In the past week, the nation has reported an average of 161,228 new infections per day, reports The New York Times.
Four more updates:
1. A CDC advisory panel has suggested high-risk healthcare workers, along with nursing home residents and staff, be the first to receive a COVID-19 vaccine, reports The New York Times. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices passed the recommendation Dec. 1 on a 13-1 vote. CDC Director Robert Redfield, MD, is expected to decide Dec. 2 whether to accept the recommendation as the agency’s formal guidance to states.
2. The U.K. approved Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine Dec. 1, the first Western country to do so, reports The New York Times. The emergency authorization is the first done for a fully tested vaccine, though Russia and China approved vaccines before results of large-scale efficacy tests were available.
3. A bipartisan group of senators introduced a COVID-19 relief proposal Dec. 1 worth about $908 billion, according to The Washington Post. The relief bill includes $51 billion in new healthcare and vaccine-related funds, $160 billion in state and local government funding, $240 billion in new Paycheck Protection Program assistance, and $300 a week in federal unemployment benefits for about four months.
4. California could run out of intensive care unit beds by Christmas Eve due to the COVID-19 surge, Gov. Gavin Newsom said during a Nov. 30 media briefing. If current trends continue, the state may need to take “drastic action” to control the virus, including potentially reinstating a stay-at-home order, Mr. Newsom said.
Snapshot of COVID-19 in the U.S.
Cases: 13,728,154
Deaths: 270,691
Recovered: 5,226,581
Counts reflect data available as of 8:25 a.m. CST Dec. 2.
More articles on public health:
25 states where COVID-19 is spreading fastest, slowest: Dec. 2
‘Pandemic’ is 2020 word of the year
Vaccine will be widely available by June, Warp Speed leader says; White House COVID-19 adviser resigns — 5 updates
