The state’s new milestone, 2,002,494 cases by the end of Wednesday, comes when ICUs are near or at full capacity across the state.
California reached one million cases on Nov. 12 and it has taken less than six weeks for another million cases to be added to the state. Considering the state’s population of 39.5 million, approximately one in 20 people in California has tested positive for the virus.
In all, the United States reported 228,131 new coronavirus cases and 3,359 new deaths on Wednesday, the third deadliest in a single day. This is a devastating “normal” for the United States, which has averaged about 215,000 new cases and more than 2,700 new deaths each day over the past week.
“With Covid-19 cases continuing to rise across the country, this achievement comes at a critical time and will help protect those at the forefront (our healthcare providers treating patients with COVID-19).” as well as the most vulnerable: elderly people living in nursing homes and assisted living facilities, ”said CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield.
Vaccines can’t get to California too soon. The positivity rate for the 7 days of the state now stands at 12.6%, a slight decrease compared to previous weeks. However, 55 of California’s 58 counties remain at the most restrictive purple level of the state’s Covid-19 reopening system, which has resulted in the closure of many non-essential business operations.
Governor Gavin Newsom has attributed the recent increase in cases to people relaxing relaxation efforts and meeting people outside their homes, especially during the holidays.
A total of 23,558 Californians have died from complications of the disease since the start of the pandemic.
More than a million vaccines administered
Just over a week after the first Covid-19 vaccine was authorized, more than a million people have received their first vaccine.
This reported figure is lower than the actual figure, as many doses administered in recent days have not yet been included in CDC figures, the agency said.
“It’s been a great week of vaccine delivery,” General Gustave Perna, chief operating officer of Operation Warp Speed, told reporters on Wednesday. “More than 7,800 deliveries by the end of tomorrow, as we deliver the 7.9 million vaccine doses allocated for this week nationwide, really a huge feat.”
Perna said about 15.5 million doses of vaccine have been allocated and another 4.5-5 million will be allocated next week.
“We will finish these deliveries in the first week of January,” he said.
In addition, health care workers have discovered that the Pfizer vaccine, a frozen solution that is diluted with saline before giving it to people, can produce more than the five doses initially thought.
As such, Perna said the auxiliary kits that are shipped along with the vaccine are being adjusted with additional supplies to accommodate a possible sixth dose.
“We have adjusted our contract and our construction of the kits to … provide even more capacity as we move forward,” Perna said Wednesday.
He noted that the kits already had some built-in “additional capacity” and that right now, most of the vaccine administration takes place in hospitals “where they have access to syringes and needles accordingly.”
“So feel very comfortable with the availability of syringes and needles and our ability to attach these kits and continue the simultaneous distribution of the kits with the vaccine,” he said.
CNN’s Alexandra Meeks, Andrea Kane, Holly Yan, and Steve Almasy contributed to this report.