As the U.S. continues to roll out the COVID-19 vaccines, cases are continuing to increase significantly. Hospitalizations across the country are reaching new record highs since the beginning of the pandemic.
On Tuesday, there were reports of 130,834 COVID-19 hospitalizations and 3,684 fatalities. This is the second-highest death toll in a day, according to Reuters. Now, the U.S. death toll has surpassed 357,000.
Since the start of the vaccination rollout, 4.8 million people have received their first dose of the vaccination out of the 17 million doses distributed. The population must take the Pfizer/BioNtech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccine in two doses to be effective.
According to the Associated Press, there are an estimated 21 million health care workers in the U.S. and 3 million nursing home residents. Health care workers and nursing home residents have the top priority in receiving the vaccine.
About 280 million people in the U.S need to be vaccinated in order to achieve “herd immunity,” the indirect protection from infectious disease that happens when a population is immune, according to Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert.
However, it is evident that the vaccination rollout has been slow. Multiple factors have contributed to this, including lack of guidance from Washington, distrust of the vaccine, and the holiday season.
To accelerate the process, state officials in states like Maryland and North Carolina have mobilized the National Guard to help administer local health departments in their efforts.
More significantly, government officials threaten health facilities with fines or reduced vaccine allocation if they don’t utilize the vaccinations quickly.
Due to this, the U.S. Government is considering half-doses of the Moderna vaccine to speed up the rollout and stretch supplies.
Read more about the start of the vaccination process in the U.S. here: https://americanmedicalcompliance.com/u-s-begins-covid-19-vaccination/.
Articles Referenced: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-usa/u-s-sets-covid-19-hospitalization-record-as-states-ramp-up-vaccination-efforts-idUSKBN29B23B
