Nearly 119,000 Americans spent Christmas Day in the hospital with COVID-19, while 1,541 deaths were recorded.
But according to the COVID tracking project, 20 states did not provide updates on their numbers on Friday, meaning the actual number of deaths across the country could be much higher.
While general hospitalizations dropped to 118,948 on Friday after setting a new record of 120,151 the previous day, the seven-day average rose to a new high once again on Christmas Day, reaching 117,029.
As of Friday, there were 124,498 new cases reported, but the COVID Tracking Project warned that the data was affected by holiday closings.
Across the country, there were more than 18.7 million Americans infected with coronavirus and 330,246 deaths.
The seven-day average for hospitalizations rose to a new record once again on Christmas Day, reaching 117,029, with almost 1,119,000 COVID-19 patients spending the holiday at the hospital
A medical staff member changes a patient’s gown at ICU COVID-19 on Christmas Day at the United Memorial Medical Center in Houston, while 119,000 patients spend the holiday hospitalized
Among the states that did not deliver an update on new cases and deaths on Friday was California, where the outbreak has already brought the health care system to a breaking point after reporting 300,000 new cases last week.
Earlier this week, it became the first state to overcome two million cases, as experts remain concerned about a potential increase caused by travelers over Christmas and New Year.
The Centers for Disease Control have again warned against holiday travel, as the effects of Thanksgiving on the outbreak in the country have remained uncertain.
Although the number of trips has remained low compared to other years, health experts remain concerned that the period leading up to Christmas has still seen most travelers since the pandemic began.
Transportation Security Administration (TSA) spokeswoman Lisa Farbstein said on Thursday morning that 1,191,123 individuals were examined at airport checkpoints across the country on Wednesday.
“It is the highest volume of checkpoints since March 16, when 1,257,823 people were examined,” said Farbstein, adding that anyone traveling this holiday season should “wear a mask”.
Calls for residents to stay home have become more urgent in California, where doctors said the state is experiencing a ‘viral tsunami’.
Cases in the state have increased by 68 percent in the past two weeks and the ICU’s capacity remains at zero percent, as crowded hospitals are forced to use even their lobby to treat patients.
‘In most hospitals, about half of all beds are occupied with COVID patients and half of all ICU beds are occupied with COVID patients, and two thirds of these patients are suffocating due to the inflammation that is caused in their lungs by the virus ‘said Dr. Christina Ghaly, director of the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services.
“They are suffocating to the point where they can no longer breathe on their own and need someone to put a tube in their throat to oxygenate their organs. Many of these people will not live until 2021, ‘she said on Thursday.
Almost 119,000 Americans spent Christmas Day in the hospital with COVID-19, while 1,541 deaths were recorded. In the photo, a patient in a COVID-19 ICU unit in Houston, Texas
In the photo, a team member reacts after his patient ate food alone for the first time after the intubation tubes were removed while he was in the COVID-19 ICU unit at Memorial Medical Center
Hospitals in LA County were diverting ambulances and leaving patients unattended for hours.
County health officials sent a memo to doctors urging them not to send patients to the ER, unless absolutely necessary.
There is also a drastic shortage of nurses and other medical staff, and California leaders are reaching out to Australia and Taiwan to fill the need for 3,000 temporary health workers.
Dr. Hossein Sadrzadeh experienced an allergic reaction after receiving the Modern Covid-19 vaccine at Boston Medical Center on Christmas Eve
Still, officials remained hopeful that the vaccine launch will continue to improve the situation, despite a Boston doctor on Friday becoming the first person to have a severe public reaction to the Moderna vaccine, which is in its first week of national distribution.
Dr. Hossein Sadrzadeh, a geriatric oncology researcher at Boston Medical Center, said he had a severe reaction almost immediately after being vaccinated, feeling dizzy and with a racing heart, the NYT reported.
Sadrzadeh knew he was allergic to shellfish.
David Kibbe, a Boston Medical Center spokesman, said in a statement on Friday that Sadrzadeh “felt he was developing an allergic reaction and was allowed to self-administer his personal epi-pen”.
“He was taken to the Emergency Room, evaluated, treated, observed and dismissed. He’s doing well today, ‘added Kibbe.
A U.S. Food and Drug Administration official said last week that the FDA is investigating about five allergic reactions that occurred after people received the COVID-19 vaccine from Pfizer Inc and BioNTech SE in the U.S.
Projections from the University of Washington Institute of Health Metrics and Assessment (IHME), one of the main models of COVID-19, showed the deadly effect that any delay in the distribution of the vaccine could have on the American public.
His latest projections show that up to 731,000 Americans could die from COVID-19 by April 1 if states begin to suspend their mandates around masks and social detachment.
However, more than 33,000 lives can be saved if the vaccine is distributed as planned, and 45,000 Americans can be saved if a faster implementation of the vaccine is achieved.
The model currently projects that there will be a death toll of 567,195 by April 1, with mandates and vaccines continuing as planned.