US Coronavirus: As the US approaches 350,000 Covid-19 deaths, a model projects that an additional 115,000 may die in the next four weeks

US Coronavirus: As the US approaches 350,000 Covid-19 deaths, a model projects that an additional 115,000 may die in the next four weeks

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More people have died in the United States than anywhere else: almost 348,000 Americans since the pandemic began. About 115,000 more could die in the next month, according to projections from the University of Washington Institute of Health Metrics and Assessment.

“We are also concerned that sometime soon we will have a hard time finding the space and staff to care for all the sick patients who arrive with Covid-19 who really need our help,” said Dr. Nicole Van Groningen, from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.

And Friday’s gloomy case framework also means that the country has also recorded, by far, the highest number of Covid-19 infections. It is twice what India – the second country with the highest number of cases – reported and almost triple that of Brazil – the third country in line – reported.

But the worst may not be over yet: experts fear that in the coming weeks – after vacation trips and meetings – the United States may see another outbreak of cases that could also further increase hospitalizations and deaths.

Dr. Anthony Fauci told CNN earlier this week that the country saw an increase that “just got … out of control” and that the next few weeks could be even worse.

“When you reach a large number of people at an indoor dinner, poor ventilation and air circulation, that’s when you get into trouble,” he said. “This is what concerns us – that in addition to the increase, we will have an increase superimposed on this increase that could make January even worse than December.”

“I think we just have to assume it is going to get worse,” added Fauci.

How states are doing at the start of a new year

In Arkansas, Governor Asa Hutchinson said on Friday that the state had recorded more than 4,300 new cases – a record, he said, “on the rise after Christmas travels and meetings”.

“As we enter this new year, our first resolution should be to follow the guidelines. We must all do our part, ”he said. he wrote on Twitter.

Georgia announced on Friday a total of more than 8,700 new cases of Covid-19 in the state – a new record. Maryland, on the same day, reported its second highest number of daily cases. Meanwhile, New York added almost 16,500 new cases – a day after reaching its highest number of cases in one day.

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“In early 2021, I encourage all New Yorkers to look to their best angels and continue the practices we know to prevent the spread of this virus – wash your hands, distance yourself socially and wear a mask,” said Governor Andrew Cuomo in a statement.

Texas health officials reported a record number of hospitalizations for Covid-19 across the state for the fifth consecutive day, with more than 12,400 patients.

In California, a state facing a brutal wave of new infections, hospitalizations and deaths, health officials reported a record number of daily deaths: more than 580 people died of the virus.

ICU capacity in many parts of the state remains dangerously low. In Southern California and the San Joaquin Valley, no beds are available. A health official said earlier this week that the increase in patients has pushed hospitals to the “brink of catastrophe”.

California hospitals stressed 'on the brink of catastrophe' by increased coronavirus

That’s because some hospitals are experiencing infrastructure problems that prevent them from providing a high-pressure oxygen supply to patients.

The California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services said that US Army Corps of Engineers design and construction experts are being sent to the Los Angeles area to “evaluate and, when necessary, update oxygen delivery systems at six hospitals “.

Hospitals in the region, the office said, are treating an “unprecedented” number of Covid-19 patients and “the internal oxygen delivery systems built in many older hospitals are being overwhelmed by the volume of oxygen flow needed to treat patients with breathing problems that arise from Covid-19. “

Fauci: USA will continue giving vaccine doses weeks apart

Meanwhile, vaccinations at Covid-19 are in progress – but at a slower pace than some officials expected.
More than 12.4 million doses of vaccines have been distributed across the country and more than 2.7 million doses have been administered, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

So far, vaccines approved in the United States require two doses every few weeks. And the country will continue to do so and will not follow the UK’s decision to potentially delay second doses, Fauci told CNN on Friday.

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“I wouldn’t be in favor of that,” said Fauci when asked about the UK’s new dosing regimen. “We will continue to do what we are doing.”

Earlier this week, British officials said “the UK will prioritize giving the first dose of the vaccine to those in the highest risk group” and will allow the second dose to be given up to 12 weeks later.

The United Kingdom has adopted this strategy in order to give the first dose to as many people as possible as quickly as possible, saying that it offers some protection.

“The fact is, we want to follow what science tells us and the data we have for both [vaccines] indicate that you give a prime, followed by a boost in 21 days with Pfizer and 28 days with Moderna. And now, this is how we are going, and that is the decision that is made “, said Fauci.

“We make decisions based on data. We have no data on giving a single dose and waiting longer than the normal period of time ”to give the second dose, he added.

Rebekah Riess, Elizabeth Cohen, Naomi Thomas, Cheri Mossburg and CNN’s Raja Razek contributed to this report.

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