donald Trump supporters rallied to protest Joe Biden’s certification as the winner of the presidential election in the state capital, St. Louis. Paul, Minnesota.
Michael Siluk | Universal Images Group | Getty Images
Redfield, who was appointed by Trump in 2018 to head the nation’s first health agency, will be replaced by Dr. Rochelle Walensky, in charge of President-elect Joe Biden.
With the outbreak increasingly serious, officials are competing to quickly distribute doses of life-saving vaccines. The initial launch has been slower than expected, but shows signs of increasing speed. Dr. Nancy Messonnier, director of the National Center for Vaccination and Respiratory Disease at CDC, said the distribution effort began slowly, in part because of the holidays, but the pace is expected to pick up this month.
The United States administered about 800,000 shots in 24 hours, the CDC reported Friday, about 600,000 the day before and the maximum in a one-day period so far, according to agency data. According to the data, more than 22.1 million doses have been distributed, but only 6.7 million have been administered.
Amid criticism of a slow initial deployment, HHS officials are urging states to move from the first level of prioritization. According to CDC guidelines, health care workers and long-term caregiver residents should receive the vaccine first. But HHS Secretary Alex Azar said earlier this week that states should open up to older, vulnerable Americans if the pace of the launch is accelerated. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Dr. Stephen Hahn reiterated his comments on Friday.
Pressure is also added to rapidly vaccinate the arrival of a new strain of the virus. The new variant, known as B.1.1.7, which was first discovered in the UK, has now been found in at least seven states. While it does not appear to cause more serious illnesses, CDC officials say they believe it spreads more easily. This could worsen the outbreak and quickly overwhelm hospitals, CDC officials warned last week.
But states and hospitals face significant hurdles in administering vaccine doses. State funding for vaccine distribution was only approved late last month and much of it has yet to reach facilities that desperately need money to increase staffing and digital registration, for example.