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USA TODAY follows COVID-19 news as a pair of vaccines join the US fight against a virus that has killed more than 350,000 Americans since the first reported death in February. Continue to refresh this page for the latest updates on the coronavirus, including who gets vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna, as well as other news from the USA TODAY Network. Subscribe to our Coronavirus Watch newsletter for updates directly to your inbox, join our facebook group or scroll our detailed answers to readers’ questions for everything you need to know about the coronavirus.
In the headlines:
► Prime Minister Boris Johnson has warned of tougher restrictions as a variant of the virus rages unchecked across Britain. Johnson, however, insisted that schools are safe despite teacher unions asking schools to turn to distance learning. Most of England has already closed gyms and shops not selling essentials.
►The numbers are for December and they are appalling. New infections jumped more than 40% from November – and November had more than twice as many cases as any month before. The death toll in December also set a record. More details below.
►Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said on Monday he would speed up vaccine approval and tighten border controls to stem the spread of the coronavirus, and vowed to consider declaring a state of emergency.
► Statistics on poverty and hunger in rural America have been available for years, and many rural schools have taken action to address hunger with government and local programs. But some teachers say these statistics have taken on new meaning since the start of the pandemic.
► Southern California funeral homes say they are turning away grieving families because they lack space and bodies are piling up. A funeral home averages six times its normal rate, or about 30 body removals per day. The head of the California Funeral Directors Association says the mortuaries are “inundated”.
► The deployment of vaccines in the United States continues to accelerate and just over 4 million people have received a first dose, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
► Texas hit a new record for COVID-19 hospitalizations on Sunday as a surge continued to strain the state’s medical resources after travel and vacation gatherings.
► President-elect Joe Biden will not get a traditional inaugural parade on Pennsylvania Avenue after taking the oath, but he will get a presidential escort to the White House.
📈 Today’s numbers: The United States has more than 20 million confirmed cases of coronavirus and 351,000 deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. Global totals: over 85 million cases and 1.8 million deaths.
California Hospital Outbreak Linked Inflatable Costume
A costume worn by a staff member at a California hospital Christmas party may have been a “contributing factor” to the infection of 44 staff. Kaiser Permanente San Jose Medical Center spokeswoman Irene Chavez told the New York Times that the costume was inflated by a small ventilator. Compressed air suits have been banned, she said.
“Any exposure, if it had occurred, would have been completely innocent and quite accidental, as the individual had no symptoms of Covid and was only seeking to boost the morale of those around him during a very stressful time”, Chavez said in a statement. .
December broke records for deaths and COVID cases
COVID-19 was disastrous in December, when an American died from the coronavirus approximately every 35 seconds. The United States reported 6,360,221 new cases, breaking November’s record of 1.9 million. And November had more than twice as many cases as any previous month of the pandemic, according to USA TODAY analysis of data from Johns Hopkins University.
The United States reported 77,572 deaths in December, more than 16,800 deaths above the previous monthly record set in April. Weekly deaths peaked in December in 30 states.
The winter break also brought changes in who was tested, the number of open test sites and how quickly labs and governments released data. This means that some of the numbers for December will be compiled in January.
Dr Anthony Fauci, the country’s leading infectious disease specialist, warned last week that January would likely be worse than December.
– Mike stucka
Fauci: 100 million vaccinations possible in Biden’s first 100 days
President-elect Joe Biden’s pledge to administer 100 million vaccines in his first 100 days in office is achievable, said Dr Anthony Fauci, the nation’s leading infectious disease expert.
Fauci, appearing on ABC’s “This Week,” also dismissed President Donald Trump’s claim on Twitter that the deaths and cases of coronavirus in the United States have been greatly exaggerated.
“All you have to do … is go into the trenches, go to the hospitals, go to the intensive care units and see what happens.” These are real numbers, real people and real dead, ”Fauci said on NBC’s“ Meet the Press ”.
Pregnant women face pro and con questions with COVID-19 vaccine
While there is very little data on how pregnant and breastfeeding mothers will respond to a COVID-19 vaccine, professional organizations and individual physicians say the benefits are very likely to outweigh the risks.
Pregnant women are much more likely to be admitted to an intensive care unit, to end up on a ventilator, and to die from COVID-19, according to a November study from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. women of the same age. and state of health who are not pregnant.
So far, none of the major vaccine clinical trials have included pregnant or breastfeeding mothers, which is “incredibly disappointing,” said Dr Geeta Krishna Swamy, obstetrician / gynecologist at Duke Medical Center, who helped write the vaccine guidelines for the American. College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Learn more here.
– Karen Weintraub
Why don’t all college athletes with COVID-19 take MRI exams?
Florida basketball player Keyontae Johnson’s sudden collapse this month deepened Adama Washington’s belief in what saved his daughter from the same fate – if not death.
Demi Washington, a second-year basketball player at Vanderbilt, announced on Twitter Dec. 7 that she would miss the remainder of the season. She revealed that she had been diagnosed with myocarditis, a potentially fatal inflammation of the heart linked to COVID-19. It was detected by a cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan after three more tests failed to find an abnormality, according to Adama Washington.
Yet the cardiac MRI scan which she believes could have saved her daughter is not mandated by most college conferences, with the Big Ten and Big 12 being the only Power Five conferences to require that the test be administered to athletes. who test positive for COVID-19.
“There is this belief that cardiac MRI is the gold standard for diagnosing myocarditis, and this belief is based on the fact that it is the best tool we have for looking for heart damage,” said the Dr. Aaron Baggish, director of the Cardiovascular Performance Program at the Massachusetts General Hospital Heart Center. “But it’s not a perfect tool.” Learn more here.
– Josh Peter
Pope Francis: “ We don’t know what 2021 has in store for us ”
Pope Francis said he was very saddened that some people, during the shutdown times of the COVID-19 pandemic, managed to escape on vacation when so many suffered from economic problems or were sick.
In Sunday midday prayer at the Vatican, Francis said “we don’t know what 2021 has in store for us.” But, he added, “what each of us and all of us together can do is make a little more commitment to caring for others” and the environment, “our common home”.
Throughout the pandemic, the pontiff insisted on taking care of the most needy and respecting anti-contagion measures.
Contribute: The Associated Press
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: COVID cases peaked in December; Shortages in California and Texas: Updates
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