US Reports 3,157 COVID-19 Deaths In a Day

The U.S. has reported over 3,000 COVID-19 deaths in a day for the first time. On Wednesday, December 2, 3,157 new COVID-19 deaths were reported in the U.S. This breaks the record of 2,603 deaths a day back during the spring outbreak on April 15. Compared to the total number of deaths related to 9/11 (2,977), the number of deaths recorded today has already surpassed the total number of people who died on that fateful fall day in 2001.

So far, according to the COVID Tracking Project, one of the most comprehensive data compilations of U.S. COVID data, 13.7 million Americans have been infected with the disease, with at least 264,000 dying from it. Hospitalizations have also exceeded 100,000 for the first time—the number of current hospitalizations is 100,226—and we are not seeing any signs of it slowing down. (Note that data is inaccurate around the Thanksgiving holiday period.)

The leading doctor at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Dr. Robert Redfield, has said, in an event hosted by the Chamber of Commerce, that between now and February, upward of 450,000 Americans could lose their lives to COVID-19. He warns of the next few months being “the most difficult in the public health history of this nation.”

Unlike the spring pandemic wave, which was mainly concentrated in the Northeast, this new wave is affecting the entire country, with the outbreak being especially bad in the Midwest and the Great Plains. North Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wyoming, Nebraska, Montana, Illinois, Kansas, Iowa, and Wisconsin have seen devastating outbreaks, with the new case numbers only recently going down.

In the Midwest, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and more are currently reporting a high number of cases. California, the nation’s most populous state, has reported upward of 20,000 cases in a day. In the West, especially in New Mexico, Colorado, and Nevada, the virus is spreading rapidly still. And in the South, the virus is especially bad in Texas’ Rio Grande Valley, near the Mexican border, with well over 300 cases per 100,000 people being reported there.

Even the Northeast is not being spared from this new wave. Rhode Island is seeing a record-high number of new cases, far greater than in the spring wave. New York and New Jersey, hailed for their successful pandemic response after the spring wave, is also seeing cases slowly but steadily climbing. The only three states managing to keep cases low are Vermont and Maine, which never saw a large-scale outbreak, as well as the island state of Hawaii.

Unlike the spring and summer waves, though, this fall-winter wave will be markedly more serious. The previous two waves saw warm weather come, which helped alleviate some of the burden of the pandemic. This time, however, with political polarization at an all-time high after the 2020 election, COVID fatigue, and cold weather causing people to stay inside, there is no saving grace for the American health system.

States across the nation are pleading with people to stay inside to curb the spread of the disease. Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti asked residents to “hunker down” and “cancel everything” to try and stop the spread of the virus. If the pandemic spreads at the current rate, California Gov. Gavin Newsom has said that the state will run out of ICU beds by Christmas.

There is some light at the end of the long, dark tunnel though. We have seen success for a coronavirus vaccine from Pfizer and Moderna, both of which are currently seeking an emergency use authorization (EUA) from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) so that they can deploy the vaccine to the masses. . The FDA could approve the vaccine by the end of the month. The United Kingdom has already approved Pfizer’s vaccine.

However, vaccines have only been tested in persons over the age of 12. There have not been any trials on young children, which represent 12 percent of all U.S. COVID cases. Trials are slated to begin in 2021. The first batch of vaccines will go to health care workers and nursing home workers, as well as high-risk individuals. After that, about 87 million essential workers will receive the vaccine, before being given to the general public free of charge, as promised by the federal government. That should happen in late spring 2021.

Americans continue to await on Congress to pass a COVID-19 relief bill. The Democrats have already passed the HEROES Act in the House, which allocates well over $2 trillion in aid and relief, mostly targeted at individual Americans. The Senate, led by Republicans, have refused to pass such generous bills, wanting to pass small, mainly large-company focused relief bills, which Democrats are refusing to accept, citing the fact that it gives large companies tax cuts more than helps Americans. (The $500 billion relief bill proposed by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has failed to pass twice already.) However, it seems that the Democrats have decided to give up on some of the money and tried to push through a smaller, but still significant $900 billion relief bill, which has already gotten approval from moderate Republicans like Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine). However, McConnell has so far refused to even endorse this bill. The deadlock in Congress means that, despite talks continuing between Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and McConnell, we are unlikely to see another bill passed for at least the next week or so.

Also, without the passage of a $1.4 trillion year-end spending bill, a federal government shutdown may occur next weekend. Even if the COVID relief bill could not get through Congress, a stopgap bill would need to be passed to avert a federal government shutdown before Congress recesses for Christmas.

Newshacker Blog continues to urge all readers to continue to wear a mask, wash hands frequently, and maintain social distancing to curb the spread of COVID-19.