“Our medical professionals are overwhelmed by the increase in COVID-19 cases. There are lives at stake, and we ask you to stay home unless absolutely necessary … to save a life,” the tweet said.
Since the pandemic began, more than 388,000 people have died from Covid-19, according to Johns Hopkins University data. And on Thursday, the U.S. recorded its tenth consecutive day of more than 200,000 infections.
As frontline workers struggle to keep patients alive and the hospital’s ICU wings are in operation, the success of vaccine vaccination remains inconsistent.
Deviations in the distribution of vaccines
However, at least one state says that the distribution is before the game.
West Justice Gov. Jim Justice told CNN that as of Monday, every dose of vaccine the state receives has been administered within a day or so. The state leads the country according to the first doses administered per capita, according to the CDC data, which almost doubles the national rate.
“We absolutely did not go along with the federal model,” Justice told CNN’s John King on Thursday. Instead of using chain drugstores to administer the vaccine, the governor said the state relied on partnerships with local pharmacies as well as the state health department and the national guard to distribute the vaccines effectively.
“It’s as simple as mud. If you can shoot arms, you’re going to save lives,” Justice said. “We don’t have to sit and try to develop systems or to meet with committees or whatever. We had to act. We had to move.”
Other states are not achieving the same success as West Virginia.
However, about 10% of rural hospitals in Texas have not yet received a single dose of Covid-19, according to a group representing rural hospitals in the state. One CEO of a rural hospital group reported that some employees had to get vaccinated at a local supermarket, which had extra doses.
A member of Biden’s coronavirus advisory board warned Thursday against the new parameters. Although nearly 180 million Americans would be eligible under the vaccine plan, he would have said that the stock needed to handle this number would be at most in the summer.
Precautions are still needed
While the deployment of vaccines generally offers long-term hope for the country to overcome the pandemic, the situation nationwide is still prevalent.
In Missouri, lawmakers canceled the legislative session next week due to the increase in Covid-19 infections.
“Due to the increasing number of COVID-19 cases in the building, we are very careful to protect members, staff and visitors by canceling next week. Our goal is to return to work next week,” the statement from the Missouri House leadership.
Experts hope that precautions can help turn the tide of declining case numbers, such as those facing California.
Available ICU beds have reached the lowest level, according to the California Department of Public Health. Less than 1,100 ICU beds remain across the state, a shrinking number since the start of the boom in November.
CNN’s Haley Brink, Christina Maxouris, Lauren Mascarenhas, Raja Razek, Maggie Fox, Deidre McPhillips, Cheri Mossburg, Jessica Firger and Nick Watt contributed to this report.