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About 17% of people in the US are infected with the coronavirus, a model estimated by researchers at the University of Washington.
Current data suggest that at least 7% of Americans tested positive for COVID-19, but the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation model assumes that testing does not detect all cases in the population.
The model, which was updated Friday, estimates that the U.S. will report another 168,000 COVID-19 deaths before May, bringing the total to 569,000 deaths. During the period, at least 40 states will have high or extreme voltage on hospital beds according to the model, and 46 will have high or extreme voltage on the ICU capacity according to the model.
Taking social health measures can lower the devastating projections. If almost everyone wears a face mask up to now, 22,000 fewer people will die from COVID-19, the model calculates.
“A lot of America is hurting. The virus is on the rise. We are 400,000 dead, and we are expected to reach more than 600,000,” President Joe Biden said Friday, adding: “The core is this. We are in a national emergency. “
In the headings:
► Larry King, the Brooklyn-bred man who became the most famous talk show host on cable TV, passed away on Saturday. He was 87. King was admitted to the hospital with COVID-19.
►Dr. Deborah Birx, who served as coordinator for the White House Coronavirus task force under President Donald Trump, told CBS that she “always” thinks about ending the job. “I mean, why do you want to go through that every day?” she said in an interview that is expected to be fully broadcast Sunday.
► A year ago, Wuhan locked up for 76 days in an attempt to slow down the spread of a new coronavirus. Twelve months later, new closure measures are taking effect in countries and cities around the world as the world continues to grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic and fight new strains of the virus. Thousands of Hong Kong residents have been told to stay in their homes on Saturday, with England locked up until at least March.
► About 4.9% of people in the US received at least one COVID-19 shot, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. About 0.8% of the people received both doses of the vaccine, and about 52.1% of the distributed shots have not been used yet. In Alaska, nearly 10% of residents received a first dose – the highest percentage of any state.
► The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its vaccination guidelines on Friday to say that the second dose of a two-shot vaccine can be given up to six weeks after the first administration.
► British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Friday that the new British coronavirus variant could be more deadly than the previous dominant variant, in addition to being more contagious.
► According to the police union, at least 38 US police officers have tested positive for the coronavirus since the January 6 riot at the Capitol. Dozens of members of the National Guard who were in Washington DC also reportedly tested positive, according to reports from at least five stores.
📈 Today’s numbers: According to Johns Hopkins University data, there are more than 24.9 million confirmed cases of coronavirus and more than 416,000 deaths. The global total: More than 98.5 million cases and 2.1 million deaths.
📘 What we read: Doctors said she would not survive COVID-19. After 25 days on a fan, she renews her wedding vows.
Dr Deborah Birx told CBS that she ‘always’ thought about ending WH’s task force
Dr. Deborah Birx, who served as coordinator for the White House Coronavirus task force under President Donald Trump, told CBS that she “always” thought about ending the job. “I mean, why do you want to go through that every day?” she said a maintenance grip shared on the CBS Face the Nation Twitter page.
“I had to ask myself every morning: is there anything I think I can do that will be helpful in responding to this pandemic?” she said. ‘And when it got to a point where I could not, I got nowhere – and that was just before the election – I wrote a very detailed communication plan about what was to happen the day after the election and how it was needed. wash. to be executed. And there was a lot of promise that it would happen. ‘
Asked if she believes the election is a “factor in communication about the virus”, Birx said yes. The interview is expected to air in full on Sunday. Birx said last month that she plans to help the incoming government for a “period” but will then retire.
Diligent medical students help speed up vaccination of US vaccines
Medical students are expected to be a more important part of the country’s unprecedented vaccination effort. President Joe Biden’s National COVID-19 Strategy says that clinical students, retired health care professionals, and health care professionals who do not usually give vaccinations should all request vaccinations.
“There’s no doubt that we have not been able to vaccinate as many people in an efficient way as we would like in part, because there are not enough people involved at all levels,” said Virginia Bader, director of Students Assist America and senior adviser to the president and CEO of the American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic medicine. “If we can fully involve the million students in the SAA, there is no doubt that we would be in a much better position than we are now.”
The attempt comes as the country faces an excess of distributed but unused vaccines, with about 20 million doses currently awaiting administration, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention on Friday.
– Adrianna Rodriguez
Dozens of Capitol police officers, members of the National Guard, are positive
At least 38 U.S. police officers in the Capitol have tested positive for the coronavirus since a riot for Trump’s actions broke out at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. Union chairman Gus Papathanasiou told the USA TODAY that the department notified him last week of 19 infections, along with 19 additional infections this week. The department has more than 2,300 officers and civilian employees.
A police spokeswoman did not confirm the number of officers who tested positive, but said testing and vaccinations are the highest priority for the department’s new acting chief, Yogananda Pittman. The department has’ added dates and locations to further facilitate employees’ access to the test ‘, the department said.
Members of the National Guard who were in Washington, DC, also tested positive, according to several reports. The Washington Post, citing unnamed soldiers from Maryland, reported that “the coronavirus is raging among members of the National Guard.” Three unnamed Guard sources told Politico that hundreds of members tested positive. And The Wall Street Journal and Reuters reported on Friday that nearly 200 members tested positive, citing government officials.
In a statement, the National Guard said it was not discussing COVID-19 cases and that staff were complying with public health guidelines.
Larry King dies at 87 after being admitted to hospital with COVID-19
Larry King, the Brooklyn-bred man who became cable TV’s most famous talk show host, passed away on Saturday. He was 87.
King was admitted to the hospital with COVID-19. According to Ora Media, a production company King founded with Mexican media magnate Carlos Slim, he died Saturday morning at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.
By the end of 2020, King would end up in Cedars-Sinai Medical Center with COVID-19. He was transferred to the ICU on New Year’s Eve and was receiving oxygen, but moved out of the ICU in early January and was breathing on his own, Ora Media spokesman David Theall said at the time.
– Gary Levin
California keeps important virus data out of the public eye
California Gavin Newsom’s government will not release important information that will help determine when his latest home order will be revoked.
State health officials said they relied on a complex set of measurements that would confuse the public and possibly mislead if made public. Dr. Lee Riley, chair of the University of California, Berkeley School of Infectious Diseases Division, disagrees.
“There is more uncertainty created by NOT releasing the data that only the state has access to,” he said in an email. Its release will enable outside experts to determine its value for projection trends and the consequent decisions to lift restrictions, he writes.
– The Associated Press
The second dose of vaccine can be given up to 6 weeks later, says CDC
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated their vaccination guidelines on Friday to say that the second dose of a two-shot vaccine can be given up to 6 weeks after the first administration.
The mRNA COVID-19 vaccines developed by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna require two doses, three weeks and one month apart respectively. But the second shots could still be fired up to 42 days after the first time, the CDC said Friday. There are no data on doses administered after the time.
The agency also said that a person may receive another vaccine for the second dose only in ‘exceptional situations’ where the vaccine for the first dose is unknown or not available. Clinical trials have not evaluated the safety or efficacy of varying vaccines.
UK data suggests that more infectious tensions are also more deadly
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned on Friday that a coronavirus variant first detected in the country in September could be about 30% more deadly than previous versions of the disease. Johnson unveiled the alarming statistics at a new conference in London.
British scientists have already concluded that the variant, known as B.1.1.7, spread between 30% -70% faster than the previous dominant coronavirus strain in the UK. In addition to the faster spread, it may be associated with a higher mortality rate, ‘he said.
Sir Patrick Vallance, Johnson’s chief scientific adviser, explained that the previous death rate of 60-year-olds in Britain from COVID-19 was about 10 per 1,000. With the new variant, it can be expected that about 13 or 14 out of 1000 infected people will die, he said.
– Kim Hjelmgaard and Karen Weintraub
Early state data indicates possible racial differences in who gets the vaccine
A new analysis by the Kaiser Family Foundation has found that populations most affected by the deadly effects of the virus, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation, do not receive equally, according to race and ethnicity.
More than a dozen states have released the data, and the proportion of black and Hispanic people being vaccinated is smaller than their share of many of the states’ cases and deaths, the Kaiser Family Foundation has found.
In Mississippi, black people accounted for 38% of cases and 42% of deaths, but only 15% of vaccinations, the report said. In Nebraska, 23% of cases and 13% of deaths were Hispanic, but that’s only 4% of vaccinations.
The data remains limited and no broad conclusions can be drawn, the report says, but it does raise some early warning flags about possible racial differences in access to and use of the vaccine. ‘
– Ryan Miller
Contributing Contributions: The Associated Press
This article originally appeared on US TODAY: COVID cases, updates: Capitol police, outbreaks of national guard