Trump claims cases inflated; Fauci disagrees
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, on Sunday dismissed claims tweeted by President Donald Trump that coronavirus cases and deaths in the U.S. have been exaggerated and “Fake News.”
Fauci, speaking on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” said anyone who went into the “trenches” – intensive care units at hospitals across the nation – will realize quickly how severe the virus is. He called the statistics “real numbers, real people and real deaths.”
Trump shot back on Twitter: “Something how Dr. Fauci is revered by the LameStream Media as such a great professional, having done, they say, such an incredible job, yet he works for me and the Trump Administration, and I am in no way given any credit for my work. Gee, could this just be more Fake News?”
The U.S. has more than 20 million confirmed coronavirus cases and 350,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University data. The global totals: nearly 85 million cases and more than 1.8 million deaths.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the state has surpassed 1 million confirmed COVID-19 cases, joining California, Texas and Florida.
US vaccinations fall short of December goal
The U.S. fell far short of the goal of vaccinating 20 million front-line workers and the elderly in December, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data. The CDC says about 4.2 million people received the first of two required doses as of Saturday. More than 13 million doses were distributed across the nation.
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said in a Twitter post Saturday that the city has distributed more than 95% of the vaccine doses it has received but “at the current rate of dose allocation from the federal government, it would take 71 weeks – nearly one and a half years – to fully vaccinate the entire city.”
More contagious strain identified in 3 states, 33 countries
At least three U.S. states – California, Colorado and Florida – and 33 countries have identified a more contagious coronavirus variant, known as B.1.1.7. Several nations identified an additional variant, first identified in South Africa, that also appears to infect people more easily.
“Because the variants spread more rapidly, they could lead to more cases and put even more strain on our heavily burdened health care systems,” said Dr. Henry Walke, incident manager for the CDC’s COVID-19 response. “We need to be even more vigilant in our prevention measures to slow the spread of COVID-19.”
60% of Ohio nursing home workers refusing to get vaccinated
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said he was troubled by the relatively low numbers of nursing home workers who have elected to take the vaccine and warned that the opportunity may not return for some time. Nursing homes will get three visits for the vaccine, DeWine said. After the initial stop, nursing homes will be hit again to administer second doses and to give an initial dose to anyone else who wants it. After that, only second doses will be distributed, he said. “Everyone makes their own choice about this, but we want to make it clear that opportunity may not come back for a while,” he said.
Calif. funeral homes run out of space
As communities across the country feel the pain of a surge in cases, funeral homes in the hot spot of Southern California say they must turn away grieving families as they run out of space for the bodies piling up.
“I’ve been in the funeral industry for 40 years and never in my life did I think that this could happen, that I’d have to tell a family, ‘ No, we can’t take your family member,’ ” said Magda Maldonado, owner of Continental Funeral Home in Los Angeles.
Continental is averaging about 30 body removals a day – six times its normal rate. Mortuary owners are calling one another to see whether anyone can handle overflow, and the answer is always the same: They’re full, too.
In order to keep up with the flood of bodies, Maldonado has rented extra 50-foot refrigerators for two of the four facilities she runs in Los Angeles and surrounding counties. Continental has been delaying pickups at hospitals for a day or two while they deal with residential clients.
Hospitals struggling to provide enough oxygen for the sickest coronavirus patients in the Los Angeles area received some relief Saturday when U.S. Army Corps of Engineers crews arrived. California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office says crews helped some aging hospitals update their oxygen delivery systems.
India approves 2 vaccines
India approved emergency use of two vaccines not yet authorized by the U.S., from AstraZeneca and from firm Bharat Biotech, as it plans to inoculate 300 million people this year. India has the second-highest number of infections in the world: more than 10.3 million confirmed cases. Nearly 150,000 people have died. India held nationwide drills Saturday to prepare more than 90,000 workers to administer doses.