As the US closes 400,000 coronavirus deaths, the incoming director of the Centers for Disease Control said officials would be incredible by mid-February.
“By mid-February, we expect half a million deaths in this country,” said Dr. Rochelle Walensky said.
The gloomy news comes as Los Angeles struggles with a more contagious variant of the virus. California leads the world in coronavirus cases, with more than 3 million inhabitants infected.
Anne Rimoin, UCLA epidemiologist, told CBS News that she “certainly” suspects there are more variants in the population. She compares the search for the variant to ‘to make a flashlight shine in the dark’, adding: ‘You’ll see something when you start looking, and we just did not look.’
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But nationwide, the chaotic deployment of the vaccine continues, leading to more than a few weakened nerves in Florida.
“You can not get an appointment, you can not buy an appointment. What are we going to do?” said Elizabeth Johnson, a Palm Beach resident.
The Florida Department of Health said more than 40,000 are already in arrears for their second dose because the country has the worst support.
The darkest weeks have already hit Southern California. Data show the dramatic increase in COVID-19 deaths in LA County, where one person now dies every six minutes.
The coroner has a backlog of bodies, so much so that LA County just facilitated air quality rules to allow for more cremations.
And yet, no matter how bad it may seem, there is at least one constructive update.
CBS News met Dennis Zayas and his wife Jessica just before Christmas, after a COVID-19 diagnosis led to a double lung transplant. He told CBS News that his recovery is a daily struggle and that he almost has to learn to walk again.
Now he not only walks, he exercises – and has his first dose this weekend Modern vaccine.
CBS News on Monday confirmed that President Trump will lift travel restrictions from Europe and Brazil, where the virus is on the rise, before leaving office. The restrictions would be lifted on January 26 – but the elected president of Biden’s team said later Monday that he would block the changes.