Nearly 119,000 Americans spent Christmas in the hospital with COVID-19, with another 1,541 deaths.
But conform COVID follow-up project20 states did not provide any updates on their numbers on Friday, which means that the true number of deaths nationwide could be much higher.
While general hospitalizations fell to 118,948 on Friday, after setting a new record of 120,151 the day before, the seven-day average rose to a new high, once again on Christmas Day, reaching 117,029.
On Friday, 124,498 new cases were reported, but the COVID follow-up project warned that the data had been affected by the holiday closures.
Nationally, there were more than 18.7 million Americans infected with coronavirus and 330,246 deaths.
The average of seven days for hospitalizations rose to a new high, once again on Christmas Day, reaching 117,029, as almost 1119,000 patients with COVID-19 spent their holidays in hospital.
A medical staff member changes a patient’s dress in the COVID-19 ICU on Christmas Day at the United Memorial Medical Center in Houston, while 119,000 patients spend their holidays hospitalized
Among the states that did not provide any updates on new cases and deaths on Friday was California, where the outbreak has already brought the health system to a breaking point, after reporting 300,000 new cases last week.
Earlier this week, it became the first state to exceed two million cases, with experts remaining concerned about a potential additional increase caused by Christmas and New Year’s travel.
The Centers for Disease Control has again warned against holiday travel, as the effects of Thanksgiving on the nation’s outbreak have remained uncertain.
While the number of trips has remained low compared to other years, health experts remain concerned that the period until Christmas has seen the most travelers since the beginning of the pandemic.
Transport Security Administration (TSA) spokeswoman Lisa Farbstein said Thursday morning that 1,191,123 people were examined Wednesday at national airport checkpoints.
“It’s the highest volume of checkpoints since March 16, when 1,257,823 people were selected,” Farbstein said, adding that anyone traveling this holiday season should “wear a mask.”
Advocates for residents to stay home have become more urgent in California, where doctors said the state is currently facing a “viral tsunami.”
Cases in the state have risen by 68 percent in the past two weeks, and intensive care capacity remains at zero percent as crowded hospitals are forced to use even their lobby space to treat patients.
“In most hospitals, about half of all beds are filled with COVID patients and half of all ICU beds are filled with COVID patients, and two-thirds of these patients suffocate due to inflammation that is caused by the lungs. virus’, said Dr. Christina Ghaly, director of the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services.
“She suffocates to the point where she can no longer breathe on her own and someone has to put a tube down her throat to oxygenate her organs. Many of these people will not live until 2021 ‘, she said on Thursday.
Nearly 119,000 Americans spent Christmas in the hospital with COVID-19, with another 1,541 deaths. Pictured is a patient in a COVID-19 intensive care unit in Houston, Texas
Pictured, a staff member reacts after her patient ate alone for the first time after the intubation tubes were removed while in the COUID-19 ICU unit at Memorial Medical Center.
Hospitals in LA County diverted ambulances and left patients unattended for hours.
County health officials sent a note to doctors, urging them not to send patients to the emergency room unless absolutely necessary.
There is also a drastic shortage of nurses and other medical staff, and California leaders are turning to Australia and Taiwan to meet the need for 3,000 temporary health workers.
Dr. Hossein Sadrzadeh had an allergic reaction after receiving the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine at Boston Medical Center on Christmas Eve
However, officials remained hopeful that the launch of the vaccine will continue to improve the situation, despite the fact that on Friday a Boston doctor became the first person to have severe public reactions to the Moderna vaccine, which is in its first week of distribution. national level.
Dr. Hossein Sadrzadeh, a geriatric oncology man at Boston Medical Center, said he had a severe reaction almost immediately after being vaccinated, dizzy and racing heart, NYT reported.
Sadrzadeh knew he had a crustacean allergy.
David Kibbe, a spokesman for Boston Medical Center, said in a statement Friday that Dr. Sadrzadeh “felt he was developing an allergic reaction and was allowed to administer his own epi-pen.”
“He was taken to the emergency department, evaluated, treated, observed and discharged. He is doing well today, “Kibbe added.
A U.S. Food and Drug Administration official said last week that the FDA is investigating about five allergic reactions that have occurred after people were given the COVID-19 BioNTech SE vaccine in the United States.
Projections from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington, a state-of-the-art COVID-19 model, showed the deadly effect that any retention in vaccine distribution could have on the American public.
Its latest projections show that up to 731,000 Americans could die from COVID-19 by April 1 if states begin to lift their mandates around masks and social distancing.
However, more than 33,000 lives could be saved if the vaccine is distributed as planned, and 45,000 Americans saved if the vaccine is released sooner.
The model currently projects that there will be a death toll of 567,195 by April 1, with warrants and vaccines continuing as planned.