Even with all the warnings, on Sunday more passengers clogged airports than any day since the coronavirus pandemic began. Millions of people traveling despise the post-Thanksgiving rise that has overflowed California hospitals.
According to the Transportation Security Administration, some 1.3 million passengers passed through airport security, most since the start of the pandemic. The liking of holiday travelers provokes fears of another increase in coronavirus cases.
“I think we’re in a viral tsunami now,” said Dr. Robert Kim-Farley, an epidemiologist at the University of California, Los Angeles. “It just keeps coming. It’s flooding.”
Kim-Farley fears what is to come. If there is an additional increase, “hospitals will be overloaded and intensive care unit beds will not be available,” he said.
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti received a scathing warning about the consequences of celebrating New Year’s Eve. “It’s an option you can make that will save lives or you can save lives,” he said.
Although U.S. health officials promised 20 million doses of vaccine by the end of the year, only 11.4 million have been distributed and 2.1 million people have received the first dose of vaccine.
In New York, officials are investigating reports that a clinic “fraudulently obtained” the vaccine and distributed it statewide. Gov. Andrew Cuomo said Monday that anyone who violates state rules on vaccine prioritization could lose their license and apply a $ 1 million fine.
“We want to send a clear signal to suppliers that if you break the law on these vaccines, we will find out and they will be prosecuted,” Cuomo said.
In Florida, hundreds of seniors camped overnight to receive the Moderna Inc. vaccine. In California, the outbreak is so bad that the U.S. military is sending dozens of doctors and nurses to help them.
“We’ll take care of you. We’ll find places. We’ll put you in the hallways. We’ll put you in the conference rooms. But ask yourself, is there a bed in a conference room as good as the bed in a regular patient room? No I think so, ”said Dr. Vanessa Walker, a front-line doctor in California.
Now the coronavirus has killed one in every 1,000 Americans.
There is also growing concern about a new strain of the virus in the UK that appears to be more contagious. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now requires passengers from Britain to show negative test results before boarding a plane to the United States.