Every Week: Approximately One Million New Infections & 700k+ American Filing For Unemployment
But…
Trump Blocking Biden From Planning for Effective Vaccine Distribution
McConnell Blocking Real Relief, Allowing Economy to Worsen
President-Elect Biden’s incoming administration will inherit an unmitigated disaster in the coronavirus crisis both on an economic and public health level.
But rather than setting President-Elect Biden up for success to tackle the virus and get people back to work, both Trump and McConnell are allowing COVID and the nation’s economy to further spiral out of control.
Coronavirus Crisis Is Ravaging the Public Health and Economic Security of This Nation
- More Than One In 400 Americans Have Tested Positive For The Virus As The US Reports A Million Cases In A Week. “Officials in the United States have reported more than 11 million total cases of coronavirus as of Sunday, as the country’s outbreaks lead to agonizing new levels of hospitalizations. Cases passed 10 million just a week ago, and more than 1 in 400 Americans have tested positive since. The latest virus surge began accelerating across much of the country in mid-October. It took just over two weeks for the nation to go from eight million cases to nine million on Oct. 30; from nine to 10 million took only 10 days.” [New York Times, Accessed 11/16/20]
- The US Is Averaging More Than 150,000 New Cases A Day, An 81 Percent Increase From Average New Infections Two Weeks Ago. “The country logged more than 135,100 new cases on Sunday, the most cases reported on a Sunday since the pandemic began, raising the new seven-day average to more than 150,000 new cases a day, an 81 percent increase from two weeks ago.” [New York Times, Accessed 11/16/20]
- Coronavirus Hospitalizations Are Up 20 Percent From Last Week, And Are Setting New Records Across The United States. “The United States has more people hospitalized with Covid-19 than ever before, according to the Covid Tracking Project (CTP). There were 68,516 current hospitalizations reported on Friday across the entire US, according to CTP. The seven-day average for current hospitalizations is now 62,123, which is up 20.01% from last week. Nineteen states reported record high Covid-19 hospitalizations [November 14], according to the Covid Tracking Project.” [CNN,11/14/20]
- The US Is Reporting, On Average, More Than A Thousand Deaths A Day — A 39 Percent Increase From Two Weeks Ago. “Deaths nationwide remain at lower levels than in spring’s peak, but they are rising rapidly and approaching 250,000. There were 620 new deaths reported on Sunday, the highest number of deaths reported on a Sunday since May 17, pushing the seven-day average to more than 1,140 a day, a 39 percent increase from the average two weeks ago.” [New York Times, Accessed 11/16/20]
- More Than 67 Million Americans Have Filed For Unemployment Since The Beginning Of The Pandemic, As Another 709,000 Filed For Benefits Last Week Alone. “Another 709,000 Americans applied for unemployment benefits last week as the labor market continued a slow recovery threatened by a dangerous new wave of coronavirus infections, the feds said Thursday. The latest initial jobless claims brought the number filed during the COVID-19 pandemic to a seasonally adjusted total of more than 67.4 million — a figure larger than the population of the United Kingdom, the US Department of Labor data show.” [New York Post, 11/12/20]
- More Than 21 Million Americans Are Collecting Some Form Of Unemployment Assistance. “As of Oct. 24, 21.16 million Americans were collecting some form of assistance, a decrease of 374,179. A year ago, that total was 1.45 million.” [CNBC, 11/12/20]
- 8 Million Americans Have Fallen Into Poverty Since May. “The number of Americans living in poverty grew by 8 million since May, according to a Columbia University study, which found an increase in poverty rates after early coronavirus relief ended without more to follow. Although the federal Cares Act, which gave Americans a one-time stimulus check of $1,200 and unemployed workers an extra $600 each week, was successful at offsetting growing poverty rates in the spring, the effects were short-lived, researchers found in the study published Thursday.” [NBC News, 10/16/20]
- As Many As 34 Million People In The US Are Facing Eviction. “If you’re scared that you won’t be able to come up with your rent, you’re not alone. As many as 1 in 5 renters say they’ve fallen behind during the pandemic, according to the Center on Budget Policies and Priorities. For Black renters, the share who are in trouble is closer to a third. And as many as 34 million people in the U.S. may be at risk of eviction, a new analysis by global advisory firm Stout Risius Ross found. ‘The United States is facing the most severe housing crisis in history,’ said Emily Benfer, an eviction expert and visiting professor of law at Wake Forest University.” [CNBC, 11/5/20]
But The Trump Administration Is Blocking President-Elect Biden From Planning for the Virus, Including the Effective Distribution of a Vaccine…
- President Trump Is Refusing To Accept Biden’s Victory, And Preventing The President-Elect From Meeting With Key Administration Officials To Prepare For The Virus. “President Donald Trump is facing a barrage of calls to permit potentially life-saving transition talks between his health officials and incoming President-elect Joe Biden’s aides on a fast-worsening pandemic he is continuing to ignore in his obsessive effort to discredit an election that he clearly lost… Biden’s incoming White House chief of staff Ron Klain said Sunday that the President-elect’s team had been unable to talk to current top health officials like Fauci about the pandemic owing to Trump’s refusal to trigger ascertainment — the formal process of opening a transition to a new administration.” [CNN, 11/16/20]
- Ron Klain, President-Elect Biden’s Incoming Chief Of Staff: HHS Is “Making Plans To Implement [A] Vaccine… Our Experts Need To Talk To Those People As Soon As Possible So Nothing Drops In This Change Of Power.” “’Joe Biden is going to become president of the United States in the midst of an ongoing crisis. That has to be a seamless transition,’ he said. ‘We now have the possibility, we need to see if it gets approved, of a vaccine starting perhaps in December, January. There are people at [the Department of Health and Human Services] making plans to implement that vaccine,’ he said. ‘Our experts need to talk to those people as soon as possible so nothing drops in this change of power.’” [NBC News, 11/15/20]
- Moncef Slaoui, Chief Of Operation Warp Speed, Told The Financial TImes That The Success Of Operation Warp Speed Was Contingent On Access To President-Elect Biden’s Transition Team. “Moncef Slaoui heads Operation Warp Speed, the joint Health and Human Services-Department of Defense program to spur the creation of a safe and effective COVID-19 vaccine. Slaoui told the [Financial Times] that he would need approval from the Trump administration before he could reach out to the transition team led by President-elect Joe Biden. ‘I hope nothing interferes with [Operation Warp Speed]. It is a matter of life and death for thousands of people,’ he said. The FT reported that, when asked if the vaccine program’s success was contingent on access to the Biden team, Slaoui replied: ‘I would assume, yes.’” [Talking Points Memo, 11/13/20]
- Dr. Anthony Fauci: “We Want A Smooth Process” To Distribute The Vaccine… “The Way You Do That Is By Essentially Having The Two Groups Speak To Each Other And Exchange Information.” “Fauci said that health care experts project that by the end of December, there will be doses of vaccines available for people in the high-risk category from both Pfizer and Moderna, which announced Monday that its vaccine candidate in Phase 3 trials is 94.5 percent effective. ‘The vaccines are effective. We want to get it approved as quickly as we possibly can. We want to get doses to people starting in December, and then we want to really get the ball rolling as we get into January, February and March,’ Fauci said. ‘We want a smooth process with that and the way you do that is by essentially having the two groups speak to each other and exchange information.’ Fauci’s comments come as the General Services Administration has not signed off on the Biden transition team’s services since the election was called more than a week ago.” [NBC News, 11/16/20]
…And Mitch McConnell and Senate Republicans Continue to Block Meaningful Coronavirus Relief as Americans Face a Deepening Economic Crisis
- Mitch McConnell Has Said That Any Relief Package Larger Than His $500 Billion “Skinny Bill” Is “Not A Place I Think We’re Willing To Go.” “[McConnell] said that he still believes a bill of about $500 billion is the way to go, even though Senate Democrats have repeatedly rejected his proposal. He said the improving economy only makes it clearer the Senate should do something ‘highly targeted at what the residual problems are.’ ‘I gather [Pelosi] and the Democratic leader in the Senate still are looking at something dramatically larger. That’s not a place I think we’re willing to go,’ McConnell said. ‘But I do think there needs to be another package. Hopefully we can get past the impasse we’ve had now for four or five months and get serious.’”
- But The GOP Bill Fails To Provide Direct Relief To American Families, Excludes Aid For States And Localities, And Slashes Enhanced Unemployment Benefits. “GOP skinny bill: Would offer federal unemployment benefits of $300 through the week ending December 27, half of what Congress included in its March coronavirus relief package. Payments would be retroactive to the end of July, when the original $600 weekly supplement expired. GOP skinny bill: Does not include money for a second round of direct stimulus checks to Americans. Previous GOP Bill: Would not provide more funding but would increase the time window and flexibility for states to utilize the initial $150 billion in funding to cover revenue shortfalls. Currently, those funds can only be used for coronavirus-related expenses.” [CNN, 9/8/20]