NEW YORK (Reuters) – Tennessee appeared alongside California on Wednesday as an epicenter of the latest COVID-19 increase, even though more than 1 million Americans have been vaccinated, while US political leaders have tried to avoid a coronavirus variant extremely contagious that runs through the UK.
Tennessee has reported an average of nearly 128 new infections per 100,000 people in the past week, the largest of all U.S. states, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. California ranked second, with 111 new cases per 100,000 population.
“Our state is the zero point for an increase in COVID-19 and we need Tennessee to (do) their part,” Gov. Bill Lee said on Twitter, urging residents to wear face masks and gather only with members of their own household. for Christmas.
Some public health officials say that the trips and gatherings of Americans for Thanksgiving have contributed to the latest explosion in the country.
In conclusion, 31 US states reported a bleak record of new COVID-19 infections for December as hospitalizations and deaths also spiraled. More than 194,600 new cases were confirmed on Tuesday alone.
The CDC said that as of Wednesday morning, more than 1 million people nationwide had received the first of two doses required for the two coronavirus vaccines that had been approved. But most Americans have been told it could be six months or more before they are eligible for the shootings, as priority is given to health care workers, nursing home residents and, in some cases, senior government officials.
The Secretary of Health and Human Services, Alex Azar, and Dr. Anthony Fauci, the main US official for infectious diseases, received the Moderna vaccine on live television on Tuesday. President-elect Joe Biden was inoculated with the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine in front of the cameras on Monday.
CONCERN INCREASES OVER THE MUTANT VARIANT
US Representative Ilhan Omar, a Democrat from Minnesota, criticized political leaders earlier this week for taking the lead in the shooting.
“We are no more important than front-line workers, teachers, etc. who make sacrifices every day. That’s why I won’t take it “, Omar said on Twitter.
The Trump administration said Wednesday it had reached a $ 2 billion deal with Pfizer to distribute an additional 100 million doses of the vaccine by July.
But Americans who saw a glimmer of hope in the release of the two vaccines in December learned of an even more transmissible variant of the coronavirus that is spreading in the United Kingdom. Drug manufacturers Pfizer and Moderna were testing their vaccines against the variant, but believed the drugs would be effective against the mutant virus.[n4N2J229V]
The United States, unlike many nations around the world, has not banned travel from the UK.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said the city would order international travelers to quarantine for 14 days upon arrival and provide contact information to government officials. The sheriff’s deputies will pay visits to enforce the order of those arriving from the UK, the mayor said.
Travelers found violating these orders face fines of $ 1,000 a day, de Blasio said.
New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo has asked airlines to review British travel for COVID-19. The state was an early epicenter of the virus and recorded over 36,000 deaths through COVID, far more than any other state.
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee this week ordered a 14-day quarantine for travelers arriving from the United Kingdom, South Africa or other countries where the new variant was detected.
In New York, vaccination programs have expanded to the Fire Department, where about 6,000 employees have contracted the virus, fire commissioner Dan Nigro told reporters. About 400 FDNY paramedics lined up to receive the first doses of Moderna vaccine on Wednesday, including Verena Kansog, an advanced vital care coordinator for Manhattan, who was shot at a training center on Randalls Island.
“I am relieved,” Kansog told Reuters, who was worried about bringing her elderly mother home. “I wasn’t even nervous.”
Reporting by Gabriella Borter and Dan Whitcomb; Additional reports by Anurag Maan, Carlo Allegri, Jonathan Allen, Peter Szekely, Lisa Lambert, Susan Heavey and Steve Gorman; Editing by Cynthia Osterman and Leslie Adler