U.S. Coronavirus: Experts Urge Thanksgiving Travelers to Get Tested for Covid-19 as Hospitalizations Peak



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“For every American, this is the time to protect yourself and your family,” Dr. Deborah Birx, a member of the White House coronavirus task force, told CBS on Sunday.

November was an unprecedented coronavirus outbreak month, with 27 consecutive days of cases exceeding 100,000, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. And although hospitalizations hit a new record high of 93,238 on Sunday, it was the third time the metric has exceeded 90,000 this month, according to the Covid Tracking Project.

“There is no way that hospitals can be fully prepared for what we are currently facing,” Emergency doctor Dr Megan Ranney said on Saturday. “It’s like a natural disaster occurring in all 50 states at the same time. There are no adequate beds. There are no adequate personnel. And due to the lack of national preparedness, there are no still lack adequate supplies. ”

As the nation moves towards In the winter, U.S. Surgeon General Dr Jerome Adams told Fox News on Sunday he expects cases and hospitalizations to worsen in the coming weeks.

“Be sure to wash your hands and make sure again that if you’ve been to a gathering of more than 10 people without a mask in the past few days, get tested within the next three to five days.”

These measures may further slow the spread of the coronavirus for those who have attended a Thanksgiving rally before, Adams told Fox.

Coronavirus hits Midwest hardest

As the United States struggles to manage cases until a vaccine can be distributed, states are doing differently.

If Arizona officials do not address the increase in cases in the next two to three weeks, the state will face a humanitarian crisis resulting in hundreds of preventable deaths, the Zuckerman College of Public Health said on Friday. the University of Arizona in a report.

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“While targeted measures may have slowed transmission enough weeks ago, I believe shelter-in-place orders offer the most certain chance of making the necessary improvements,” the report’s lead author said on Saturday. , Dr. Joe Gerald, also Assistant Professor.

In New York City, once the epicenter of the virus has spread to the United States, the state will send students up to grade five to public schools for in-person learning in early December, said Mayor Bill of Blasio.

Students will be tested weekly and parents will be required to sign a consent form for each student who will take classes in person, de Blasio said.

New York, however, is experiencing a positivity rate of 4.27%, the highest rate since May, Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Sunday.

But the rates of spread are worse in the Midwest than in other parts of the country, Dr. Scott Gottlieb, former commissioner of the United States Food and Drug Administration, said on Sunday on “Face the Nation”. CBS.

“If you see what’s going on in the northeastern and mid-Atlantic states where the governors took more aggressive action early on, where the use of masks is more consistent, where they contracted less “infection during this season – I think you’re going to see an infection. The rates remain lower than we see in other parts of the country like the Midwest,” Gottlieb said.

On Saturday, the Ohio state total topped 400,000 cases, with more than 100,000 added in less than two weeks, according to the state’s Covid-19 dashboard.

Some Americans could get vaccines in December

After a long-awaited race to develop vaccines, some could be distributed as early as December.

Pfizer and Moderna vaccine candidates have shown promising efficacy rates in testing, and Adams said he was optimistic Pfizer will submit an emergency use authorization on December 10 and Moderna on December 18.
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The expected 40 million doses will be ready by the end of the year, but it’s not enough for everyone who needs them to get one, Surgeon General Adams told Fox.

“The vaccine advisory committee that advises the CDC will make recommendations on who should get the vaccine first, the so-called group 1A – who should get it immediately, when it’s available,” Gottlieb told CBS.

Gottlieb said he expects healthcare workers, long-term care residents and staff to be the first group of people eligible for the vaccine.

“It’s pretty much decided – they’re going to vote this week,” he said. “I would be very surprised if they deviate from that.”

The first vaccine release will likely coincide with when cases related to the Thanksgiving gatherings start to appear.

Although the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended Americans not to travel on Thanksgiving, more than 6 million people went through security at U.S. airports before the holidays.

“When you look at the people who are hospitalized today, they were infected two weeks ago, maybe more,” said Dr. Jonathan Reiner, professor of medicine at George Washington University. “And then it usually takes another week for people to succumb to the disease.”

CNN’s Chuck Johnston, Naomi Thomas, Leanna Faulk, Artemis Moshtaghian and Sheena Jones contributed to this report.

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