America Crosses Threshold of 21 Million Cases With New Infections Soaring
Deadliest Day of Pandemic Recorded as Hospitalizations Continue Relentless Rise
Trump’s Abject Failure on Vaccine Distribution Ensures Continuity of Crisis
As he has done throughout the pandemic, Donald Trump continues to abdicate responsibility for responding to the coronavirus crisis as Americans face the deadliest phase yet.
More than 21 million people are now infected while 357,000 have lost their lives — nearly 4,000 people losing their lives yesterday alone. Hospitalizations continue to shatter records, some facilities turning away patients amid a dearth of staff and resources.
And rather than mobilize the federal government to roll out a life-saving, critically-needed vaccine, Donald Trump is leaving states to develop a patchwork of protocols in an attempt to inoculate millions of people, with inadequate resources and guidance. Vaccines are now at risk of expiring on pharmacy shelves as more and more Americans sicken, and as the new Biden administration prepares to inherit a deadly, unnecessary disaster.
The Pandemic Enders Deadliest, Most Dangerous Phase During Post-Holiday Surge
The United States Has Surpassed 21 Million Cases Of COVID-19, And Is Reporting An Average Of More Than 215,000 Cases Daily. “More than 21.05 million cases have been reported in the U.S. altogether, according to Johns Hopkins data, and more than 357,000 people have died. The seven-day moving average of newly reported cases, which smooths out irregularities in the data, was 215,408 as of Monday, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of Johns Hopkins data.” [Wall Street Journal, 1/6/21
On January 5, The United States Recorded At Least 3,775 Deaths To COVID-19 — A New Single-Day Record. “At least 3,775 Covid-19 deaths were reported in the United States on Tuesday, according to data from Johns Hopkins University — the highest number of fatalities recorded in a single day since the pandemic began.” [CNN, 1/6/21]
On January 5, The United States Once Again Broke Its Record For COVID-19 Hospitalizations — Reporting 131,195 Patients Receiving Treatment For The Disease. “Hospitalizations jumped again, to a record 131,195, according to the Covid Tracking Project. It was the first time the number has risen past 130,000, and the 10th day in a row it has been above 120,000. There were 23,509 people in intensive care, according to the project, also a record.” [Wall Street Journal, 1/6/21]
In Los Angeles County, Hospitals Are So Overwhelmed That Ambulances Are Being Directed Not To Transport Patients Who Have Little Hope For Survival. “Los Angeles County has been so overwhelmed it is running out of oxygen, with ambulance crews instructed to use oxygen only for their worst-case patients. Crews were told not to bring patients to the hospital if they have little hope of survival and to treat and declare such patients dead on the scene to preserve hospital capacity. Several Los Angeles hospitals have turned away ambulance traffic in recent days because they can’t provide the airflow needed to treat patients.” [Washington Post, 1/5/21]
No End in Sight: Vacuum of Federal Support Obstructs Vaccine Distribution
The Trump White House Has No Plans To Overhaul The Vaccine Distribution Process Despite Disastrous Roll Out. “Trump administration officials admit Operation Warp Speed fell well short of its target to get coronavirus shots to 20 million Americans in 2020, but there’s no sign of an aggressive federal push to address the problem. Officials tell CNN they are sticking with their policy to leave it up to states to carry out vaccination campaigns… States, meanwhile, say the federal government has been slow to realize the problem and should have given states more money earlier to develop specific plans.” [CNN, 1/5/21]
The Federal Government Cannot Even Determine Which States Need Targeted Assistance To Improve Vaccine Distribution. “But even within the administration, officials are struggling to get a clear picture of which states have actually been slow to vaccinate residents and which have simply been slow to report their numbers. That has made it more challenging for the federal officials to determine if they should be offering targeted assistance to certain areas.” [CNN, 1/5/21]
States Have Not Yet Received $9 Billion In Relief Funding From The Federal Government To Facilitate Vaccine Distribution. “The patchwork of responses comes as desperate governors are facing a vacuum of federal support, along with dire funding and workforce shortages that are hampering the pace of the rollout. Though Trump administration officials predict vaccination rates will pick up this week, the White House’s coronavirus task force has not convened a call with governors since Dec. 21. States have not yet seen the nearly $9 billion Congress approved to help vaccine distribution in a late December relief package.” [Politico, 1/5/21]
Texans Are Searching For Vaccines With Little Success, As Providers Wait For Additional Shipments From The Federal Government Before Inoculating More People. “While some people in Phase 1B have been able to secure their first dose of the vaccine, the majority have searched for vaccination appointments with little success. In San Antonio, many providers say they’re waiting on more shipments of the vaccine from the state and federal government before they’re able to inoculate more people, particularly in Phase 1B. In some cases, doses that have not yet been received by the provider are already scheduled to be delivered to a person in Phase 1A.” [KSAT, 1/5/21]
North Carolina Has The Sixth Lowest Vaccination Rate In The Nation, As Some Places Do Not Have Enough Staff To Administer Vaccines. “[North Carolina’s] rate of 966 vaccinations per 100,000 people, as of 9 a.m. Monday, was the sixth lowest in the country. Dr. Mandy Cohen, the state DHHS secretary, told The News & Observer that some of the state’s health departments and hospitals have used all of their vaccine allocation, while others are grappling with issues ranging from data entry to information technology issues to not having enough staff to actually administer vaccine.” [Raleigh News & Observer, 1/5/21]
Arizona Has More Than Two-Thirds Of Its Vaccine Supply In Storage, Rather Than In Arms. “Only 101,030 doses of the state’s 314,750 vaccines had been administered through Monday. That means Arizona has more than two-thirds of its vaccine supply in storage, with more doses on the way… Vaccination progress varies significantly county by county, according to ADHS statistics first released Monday, which should be updated daily with new figures.” [Arizona Republic, 1/5/21]
- In Maricopa County, Arizona, Technical Issues Have Slowed The Roll Out Of The Vaccine. “Our original goal was to have all interested healthcare workers vaccinated in 10 days, however, due to technical issues, we were not able to ramp up and schedule as quickly as needed to reach that goal,” [Maricopa] county spokesperson Ron Coleman wrote in an email. Two of the five Maricopa County distribution sites had scheduling problems, and the first week saw slower appointment scheduling in general because of technical issues, per Coleman. Demand also lessened on days around the holidays, and the sites closed on holidays so health care workers could spend time with their families, which further delayed distribution.” [Arizona Republic, 1/5/21]
In West Virginia, Some Seniors Were Given The Regeneron Antibody Treatment Instead Of The Vaccine. “West Virginia also had an embarrassing stumble last week when 44 people, many of them seniors, were dosed with a Regeneron antibody treatment rather than the intended vaccine. It was a good reminder that the nationwide vaccination rollout ‘is more complex than a military operation,’ said [Clay Marsh, West Virginia’s Covid-19 czar].” [Politico, 1/5/21]
With No Federal Or Statewide Distribution Plan, Florida Counties Are Turning To Eventbrite For Vaccine Sign-Ups — Creating New Problems. “With millions of suddenly eligible recipients and no statewide distribution plan, county health departments in Florida had to find a way to get as many people signed up as quickly as possible… The ‘only option,’ [Brevard] county told The Verge, was Eventbrite, a site best known for offering tickets to shows and concerts. Several other Florida counties, including Manatee, Nassau, Collier, Sarasota, Flagler, and Pasco, have decided to do the same. While quickly distributing vaccines to people on the priority list is certainly a good thing, there are some issues here. Fake Eventbrite sites that charge people to make nonexistent appointments have apparently popped up. And relying solely on Eventbrite means people who don’t have access to or know how to use the internet won’t be able to sign up to be vaccinated.” [Vox, 1/5/21]
Wealthy Floridians Are Receiving Vaccines In Possible Violation Of Immunization Guidelines, As Facilities Inoculate Board Members And Financial Donors. “MorseLife [Health System] has made scarce coronavirus vaccines — provided through a federal program intended for residents and staff of long-term-care facilities — available not just to its residents but to board members and those who made generous donations to the facility, including members of the Palm Beach Country Club… The arrangement, in appearing to rely on a program run by chain pharmacies for nursing home residents and staff, may have violated national immunization guidelines, as well as state protocols, even though state officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity to address sensitive matters, acknowledged that the rules have not been spelled out clearly enough by Gov. Ron DeSantis (R).” [Washington Post, 1/5/21]
Slow Distribution Amid Soaring Cases Means Vaccine Supplies Are At Risk Of Expiring Before Being Used. “With more than 355,000 Americans already dead of Covid-19, nearly 21 million cases reported in the United States and hospitals overflowing, the need to inoculate people grows more urgent every day. The nation is facing twin problems. At the moment, it has only enough vaccine on order to cover 185 million Americans by the end of June. At the same time, doses that vaccine makers rushed out of their factories are sitting unused and are in danger of expiring. The Trump administration has shipped more than 15 million vaccine doses, and millions more are already in the federal government’s hands. Yet only 4.5 million people have received them so far. State and local public health officials, already overwhelmed with rising infections, are struggling to administer the vaccine to hospital workers and at-risk older Americans while most people remain in the dark about when they might be protected.” [New York Times, 1/5/21]
Even If Vaccine Distribution Problems Smooth Out, Supply Shortages Loom In The Coming Year. “Even if distribution kinks smooth out, a vaccine shortage looms in coming months because only two products so far — one developed by Moderna and the other by Pfizer-BioNTech — have been authorized for emergency use. Both vaccine makers have committed all their doses until midyear. That still leaves uncovered about 60 million of adult Americans eligible to be vaccinated.” [New York Times, 1/5/21]