COVID-19 has killed more than 400,000 Americans in less than a year and infections are still on the rise across the country despite the launch of a few vaccines in late 2020. USA TODAY is watching the news. Keep refreshing this page for the latest coronavirus updates, including who gets the vaccinations from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, as well as other top news from across the US TODAY Network. Subscribe to our Coronavirus Watch Newsletter for updates directly in your inbox, join our Facebook group or browse through our in-depth answers to reader questions to learn more about the virus.
In the headings:
► Rebekah Jones, the fired data scientist from Florida’s science whistleblower department, turned herself in to police Sunday night to face a criminal case.
► The majority of Americans say the coronavirus pandemic is out of control, according to a new poll by the Washington Post-ABC News. Only 1 in 10 Americans say the pandemic is mostly under control, the poll found. “The nationwide survey shows that the vast majority of people of all political affiliations say they think the deadly virus, which arrived in the country almost a year ago, is only slightly under control or not controlled at all,” the Washington said. Post said.
► More than 31 million doses of vaccines have been distributed to states, but less than half of them have been used so far. The acceptance of COVID-19 vaccines is increasing, finds a new poll in the USA TODAY / Suffolk University, but also pessimism about the return to normal.
► On Tuesday, the US exceeded the 400,000 deaths reported from the coronavirus, almost double the total of the next worst-hit country. More than 20,000 people die each week. Since March 1, about five Americans have died from COVID-19 every five minutes.
► While states are still struggling with the slow deployment of COVID-19 vaccines, the Government of South Carolina, Henry McMaster, has threatened hospitals with an executive order to speed up vaccinations, in which he has been asked to provide a ‘Chick-Fil’ -A-type rule ‘in a press conference.
► Navajo Nation officials have reported 65 new cases of COVID-19 and three more deaths. The latest figures released late Sunday bring the total reported cases of coronavirus on the discussion to 26,448, including 922 deaths.
► President Donald Trump announced on Monday that he will lift pandemic travel restrictions for Europe and Brazil. However, incoming White House press secretary Jen Psaki tweeted that President-elect Joe Biden “does not intend to lift these restrictions on 26/26.”
► Several counties in California are suspending the administration of more than 300,000 doses of Moderna coronavirus vaccine after state health officials received reports of ‘possible allergic reactions’ from one clinic.
► North Dakota has reported zero coronavirus deaths for the fifth time this month, although the death toll is still among the worst in the country.
► The British government plans to offer a first dose of COVID-19 vaccine to every adult by September, while top officials in Brazil approve the urgent use of coronavirus vaccines manufactured by Sinovac and AstraZeneca.
📈 Today’s numbers: According to Johns Hopkins University data, the US has more than 24 million cases of coronavirus and more than 400,000 deaths. The global total: more than 95.5 million cases and 2 million deaths.
📘 What we read: On January 20, 2020, the United States’ first known case of the new coronavirus is discovered in Snohomish County, Washington. In the year that followed, COVID-19 crept into every country in the country, killing more than 400,000 people and infecting 1 in 14 Americans. This is how the outbreak unfolded in the very first community.
More than 400,000 people in the US die from coronavirus
The U.S. reported 400,000 coronavirus deaths on Tuesday, another reminder of how badly the country fared with the world’s largest economy during the coronavirus pandemic. Since December 1, nine Americans have been dying of COVID-19 every five minutes.
According to Tuesday 14:48, the COVID-19 death toll was at 400,022, according to the Johns Hopkins University dashboard. In less than a year, nearly as many Americans died from COVID-19 as died during World War II, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
Not since Woodrow Wilson was in office during the 1918 flu pandemic – which killed about 675,000 in this country and 50 million worldwide – has a president overseen the loss of so many American lives. The pandemic is the third deadliest event in the history of the United States, after the Spanish flu in 1918 and the civil war of 1861-1865.
The NYC mayor says the vaccine doses will run out by Friday
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said the city is vaccinating residents faster every day and that it will not receive more doses on Thursday unless they receive more.
De Blasio said at a Tuesday press conference the city distributed 220,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine last week, exceeding its own target of 175,000. After receiving a “small supply” of 53,000 doses on Tuesday, the city now has just 116,000 doses for the coming week.
“At the rate we are going, we will start running out on Thursday,” de Blasio said, adding that as many as 300,000 people could be vaccinated this week. “We will literally have nothing left to give from Friday.”
According to de Blasio, vaccines should close by Friday. The city will only receive a consignment again next Tuesday, which means that vaccinations can probably only resume next Wednesday.
De Blasio said he was “very hopeful” that President-elect Joe Biden’s incoming government will “fix a lot of this.”
California stops administering one dose of Moderna COVID-19 vaccine due to possible allergic reactions
The top epidemiologist in California on Sunday recommended that medical providers stop administering doses of one amount of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine after a “higher than usual” number of possible allergic reactions was reported at one clinic.
The shipments arrived in California between Jan. 5 and Jan. 12. More than 330,000 doses of the premises were distributed to 287 suppliers in the state.
The Epidemiologist of California, dr. Erica S. Pan, said Sunday that less than ten individuals need medical help after receiving the vaccine for 24 hours, and it appears that everyone is experiencing a severe allergic reaction. The vaccine switched to a different amount of Moderna vaccine after it closed for a few hours and no other groups were reported.
“Out of extreme abundance of caution and also the extremely limited amount of vaccine, we recommend that suppliers use other available vaccine supplies,” Pan said in a statement.
Although there is less data on the Moderna vaccine, according to the California Department of Public Health, only about 1 in 100,000 people is expected to experience anaphylaxis after receiving a similar vaccine.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration and Moderna are investigating the incident.
Dismissed Florida scientist arrested on computer charge
Rebekah Jones, the fired data scientist from Florida’s Department of Health, and whistleblower, handed herself over to police Sunday night to face a charge of criminal case.
Jones, 31, has been charged under Florida’s computer-related crime law “with a number of offenses against users of computers, computer systems, computer networks and electronic devices,” the FDLE said. If convicted in the third degree, he could face up to five years in prison and a $ 5,000 fine.
Jones was fired from the health department in May for alleged subordination. She claimed she was fired for refusing the COVID-19 numbers on the DOH’s coronavirus dashboard. Since then, she has set up a competitive dashboard that she says provides the data more honestly and includes additional public health statistics.
The investigation began on Nov. 10 after FDLE received a complaint from the Florida Department of Health that someone had illegal access to an emergency system for emergency reports, known as ReadyOp. FDLE agents have determined the message was sent from a residence at Centerville Court in Tallahassee, Jones’ home, the agency said.
The FDLE carried out a search warrant at Jones’ home on Dec. 7. Armed agents raided Jones’ home, using computer hardware, telephones and memory devices. The attack provoked some criticism for its heaviness.
– Alessandro Marazzi Sassoon, Florida Today
Nationwide COVID-19 memorial is planned for Washington on Tuesday
A nationwide memorial in honor of the lives lost to COVID-19 was scheduled for Tuesday night, according to the presidential inauguration committee.
Although Washington, DC, is at an increased level of security after the January 6 riots, the memorial will “have a relief around the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool,” the PIC said in a statement Monday.
Elected President Joe Biden – along with Dr Jill Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband Douglas Emhoff – will take the opportunity to light the 400-light reflective pool to honor lives lost to COVID-19. This is the very first lighting around the reflective pool at the Lincoln Memorial.
It is also planned to illuminate iconic buildings such as the Empire State Building in New York to the Space Needle in Seattle. In addition, hundreds of towns, cities, tribes and communities across the country have also committed to joining the tribute in a national moment of unity.
Starbucks partners with Washington state to distribute vaccines
The state of Washington is working with Starbucks to streamline the rollout of vaccines and sets a new goal of dispensing 45,000 doses a day, government Jay Inslee announced Monday.
“This is the kind of total mobilization of our community that we will have to see to achieve these very, very ambitious targets,” he told NBC. “We did it in World War II, we can do it now.”
The state has 7.6 million inhabitants, but only 31,500 people have been vaccinated with both doses of the vaccine, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported.
‘We just did the math and came up with this vaccination rate. “It’s going to take 6,7,8 years before this country is vaccinated,” Kevin Johnson, Star Johnson’s CEO, told NBC. And we can not think that it is an acceptable fit. “
Biden administration takes a more active role in COVID-19 response
The Trump administration has set unrealistic expectations, saying 20 million Americans will be vaccinated by the end of December, said Jason Schwartz, assistant professor of public health at Yale University. According to the latest update on Friday, 31.2 million doses were distributed and according to the CDC, 12.3 million vaccine shots were applied.
“The design of the vaccine so far has been so decentralized that it has actually been sent vaccinations by country. You tell us where to send it, give us the email addresses and you take it from there,” Schwartz said. But ‘one thing we have already seen from the incoming Biden government is that they intend to play a much more active and involved role in supporting this vaccination effort, coordination, leadership.’
Biden has put together a COVID-19 response team and promises to deliver 100 million doses of vaccine during his first 100 days in office. On Thursday, he proposed a $ 1.9 billion package of pandemic relief that includes $ 70 billion for virus testing and a national vaccination program.
Contributing Contributions: The Associated Press
This article originally appeared on US TODAY: COVID update: US hits 400,000 deaths; Rebekah Jones arrested