Here’s what’s happening on Monday with the U.S. pandemic:
THREE THINGS TO KNOW TODAY
– A large study of another vaccine candidate COVID-19 is starting on Monday, as states continue to distribute scarce supplies of the country’s first shots. The candidate made by Novavax Inc. is the fifth to reach the final testing stage in the United States. About 30,000 volunteers are needed to prove whether this vaccine – a different type from its competitors Pfizer and Moderna – really works and is safe.
– Homicides in Detroit, New York, Philadelphia and other U.S. cities surpassed 2019 numbers increasing violence during the coronavirus pandemic. Officials and some experts say there is no clear reason for the increase. They point to the social and economic upheaval caused by COVID-19, hostility towards the police after George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis police custody and a historic shortage of jobs and other resources in poorer communities as contributing factors. It is happening in cities large and small, led by Democrats and Republicans.
– Nearly 1.3 million people passed through US airport checkpoints on Sunday, the highest total for a day in more than nine months, despite the fear that the trip will lead to more cases of COVID-19. The Transportation Security Administration said it tracked 1,284,599 on Sunday, the maximum since March 15. More than 10 million people have traveled by plane since December 18, including six days with at least 1 million people being tracked. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the government’s leading infectious disease expert, said the level of travel could lead to an even greater increase in COVID-19 cases. Fauci said that crowded airports make it difficult to maintain social distance and festive events combine people from different families.
THE NUMBERS: The seven-day moving average for new daily deaths in the U.S. has decreased in the past two weeks from 2,421.3 on December 13 to 2,207.1 on December 27, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
DEATH FOOL: The number of COVID-19-related deaths in the U.S. is over 333,000.
QUOTE: “I think the pandemic – COVID – has had a significant emotional impact on people across the country,” said Detroit police chief James Craig of a sharp increase in homicides in his city this year. “Individuals are not suing the way they manage disputes. Whether they are domestic workers, arguments, disputes over drugs, there is this speed of using a firearm illegally carried. “
ICYMI: President Donald Trump signed a $ 900 billion pandemic relief package, ending days of drama about his refusal to accept the bipartisan agreement that will deliver long-sought money to businesses and individuals and prevent the government from closing. His delay in signing the measure resulted in a lapse in unemployment benefits for millions and threatened to close in the middle of the pandemic. In a statement, Trump repeated his frustration with the bill to provide only $ 600 checks to most Americans, instead of the $ 2,000 that his Republican colleagues have already rejected.
ON THE HORIZON: Avalanche forecasters and search and rescue groups are concerned that skiers and snowboarders – many of them inexperienced – will return to the field this ski season to avoid large crowds or reservation systems at the resorts. Sales of equipment in the hinterland rose 76% compared to last year, according to a sector group.
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Find full AP coverage of the coronavirus pandemic at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic