This is what happens to the coronavirus pandemic in the US on Wednesday:
THREE THINGS TO KNOW TODAY
– A number of countries report that their vaccine is empty, and tens of thousands of people who have managed to get appointments for a first dose, see them canceled. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, half of the 31 million doses distributed by the federal government to the states have been administered so far. Only about 2 million people received the two doses needed for maximum protection against the virus.
– President Joe Biden signs a series of executive actions reversing the orders of his predecessor on immigration, climate change and the coronavirus pandemic. Praying requires the use of masks and social distance in all federal buildings, on federal lands and by federal employees and contractors. Biden also commands the government to rejoin the World Health Organization.
– The incoming director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is reaching out to an agency that was relocated to the sidelines during the pandemic. Dr. Rochelle Walensky (51), a specialist in infectious diseases at Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital, arrives at the CDC this week as the U.S. death toll from the coronavirus exceeds 400,000, and the country’s largest vaccination campaign in history experiences confusion and delays.
THE NUMBERS: The US averages about 201,000 new cases and about 3,000 deaths a day. The country’s death toll since the start of the pandemic now stands at about 403,000.
QUOTE: “It’s so incredible, unimaginably sad that so many people died that could have been avoided.” Cliff Daniels, chief strategic officer at Methodist Hospital in Southern California, near Los Angeles, after the US death toll rose to 400,000.
ICYMI: California officials raise hopes for President Joe Biden as they struggle to obtain coronavirus vaccines and to stem an increase in infections that are clogged with hospitals and mortuaries. The San Francisco Department of Public Health says it will likely not be vaccinated any more on Thursday. Los Angeles County is starting to vaccinate people 65 and older, despite the scarcity.
ON THE HORIZON: Biden took office as the 46th President of the United States. Its ambitious first 100-day plan includes speeding up the distribution of COVID-19 vaccines to Americans and reducing a $ 1.9 billion pandemic package.
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Find AP’s full coverage of the coronavirus pandemic at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic