About 119,000 Americans spent Christmas Day in hospital with COVID-19, as 1,541 more deaths were recorded.
But according to the COVID monitoring project, 20 states did not report their figures on Friday, meaning the actual number of deaths nationwide could be much higher.
Although total hospitalizations fell to 118,948 on Friday after setting a new record of 120,151 the day before, the seven-day average rose to a new high on Christmas Day, reaching 117,029.
124,498 new cases were registered on Friday, although the COVID Monitoring Project warned that the data had been affected by the holiday closures.
Across the country, there have been more than 18.7 million Americans infected with coronavirus and 330,246 dead.
The average of seven days of hospitalizations rose again to a new high on Christmas Day, reaching 117,029, as nearly 1119,000 patients with COVID-19 spent their holidays in hospital.
A medical staff member changes a patient’s gown at ICU COVID-19 on Christmas Day at United Memorial Medical Center in Houston, while 119k patients spend hospitalized vacation
Among the states that did not publish any cases on Friday of new cases and deaths was California, where the outbreak has already led to the health system breaking down, after reporting 300,000 new cases last week.
Earlier this week, it became the first state to surpass two million cases, as experts remain concerned about a possible additional rise caused by Christmas and New Year travelers.
The Centers for Disease Control again warned against holiday travel, as the effects of Thanksgiving on the nation’s outbreak remained uncertain.
Although the number of trips remained low compared to other years, health experts remain concerned that the pre-Christmas period remains the largest number of travelers since the beginning of the pandemic.
Transportation Security Administration (TSA) spokeswoman Lisa Farbstein said Thursday morning that 1,191,123 people were examined Wednesday at airport checks across the country.
“It’s the highest checkpoint volume since March 16, when 1,257,823 people were examined,” Farbstein said, adding that anyone traveling this holiday season should “wear a mask.”
Requests for residents to stay home have become more urgent in California, where doctors have said the state is experiencing a “viral tsunami.”
Cases in the state have risen 68 percent in the past two weeks and ICU capacity remains at zero percent, as crowded hospitals are forced to use even their lobby to treat patients.
“In most hospitals, about half of all beds are full of patients with COVID and half of all ICU beds are full of patients with COVID, and two-thirds of these patients are suffocating due to the inflammation caused by the lungs by the virus, “said Dr. Christina Ghaly, director of the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services.
“They drown to the point that they can no longer breathe on their own and have to get someone to put a tube down their throat to oxygenate their organs.” Many of these people will not live until 2021, ”he said on Thursday.
About 119,000 Americans spent Christmas Day in hospital with COVID-19, as 1,541 more deaths were recorded. Pictured is a patient from a COVID-19 ICU unit in Houston, Texas
In the image, a staff member reacts after the patient ate food alone for the first time after removing the intubation tubes while he was in the COVID-19 ICU unit at Memorial Medical Center.
Los Angeles County hospitals diverted ambulances and left patients unattended for hours.
County health officials sent a note to doctors urging them not to send patients to the emergency room unless absolutely necessary.
There is also a drastic shortage of nurses and other medical staff, and California leaders are turning to Australia and Taiwan to cover the need for 3,000 temporary health workers.
Dr. Hossein Sadrzadeh experienced an allergic reaction after receiving the Modern Covid-19 vaccine at Boston Medical Center on Christmas Eve
However, officials continued to hope that the launch of the vaccine will continue to improve the situation, despite a Boston doctor becoming the first person on Friday to have a severe public reaction to Moderna’s vaccine. , which is in its first week of national distribution.
Dr. Hossein Sadrzadeh, a member of geriatric oncology at Boston Medical Center, said he had a severe reaction almost immediately after the vaccine, dizziness and with a racing heart, the NYT reported.
Sadrzadeh knew he was allergic to seafood.
David Kibbe, a spokesman for Boston Medical Center, said in a statement Friday that Dr. Sadrzadeh “felt he was developing an allergic reaction and was allowed to self-administer his personal epi-pen.”
‘He was taken to the Emergency Service, evaluated, treated, observed and discharged. He’s fine today, “Kibbe added.
A U.S. Food and Drug Administration official said last week that the FDA is investigating about five allergic reactions that occurred after people were given BioNTech SE’s COVID-19 vaccine. in the US
Projections from the Institute for Health Measurement and Assessment (IHME) at the University of Washington, a leading COVID-19 model, have shown the deadly effect that any retention in vaccine distribution could have on the northern public. American.
Its latest projections show that up to 731,000 Americans could die from COVID-19 on April 1 if states begin to lift their mandates around masks and social distancing.
However, more than 33,000 lives could be saved if the vaccine is distributed as planned, and 45,000 Americans will be saved if faster vaccine deployment is achieved.
Currently, the model predicts that there will be a death toll of 567,195 by April 1, with mandates and vaccines continuing as planned.