US coronavirus cases reach 20 million

Specialists in the design and construction of the Army Corps of Engineers are being deployed to repair oxygen supply systems at several older hospitals in the Los Angeles area, according to the California Office of Emergency Management.

The teams will begin work on Saturday at six overloaded hospitals identified as having infrastructure problems that prevent them from providing a high pressure supply of oxygen to Covid-19 patients.

“The state of California is continuously working to support our hospitals and protect the lives of Californians affected by COVID-19. By working to update the challenging oxygen delivery systems in these older hospitals, we can improve the ability to provide supportive medical care to life for those in need, “said Mark Ghilarducci, director of the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services.

In Atlanta, a convention center will again become an overcrowded field hospital from Friday – a service done twice earlier during the pandemic – said the office of Georgia’s governor, Brian Kemp.

The number of Covid-19 patients in Georgia hospitals on a given day has more than doubled since mid-November, data from the screening project show. The convention center beds “will help ensure that our hospitals continue to have the capacity needed for Covid and non-Covid patients,” said Kemp.

December was the deadliest month of the pandemic for the United States, accounting for more than 77,500 of the 346,000 Covid-19 deaths in the country, data from Johns Hopkins University show.

And experts warned that daily figures could worsen across the country in the coming weeks, with waves arising from meetings and travel over the holidays.

Despite repeated calls from local and state leaders for people to celebrate only with members of their families, millions of Americans have chosen to spend time away from home.

No evidence that the UK variant is common in the US, says the genomics company

Tests so far do not indicate that an easier-to-transmit coronavirus variant is common in the U.S., genomics company Helix told CNN.

Only four of the 31 samples tested positive for the mutation pattern first identified in the UK, Helix officials said.

The mutation pattern, known as B.1.1.7 or VUI-202012/01, was first seen in England and was found in at least 30 countries, as well as in samples taken from people in California, Colorado and Florida.

“We cannot say for sure when the B.1.1.7 strain appeared in the United States,” said Dr. James Lu, co-founder and president of Helix. “But it is not common, which indicates that it has not been around for a long time.”

That said, the United States isn’t really looking for much, added Lu. “Currently, the US is doing less sequencing than many other countries – a recent report from the (genomic database) GISAID estimated that the US is sequencing 0.3% of positive cases compared to the UK by around 7% “added Lu.

Fauci: USA will not follow the UK’s decision to postpone the second dose of the vaccine

As the United States ends its third week of vaccination, Dr. Anthony Fauci made an important statement on Friday about how they will proceed.

The United States will continue to give two doses of its current coronavirus vaccines weeks apart and will not follow the UK’s decision to potentially delay second doses, Fauci told CNN senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen.

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

So far, coronavirus vaccines approved in the United States require two doses, taken three to four weeks apart.

The United Kingdom adopted this strategy to give the first dose to as many people as possible, as quickly as possible. Even the first shot, doctors in the UK argued, would provide some protection.

Asked on Thursday by NBC’s “Today” program whether the United States should adopt the UK plan, Fauci replied, “This is being considered.”

But he told CNN on Friday that that comment was misinterpreted.

Pfizer and Moderna, manufacturers of the two vaccines with emergency use authorization in the United States, studied the effectiveness of two doses a few weeks apart, not a few months apart, noted Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Diseases Infectious.

“The fact is that we want to follow what science tells us, and the data we have for both (vaccines) indicates that you give a prime, followed by a reinforcement 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, “he said on Friday.

“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.

When Fauci told NBC that following the example of the UK was “under consideration”, he meant that some people – not the United States health officials – were talking about it, he told CNN on Friday.

“It was a misinterpretation. I think some – not all – but people misinterpreted it when I said it was being considered [as] as if we’re going to change. We are not, “he said.

People who were vaccinated with the Pfizer vaccine on December 14 should soon have their second injection.

Vaccines will take months to make a big difference, experts say

Experts say it will take months for vaccines to spread enough to change the course of the pandemic.

“If, then, we vaccinate people diligently in April, May, June, July, then we will gradually and noticeably achieve a degree of protection close to collective immunity.”

If vaccinations increase, when early autumn arrives, Fauci said, “we will have herd immunity good enough that we can really return to a strong appearance of normality.”