Coronavirus cases in the United States have reached 20 million

Design and construction experts from the Army Corps of Engineers are being deployed to repair oxygen delivery systems at several older hospitals in the Los Angeles area, according to the California Bureau of Emergency Management.

Teams will begin work on Saturday in six overtaxed hospitals identified as having infrastructure problems that prevent them from providing a high pressure oxygen supply to Covid-19 patients.

“The State of California is constantly working to support our hospitals and protect the lives of Californians affected by COVID-19. who need it, ”said Mark Ghilarducci, director of the governor’s office of emergency services.

In Atlanta, a convention center will become an overflow field hospital again starting Friday – a service it has performed twice before during the pandemic – Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp’s office has said.

The number of Covid-19 patients in Georgia hospitals on any given day has more than doubled since mid-November, according to data from the Tracking Project. The beds at the convention center “will help ensure that our hospitals continue to have the capacity they need for Covid and non-Covid patients,” Kemp said.

December was the deadliest month in the pandemic in the United States, accounting for more than 77,500 of the 346,000 deaths from Covid-19 in the country, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

And experts have warned that daily numbers could worsen across the country in the coming weeks, with swells resulting from gatherings and travel during the holidays.

Despite repeated calls from local and state leaders for people to celebrate with only members of their household, millions of Americans have chosen to spend time away from home.

No British variants are common in the US, says genomics company

Tests so far do not indicate that a more easily transmitted variant of the coronavirus is common in the United States, genomics company Helix told CNN.

Only four of 31 samples tested positive for the pattern of mutations first identified in the UK, Helix officials said.

The mutation pattern, known as B.1.1.7 or VUI-202012/01, was first observed in England and has been found in at least 30 countries, as well as in samples taken from people in California, Colorado and Florida.

“We cannot say for sure when the B.1.1.7 strain first appeared in the United States,” said Dr. James Lu, co-founder and president of Helix. “But it’s not common, which indicates it hasn’t been around for a long time.”

That said, the US isn’t really looking hard, added Lu. “Currently, the US does less sequencing than many other countries – a recent report from (genomic database) GISAID estimated that states “United sequenced 0.3% of positive cases compared to the UK which is around 7%,” added Lu.

Fauci: US will not follow UK decision to delay second vaccine doses

As the United States wraps up its third week of vaccinations, Dr Anthony Fauci made a major statement on Friday on how it will proceed.

The United States will continue to administer two doses of current coronavirus vaccines weeks apart and will not follow the UK’s decision to potentially delay second doses, Fauci told CNN’s senior medical correspondent, Elizabeth Cohen.

“I wouldn’t be in favor of that,” said Fauci, when asked about the UK’s new dosage plan. “We will continue to do what we are doing.”

So far, coronavirus vaccines approved in the United States require two doses, three to four weeks apart.

The UK has adopted this strategy to get as many people as possible the first dose as quickly as possible. Even the first shot, according to British doctors, would offer some protection.

Asked Thursday by NBC’s “Today” show whether the United States should adopt the United Kingdom’s plan, Fauci replied: “It is under consideration.”

But he told CNN on Friday that the comment had been misinterpreted.

Pfizer and Moderna, the makers of the two vaccines that received emergency use approval in the United States, studied the effectiveness of two doses a few weeks apart, a few months apart, Fauci noted, director of the National Institute of Allergies and Infectious Diseases.

“The point is, we want to stick with what the science tells us, and the data we have for both (vaccines) shows you give a boost, followed by a boost in 21 days with Pfizer and 28 days with Moderna. And now that’s how we do it, and that’s the decision that’s been made, ”he said on Friday.

“We are making decisions based on data. We have no data about giving a single dose and waiting more than the normal period” to administer the second dose, he added.

When Fauci told NBC that following the UK’s lead was “under consideration,” he meant some people – not US health officials – were talking about it, he told CNN on Friday.

“It was kind of a misinterpretation. I think some – not everyone – but people misinterpreted when I said it was under consideration. [as] as we will change. We are not, ”he said.

People who were vaccinated with the Pfizer vaccine on December 14 are expected to have their second injection soon.

Vaccines will take months to make a big difference, experts say

Experts say it will be months before vaccines are widespread enough to turn the tide of the pandemic.

“If we then diligently vaccinate people in April, May, June and July, we will gradually and substantially achieve a level of protection close to herd immunity.”

If vaccinations resume, by the time the onset of fall arrives, said Fauci, “we’ll have good enough herd immunity to be able to really get back to a strong semblance of normalcy.”