U.S. coronavirus: Country has reported more than 153,000 new coronavirus infections, and outbreak is only accelerating

For the tenth day in a row, the United States has reported more than 100,000 infections. On Thursday, with its highest number at more than 153,000 new infections, the country came close to what an expert had predicted that it could soon become a devastating reality – 200,000 cases per day.

“The curve that we had flattened? Right now, that curve is a straight line and it is straight,” the governor said.

Just as experts predicted months ago, the soaring Covid-19 fall in the fall is quickly proving to be worse than any other, and new projections offer a glimpse of the gravity of the situation.

An ensemble forecast released Thursday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now predicts there could be as many as 282,000 U.S. Covid-19 deaths by December 5. That means nearly 40,000 Americans could lose their lives from the virus in the next three weeks.

‘Less is more this Thanksgiving’

The country may be headed in the wrong direction, but the public health measures touted by officials for months – including headgear, social distancing and regular handwashing – could provide much needed help. More than 17,000 lives could be saved by the end of the year if 95% of Americans wore masks, according to IHME projections.

In New Hampshire, Gov. Chris Sununu reported that most new cases of the virus occurred at gatherings where people were not wearing masks.

“If there are circumstances where it is a family member who is not in your immediate family, even if you are in your own home, you and that member should probably wear a mask,” said the governor. “The virus doesn’t care if it’s Uncle Bob.

But “separation should be the norm” this Thanksgiving Day, said Dr. William Schaffner, professor of infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University on Thursday.

“Less is more this Thanksgiving,” Schaffner said. “It’s Covid Thanksgiving. We don’t want to give the virus away while we give thanks.”

Study: New strain of mutant virus spreads more easily

Researchers also now say they have found more evidence that a mutant version of the coronavirus that has outgrown an older strain to spread across much of the world is more easily transmitted – but does not appear to be more dangerous.

And he hasn’t changed his physical form, so he should be just as vulnerable to the body’s immune response, whether it’s natural or vaccine-induced.

The research team, led by two virus genetics experts – Dr. Yoshihiro Kawaoka of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Dr. Ralph Baric of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill – studied the so-called D614G version. of the coronavirus.

After performing tests on laboratory animals and in Petri dishes containing the cells that line the human airways, the team found that the virus variant “exhibits more efficient infection, replication, and competitive ability in epithelial cells of the primary human respiratory tract ”.

The team’s findings validate previous studies that have shown the new strain to spread more easily and also support evidence that the mutation did not make the virus more likely to cause serious illness. The mutation can help the virus grow better in the nose and upper respiratory tract, which would help it to spread among humans.

‘Targeted vaccinations’ to start in December or January, official says

Meanwhile, a senior U.S. official said on Thursday that all Americans wishing to be vaccinated would be able to do so by April.

“Initially, in December and January, we’re going to have very targeted vaccinations, also helped in large part by some of our bigger chains, like Walgreens and CVS,” the US Secretary of Health and Human Services told CNN. , Alex Azar.

There will likely be enough vaccines for “all of our most vulnerable citizens” to get vaccinated in December, he said, followed by “all of our seniors, as well as our emergency first responders and health workers. ” in January.

“By the end of March to the beginning of April, we believe that in all the vaccines that we have invested in, we have enough for all Americans who want to be vaccinated,” he said.

The company said it expects “logistical” challenges in distributing the two-dose vaccine as the injections must be stored at freezing temperatures.

“We’re working really hard on it,” said Dr. John Burkhardt, Pfizer’s vice president of global drug safety research and development, earlier this week.

“There is a whole suite of very experienced and talented people at Pfizer who work just on this, an army of people, so it will be important to work with the authorities, with state governments and others to provide that. Supply Chain.”