Coronavirus deaths in the United States increase at their fastest rate since early June
Two major pharmaceutical companies will provide the US government with 100 million doses of an experimental coronavirus vaccine, the Trump administration said on Friday, as the country’s main health agency predicted the number of deaths would rise in the coming weeks .
The deal calls on the US government to pay French drugmaker Sanofi and UK pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline up to $ 2.1 billion to provide it with enough vaccines for 50 million people, with the option to purchase 500 million additional doses.
The purchase falls under the Trump administration’s so-called Operation Warp Speed, intended to rush a COVID-19 vaccine to market by the end of 2020.
“Today’s investment supports our latest vaccine candidate, an adjuvant product developed by Sanofi and GSK, throughout clinical trials and manufacturing, with the potential to deliver hundreds of millions of safe and effective doses. to the American people, ”Alex Azar, secretary of the US Department of Health and Human Services, said in announcing the agreement.
The coronavirus, which first appeared in China, has infected 4.5 million people in the United States and killed more than 152,000 Americans, according to a Reuters tally.
On Friday, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control predicts between 168,000 and 182,000 total deaths by August 22, predicting deaths to increase fastest in Alabama, Kentucky, New Jersey, Puerto Rico, Tennessee and in Washington State.
The CDC also released a study that found COVID-19 spread to nearly half of the staff and campers at an overnight camp in Georgia more than a week and a half ago.
The investigation demonstrated “that children of all ages are susceptible to infection with SARS-CoV-2 and, unlike early reports, could play an important role in transmission.”
GETTING AROUND MIDWEST
New infections rose by nearly 2,000 in Illinois on Friday, according to the state’s health department, the largest single-day increase since May. Neighboring Indiana in the Midwest saw a peak of 901 new cases.
A leading White House pandemic adviser Dr Deborah Birx said the virus appeared to be moving away from Sunbelt states, including Arizona, California, Florida and Texas, and heading to the Midwest.
Birx, coordinator of the White House coronavirus task force, said Thursday that Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Missouri, Kansas and Nebraska were particularly at risk.
Four US states reported a record increase in deaths on Friday, including Florida, which has been a hotspot of COVID-19 cases in recent weeks.
Florida also reported 9,007 new cases, bringing the total number of infections to more than 470,000, the second highest in the country behind California. Florida is one of at least 18 states that saw cases more than double in July, when nearly 25,000 people in the United States died from COVID-19.
“I certainly don’t feel safe. I feel like I’m fighting an invisible enemy,” said Zinnia Santiago, 50, an executive assistant who lives in Coral Springs, Florida.
The state, already reeling from the pandemic and the resulting economic damage, was forced to close test sites on Friday as Hurricane Isaias approached, with high winds and heavy rains and residents. have stocked up on essential products.
ONE DEATH PER MINUTE
Coronavirus deaths in the United States are increasing at their fastest rate since early June. About one American died every minute from COVID-19 on Wednesday.
In the nation’s capital, infectious disease expert Dr.Anthony Fauci, testifying before a U.S. House of Representatives subcommittee, rebuffed efforts by Republicans and Democrats to drag him into the fierce political debate over how to deal with the pandemic.
A travel advisory went into effect in Chicago on Friday, requiring travelers from neighboring Wisconsin to quarantine for 14 days. Wisconsin has joined 21 other states that have seen an increase in the number of new cases.
The COVID-19 outbreak “is not well controlled” in Wisconsin, said Allison Arwady, commissioner of the Chicago Department of Public Health.
(Except for the title, this story was not edited by GalacticGaming staff and is posted from a syndicated feed.)
