After being sworn in as president, Biden referred to Covid-19 as a “virus that occurs once a century, which silently pursues the country” during his inaugural address. “We are going to move forward quickly and urgently, as we have a lot to do this winter of significant dangers and possibilities,” he added, as a forecast from the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) projected an additional 100,000 deaths in coming weeks.
Biden’s urgency to reverse the pandemic took shape later that day, when he signed a series of executive orders that interrupted the Trump administration’s withdrawal from the World Health Organization (WHO); restored the Board of the National Security Council for Global Health and Biodefense Security (an office destroyed by the Trump administration); and mandatory masks on federal property.
The regular White House press reports came back after they closed in April, when Trump suggested that the disinfectant injection could be a cure for coronavirus (no, don’t do that). The new press secretary, Jen Psaki, said yesterday that “truth and transparency” have returned to the conference room and that the White House will combat misinformation by providing accurate information to the American people “even when it is difficult to hear”.
She added that the White House will require daily Covid-19 tests, N95 masks for employees and strict requirements for social distance – in an attempt to model good pandemic behavior. The president “also asked us to be role models for the American people,” she said, in stark contrast to Trump and his government, who largely ignored the government mask and recommendations for social detachment.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, who remains as chief medical advisor, represented the United States during a virtual WHO meeting on Thursday, where he thanked the health corps for leading Covid-19’s global response. He also announced that the United States will resume regular engagement with the organization and meet its financial obligations. Today, we will also see Biden address the overwhelming threat of the pandemic by signing more orders focused on keeping the pandemic in check.
“Healthier days are ahead,” the new CDC Director, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, promised in her first statement, but getting there will require a rapid acceleration of Covid-19 testing, surveillance and vaccination. “We must also address the long-standing public health challenges of injustice and social and racial inequality that have required action for a long time,” she said.
YOU ASKED. WE RESPOND
Q: How many people have been vaccinated in the USA so far?
AN: More than 16.5 million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine have been administered in the United States, about 46% of the 36 million doses distributed, according to data published yesterday by the CDC. At least 2.1 million people received both necessary doses, according to the data.
Wednesday’s figures mark a significant increase in the share of doses administered in relation to the total distributed. Previously, this share was below 40%. However, a note on the CDC’s Covid Data Tracker website indicates that the agency is “refining the way the number of doses delivered is reported”, which could affect that calculation.
The launch of the vaccine in the United States has not been smooth, with the nation lagging behind several other countries in their vaccination efforts against Covid-19, according to a recent CNN analysis of government data. Sources with direct knowledge of the new administration’s Covid-related work told CNN that one of the biggest shocks Biden’s team had to digest during the transition period was what they saw as a complete lack of a vaccine delivery strategy under Trump, even weeks after multiple vaccines were approved for use in the United States.
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WHAT’S IMPORTANT TODAY
Studies suggest vaccinated people protected from new Covid-19 variants
New research released this week provides reassuring evidence that people vaccinated against the coronavirus are protected against new emerging variants. Two teams tested two of the new variants against blood drawn from people who received the full dose of two courses of Moderna or the Pfizer vaccine, reports Maggie Fox.
Although mutations in the new virus variants – one seen for the first time in Britain and the other first identified in South Africa – would allow some of the vaccine-induced immunity to escape, it was far from a complete escape, the two teams reported. separately.
Reminiscent of last year, China announces travel restrictions before Lunar New Year
The National Health Commission of China announced a series of restrictions on domestic travel to stem the spread of Covid-19 as the country prepares for the mass movement of people to celebrate the Lunar New Year. Millions of Chinese migrant workers who plan to travel back to the countryside now need to report a negative Covid test seven days before departure. People from medium to high risk areas are being discouraged from traveling.
Chinese authorities reported 144 new cases of Covid-19 across the country on Wednesday, including 18 imported infections. All residents in Beijing’s Daxing district have been banned from leaving since Wednesday due to an increase in the number of cases.
California officials say providers can resume administration of the Modern vaccine for a specific batch after a break
California health officials have given providers authorization to “immediately” resume administration of the Modern vaccine for a specific batch after a break earlier this week due to possible allergic reactions. This occurs as most coronavirus metrics improve in the state, which has been the epicenter of the virus in the United States. But the seriousness of the cases in the state and the death toll remain high.
California added 22,403 new cases on Wednesday, which is well below the state’s average daily number of about 38,000, but also reported 694 new Covid-19-related deaths on Wednesday – the second highest number of deaths. in a single day until today. And with a limited supply of the coronavirus vaccine, state epidemiologist Erica Pan said it could take four to five months to vaccinate all Californians over 65.
ON OUR RADAR
- Zimbabwe’s Foreign Minister Sibusiso Moyo – known for going on state television in 2017 to announce the takeover of the late President Robert Mugabe’s military – died after capturing Covid.
- Amazon wasted no time in contacting the newly installed U.S. President Joe Biden about prioritizing its key employees in his government’s vaccine distribution plans. The company also offered to help Biden’s pledge to vaccinate 100 million Americans in the first 100 days.
- Australian Open tennis stars in quarantine are encouraged not to feed rats in hotel rooms after world number 28, Yulia Putintseva, discovered an infestation.
- The number of North Korean defectors who entered South Korea plummeted in 2020. Probably due to the pandemic.
BEST TIP
Anosmia – a condition known as “blindness to smell” or loss of smell – is a common symptom of Covid-19 (and other viruses) and can severely affect the ability to taste, since the senses are intertwined. And although most people will recover their sense of smell or taste within a few days or weeks, experts say that some may not recover their sense of smell after months.
For example, Kaya Cheshire is still losing 90% of her sense of smell since she contracted a mild case of Covid-19 last July. At the suggestion of his doctor, Cheshire recently started “training smells”, using strong-smelling things like rose, lemon, cloves, garlic, eucalyptus and peppermint to train his brain. Read about how Covid-19 survivors modified their meals as a result of anosmia.
TODAY’S PODCAST
“We wanted science to rescue us. But it cannot save us from our own human nature.” – CNN chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta
A year ago, a man entered a clinic in Washington State, becoming the first patient tested positive for Covid-19 in the USA. Gupta recalls the painful lessons of this tragic year. Listen now.
