One Life Lost to Coronavirus Every 26 Seconds
Half a Million Deaths Expected by End of February
State Officials Cancelling Vaccine Appointments Amid Concerns About Supply Shortages
In response to outgoing President Donald Trump using his farewell speech to downplay the coronavirus pandemic, Protect Our Care’s Coronavirus War Room Director Zac Petkanas released the following statement:
“In Donald Trump’s final lie-filled stream of consciousness as President of the United States, he talked about the pandemic in the past tense, suggesting that the health and economic crisis is over.
“But Americans know that the emergency is still raging, that Trump made things worse by botching the response and that it’s being left on incoming President Joe Biden’s doorstep to clean up. They know that as a direct result of Trump’s incompetence, the US passed 400,000 deaths this week, the vaccine distribution process is a catastrophe and hospital beds are full with the sick and dying.
“As President Biden begins his term, the process to get the virus under control and restore the American people’s trust in government will be a herculean task. Distributing vaccines, ramping up testing, and getting financial relief to families that desperately need it will all be made drastically more difficult because of the obstacles left by the previous administration. It will not be easy or quick to fix their failures.
“However, President Biden has put together a plan and a team that will begin the process of recovery. And just the presence of real leadership is a good starting point.”
Background on worsening crisis:
- The United States Has Reported 100,000 Coronavirus Deaths In The Last Five Weeks, As Total Fatalities Cross 400,000 Lives Lost On The Last Day Of Trump’s Presidency. “On Tuesday, the last full day of Donald Trump’s presidency, the official death count reached 400,000 — a once-unthinkable number. More than 100,000 Americans have perished in the pandemic in just the past five weeks.” [NPR, 1/19/21]
- In The United States, Someone Dies From Coronavirus Every 26 Seconds. “In the U.S., someone now dies from COVID-19 every 26 seconds. And the disease is now claiming more American lives each week than any other condition, ahead of heart disease and cancer, according to the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington.” [NPR, 1/19/21]
- The United States Could Report Half A Million Coronavirus Deaths By The End Of February. “Public health experts do not expect mortality rates to peak until the end of the month. By the end of February, the death toll might hit 500,000, a number that would have seemed unthinkable a year ago. Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the country’s top infectious disease expert, estimated last March that up to 240,000 Americans might lose their lives, an enormous figure that still fell far short of reality. The United States has had more total virus-related deaths than any other country in the world.” [New York Times, 1/20/21]
- States Are Cancelling Vaccine Appointments As Officials Express Concern That Supplies Are Running Low. “State and local officials are worried the supply will not be enough to continue the momentum. San Francisco’s Department of Public Health announced its supply will be exhausted by Thursday if there isn’t an additional allotment. New York is set to run out by the same day, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Tuesday. ‘If we don’t get more vaccine quickly, we will have to cancel appointments,’ de Blasio said. Due to their low vaccine supplies, Baptist Health South Florida has canceled all vaccination appointments for anyone scheduled to receive a first dose beginning Wednesday. Georgia is set up for vaccines with staff volunteers and the infrastructure, but there aren’t enough doses available in the state, said Georgia Department of Health Commissioner Dr. Kathleen Toomey.” [CNN, 1/20/21]
- State Officials Say Vaccine Supplies Do Not Align With Delivery Numbers Reported By The Trump Administration. “States across the country say they’re running low on coronavirus vaccine supply, with many officials insisting the vaccine delivery numbers reported by the Trump administration don’t align with what they are seeing on the ground. From New York to Tennessee to West Virginia, officials are clamoring for more doses of coronavirus vaccine. And officials in those states said that federal tallies suggesting they have thousands of doses sitting on the shelves don’t accurately reflect the supply of vaccine on hand… A source close to the Biden transition team said there is enormous concern among the incoming administration about the accuracy of the numbers that have been released by the federal government.” [CNN, 1/20/21]