The United States breaks down Covid records for new cases and deaths as vaccines are distributed | US News

Almost a quarter of a million New coronavirus infections and more than 3,600 deaths were reported in the United States on Wednesday, Breaking previous records With the start of a national vaccination campaign against Covid-19 across the country this week.

to me Johns Hopkins UniversityOn Wednesday, the United States confirmed 247,403 new cases of coronavirus, and another 3,656 Americans died of the virus in one day. Also Thursday’s unemployment report showed new jobless claims rose to 885,000 last week, the highest weekly figure since September.

On a bittersweet day marked by both hope and despair, some hospital pharmacists on Wednesday reported receiving vials full of surplus Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.And the Potentially saving millions More doses than expected.

Another vaccine from Moderna – And it’s 94% effective – is also heading towards getting emergency permission early this week. A 22-member panel of experts meets to discuss its effectiveness and potential side effects on Thursday.

But a vaccine will not be widely available to the American public for several months, and at the same time, overcrowded hospitals across the country are taking care of more than 110 thousand patients with Coronavirus – A staggering number that has more than tripled since September, it says Washington Post analyzing.

“It is absolutely imperative that we continue our work wearing masks, avoiding crowded places, physical distance, and avoiding travel if possible, because until the vaccine diffuses, this is still our best measure to flatten the curve and save lives,” Admiral Brett B. Gerwier, Assistant Secretary at the Department of Health And humanitarian services, He said on CNN.

“We can save tens of thousands of lives just by doing these simple things.”

In the past week, 29 states saw increases in new cases, led by Washington, Tennessee and California, with infections up 66.9%, 57.6% and 55.9%, respectively. Reuters reported. Increases have also been reported in Washington, DC and Puerto Rico.

Deaths are also increasing, and the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation currently predicts that the United States will lose more than 500,000 people to Virus by April.

“We are now in the timeframe in which it is likely that in the next 60 to 90 days we will have more deaths per day than we did on September 11 or in Pearl Harbor,” said Dr. Robert Redfield, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, He said last week.

Faced with a flood of infections with no immediate end in sight, some hard-hit countries are reverting to drastic measures to mitigate the spread of the disease, while others have decided not to intervene.

In california, Where 5,000 new body bags Distributed, 60 refrigerated trailers have been repurposed as makeshift nurseries and ICU is available statewide It diminished to only 4.1%, A new set of lockdown measures Closed hairdressing salonsBars and other non-essential businesses.

With daily new cases exceeding even spring levels in New York, one of the first virus hotspots in the United States, indoor eating has been banned in New York City and officials are threatening another shutdown in January.

“It’s up to us. What will happen in three weeks? What will happen in four weeks? Tell me what you will do over the next three or four weeks, and I’ll tell you what will happen,”Andrew ComoThe governor of New York said on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Greg Abbott, Governor of Texas, has falsely claimed the closings are ineffective and has chosen instead to roll back regional reopening operations based on hospital capacity, despite state documentation. More than 14,800 new cases on Wednesday. In Florida, Where more than 1.1 million people Already wounded, as Governor Ron Desantes opposed Second insurance.

Experts fear the holiday season will only exacerbate the problem, as nearly 84.5 million Americans can still travel around Christmas and New Year. According to the AAA. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the country’s leading infectious disease expert, careful January would be “terrible”.

“The Thanksgiving bonus will be imposed on the Christmas bonus,” he told Newsweek. “So it’s perfectly conceivable that January will be the worst.”