After being sworn in as president, Biden referred to Covid-19 as a “once-a-century virus that silently besieges the country,” during his inauguration speech. “We will move forward quickly and urgently, because we have a lot to do this winter of danger and significant possibilities,” he added, as a set planned by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) projected 100,000 more deaths in the next few weeks.
Biden’s urgency to turn the pandemic upside down materialized later that day, as he signed a series of executive orders that halted the withdrawal of the Trump administration from the World Health Organization (WHO); restored the National Security Council’s global health security and biodefense directorate (an office destroyed by the Trump administration); and mandatory masks on federal properties.
Regular White House press meetings resurfaced after the end of April, when Trump suggested injecting disinfectant could be a cure for the coronavirus (it’s not, don’t do it). New press secretary Jen Psaki said yesterday that “truth and transparency” had returned to the newsroom and the White House will fight misinformation by giving accurate information to the American people “even when it is difficult to to listen”.
He added that the White House will require daily testing of Covid-19, N95 masks for employees and strict requirements for social distancing, to try to model good pandemic behavior. The president “has also asked us to be role models for the American people,” she said, in contrast to Trump and his administration, who largely ignored government masks and recommendations for social distancing.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, who remains chief medical adviser, represented the United States during a WHO virtual meeting on Thursday, where he thanked the health agency for leading the global Covid-19 response. He also announced that the U.S. will resume regular engagement with the organization and meet its financial obligations. Today we will also see how Biden addresses the threat of the pandemic, signing more orders focused on controlling the pandemic.
“Healthier days await us,” the new CDC director, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, promised in her first statement, but to get there will require a rapid acceleration of testing, surveillance and vaccination of Covid-19. “We also have to face the challenges of injustice and social and racial injustice that have demanded action for a long, long time,” he said.
YOU ASKED. WE ANSWERED
P: How many people have been vaccinated in the United States so far?
A: More than 16.5 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine have been administered in the United States, about 46% of the 36 million doses distributed, according to data released yesterday by the CDC. According to the data, at least 2.1 million people have received the necessary doses.
Wednesday’s figures mark a significant increase in the proportion of administered doses of the total distributed. Previously, this share had remained below 40%. However, a note on CDC’s Covid Data Tracker site indicates that the agency is “refining how the number of distributed doses is reported,” which could affect that calculation.
Vaccine deployment in the United States has not been smooth, with the nation lagging behind several other countries in their vaccination efforts against Covid-19, according to a recent analysis of CNN government data. Sources with direct knowledge of the new administration’s Covid-related work told CNN that one of the biggest shocks Biden’s team had to digest during the transition period was what they saw as a total lack of a vaccine distribution strategy under Trump, even weeks after multiple vaccines were approved in the United States.
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WHAT’S IMPORTANT TODAY
Studies suggest vaccinated people protected from new variants of Covid-19
New research this week provides reassuring evidence that people vaccinated against coronavirus are protected against new emerging variants. Two teams tested two of the new variants against blood drawn from people who had received the full two-course dose of the Modern or Pfizer vaccine, Maggie Fox reports.
Although mutations in the new variants of the virus – one first seen in Britain and another first identified in South Africa – allowed them to evade some of the immunity induced by vaccination, it was far from flee completely, the two teams reported separately.
Reminiscent of last year, China announces travel restrictions before the lunar new year
China’s National Health Commission has announced a series of national travel restrictions to curb the spread of Covid-19 as the country prepares for the mass movement of people to celebrate the Lunar New Year. Millions of Chinese migrant workers who plan to return to the camp must now submit a negative Covid test result within seven days of departure. People in medium or high risk areas are being discouraged from traveling altogether.
This happens when Chinese officials on Wednesday reported 144 new cases of Covid-19 across the country, including 18 imported infections. All residents of Beijing’s Daxing district have been banned from leaving since Wednesday due to the growing number of cases.
California officials say providers can resume administration of the Modern vaccine from a specific batch after a break
California health officials have given providers the option to resume “immediately” administration of the Modern Vaccine from a specific batch after a break earlier this week due to possible allergic reactions. It occurs as most coronavirus metrics improve in the state, which has been the epicenter of the virus in the US. But the severity of cases in the state and the death toll remain high.
California on Wednesday added 22,403 new cases, which is well below the state average daily number, at around 38,000, but also reported 694 new Covid-19-related deaths on Wednesday, the second highest number to date. And with a limited supply of coronavirus vaccine, state epidemiologist Erica Pan said it could take four to five months for all Californians over the age of 65 to get vaccinated.
ON OUR RADAR
- Zimbabwe Foreign Minister Sibusiso Moyo, known for going on state television in 2017 to announce the acquisition of power by Army Robert Mugabe, died after trapping Covid.
- Amazon wasted no time in contacting newly installed U.S. President Joe Biden to prioritize its key workers in his administration’s vaccine distribution plans. The company also offered to help in Biden’s commitment to vaccinate 100 million Americans in the first 100 days.
- Open Australian quarantine tennis stars are urged not to feed mice in hotel rooms after world number 28 Yulia Putintseva discovered an infestation.
- The number of North Korean deserters entering South Korea fell in 2020. It is probably due to the pandemic.
SUPERIOR COUNCIL
Anosmia, a disease known as “olfactory blindness” or loss of smell, is a common symptom of Covid-19 (and other viruses) and can severely affect taste ability, as the senses they are intertwined. And while most people regain their sense of smell or taste in a matter of days to weeks, experts say some may not regain their sense of smell after months.
For example, Kaya Cheshire still lacks 90% of her sense of smell since she contracted a mild case of Covid-19 last July. At the suggestion of her doctor, Cheshire recently began “training the smell,” using things that smelled strong like rose, lemons, grains, garlic, eucalyptus, and menthol to recycle her brain. Read how Covid-19 survivors have been modifying meals as a result of anemia.
TODAY’S PODCAST
“We wanted science to rescue us. But it can’t save us from our own human nature.” – Sanjay Gupta, CNN’s chief medical correspondent
This week a year ago, a man entered a Washington state clinic, becoming the first patient to test positive for Covid-19 in the U.S. Gupta reviews the painful lessons of this tragic year. Listen now.
