After being sworn in as president, during his inaugural address, he referred to Covid-19 as a ‘once in a century virus that is quietly creeping up on the country’. “We will move forward quickly and urgently because we have a lot to do this winter of danger and important possibilities,” he added, while an ensemble forecast by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 100,000 deaths more predicted. in the next few weeks.
Biden’s urgency to turn around the pandemic took shape later in the day when he signed a series of executive orders that halted the Trump administration’s withdrawal from the World Health Organization (WHO); restores the National Security Council Directorate for Global Health Security and Biodefense (an office set up by the Trump administration); and assignments for masks on federal property.
Regular White House personal information made a comeback after ending in April when Trump suggested disinfectants could be injected as a cure for coronavirus (it is not, do not do it). The new press secretary, Jen Psaki, said yesterday that “truth and transparency” has returned to the information room, and the White House will combat misinformation by giving accurate information to the American people “even when it is difficult to hear.”
She added that the White House would require daily Covid-19 testing, N95 staff masks and strict social distance requirements – to model good pandemic behavior. The president “also asked us to be a model for the American people,” she said, in stark contrast to Trump and his government, who largely ignored the government mask and recommendations of social distance.
Dr Anthony Fauci, who still remains as chief medical officer, represented the US at a virtual WTO meeting on Thursday, where he thanked the health body for leading the global Covid-19 response. He also announced that the US will resume regular involvement with the organization and meet its financial obligations. Today, Biden will also address the crushing threat of the pandemic and sign more orders to get the pandemic under control.
“Healthier days lie ahead,” the new CDC director, Dr Rochelle Walensky, promised in her first statement, but to get there, the Covid-19 testing, supervision and vaccination will have to be accelerated quickly. “We must also address the long-standing challenges of public and health justice and inequality in the public health confrontation that have been required for far too long,” she said.
YOU ASKED. OUR ANSWER
V: How many people have been vaccinated in the US so far?
A: More than 16.5 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine have been administered in the US, about 46% of the 36 million doses distributed, according to data released by the CDC yesterday. According to the data, at least 2.1 million people both received the required doses.
Wednesday’s numbers indicate a significant increase in the dose administered out of the total amount distributed. Previously, the share remained below 40%. However, a comment on the CDC website Covid Data Tracker indicates that the agency is refining how the number of doses distributed is reported, which could affect this calculation.
According to the CNN’s recent analysis of the government’s data, the US vaccine is not running smoothly, with a number of other countries lagging behind in the Covid-19 vaccination efforts. Sources with direct knowledge of the new government’s Covid-related work told CNN one of the biggest shocks the Biden team had to endure during the transition period was what they saw as a complete lack of a distribution of the vaccine under Trump, even weeks after several vaccines were approved for use in the United States.
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WHAT IS IMPORTANT TODAY
Studies suggest that vaccinated people are protected against new Covid-19 variants
New research this week provides reassuring evidence that people vaccinated against coronavirus are being protected from emerging new variants. Two teams tested two of the new variants against blood taken from people who received the full two-dose dose of the Moderna or Pfizer vaccine, reports Maggie Fox.
While the mutations in the new variants of the virus – one first seen in Britain and another first identified in South Africa – have allowed them to evade the immunity caused by vaccination, the two teams were reported separately.
It’s reminiscent of last year, and China announces travel restrictions ahead of the new lunar year
China’s National Health Commission has announced a series of domestic travel restrictions to curb the spread of Covid-19 while the country prepares for mass movement of people to celebrate the New Year. Millions of Chinese migrant workers planning to travel back to the countryside now have to present a negative Covid test result within seven days of departure. People from medium or high risk areas are discouraged from traveling completely.
This comes when Chinese officials on Wednesday reported 144 new Covid-19 cases across the country, including 18 imported infections. All residents in the Daxing district of Beijing have been banned from leaving since Wednesday due to the increasing number of cases.
California officials say suppliers may resume administering Moderna vaccine from a specific lot
California health officials have given providers the opportunity to resume administering the Moderna vaccine of a specific lot ‘immediately’, after it was stopped earlier this week due to possible allergic reactions. This is because most coronavirus statistics improve in the state, which was the center of the virus in the US. But the seriousness of cases in the state and the death toll remain high.
California added 22,403 new cases on Wednesday, well below the average daily number for about 38,000 people, but also Wednesday 694 new deaths related to Covid-19 is the second highest one-day toll to date. And with a limited amount of coronavirus vaccine, state epidemiologist Erica Pan said it could take four to five months for all California residents over the age of 65 to be vaccinated.
ON OUR RADAR
- Zimbabwean Foreign Minister Sibusiso Moyo – known for announcing on state television in 2017 to announce the army’s takeover of late President Robert Mugabe – has died after capturing Covid.
- Amazon wasted no time in reaching out to newly installed U.S. President Joe Biden to prioritize its vital workers in its administration’s distribution plans. The company also offered to help with Biden’s promise to vaccinate 100 million Americans in the first 100 days.
- The Australian Open tennis stars must be quarantined not to feed mice in hotel rooms, after world no. 28, Yulia Putintseva discovered an infection.
- The number of North Korean defectors entering South Korea fell in 2020. This is probably due to the pandemic.
BO-WENK
Anosmia – a condition known as ‘odor blindness’ or odor loss, is a common symptom of Covid-19 (and other viruses) and can seriously affect the ability to taste as the senses are intertwined. And although most people regain their sense of smell or taste within days to weeks, experts believe that some people will not get their sense of smell after months.
Kaya Cheshire, for example, is still missing 90% of her sense of smell since she contracted a mild case of Covid-19 last year. At the suggestion of her doctor, Cheshire recently started using ‘fragrance training’ using strong-smelling items such as rose, lemons, cloves, garlic, eucalyptus and menthols to retrain her brain. Read how Covid-19 survivors changed their meals due to anosmia.
TODAY’S PODCAST
“We wanted science to save us. But it cannot save us from our own human nature.” – CNN’s chief medical correspondent dr. Sanjay Gupta
A year ago, a man walked into a clinic in Washington state and became the first patient to test positive for Covid-19 in the US. Gupta looks back on the painful lessons of this tragic year. Listen now.
