US sees five deadliest days since Covid-19 pandemic’s start in last two weeks

The nation’s total Covid-19 death toll has now climbed to more than 365,200, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. And another nearly 115,000 people could lose their life over the next four weeks, according to projections from the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation.

In other words, the pandemic is not yet showing any signs of slowing down. Rather, across the country, states are reporting an increase in numbers.

California reported more than 1,000 Covid-19 deaths in just two days and hospitalizations are at record-high levels, with nearly 23,000 patients admitted with the virus.

Arizona’s top health official said Thursday that “coming out of the Christmas holiday,” the state’s Covid-19 numbers are inching upward.

“Cases and percent positivity are rising, as are inpatient and intensive care unit beds occupied by those with Covid-19. Regrettably, deaths from Covid-19 follow these trends,” Dr. Cara Christ, director of the state’s Department of Health Services, said in a video message.

Texas reported record-high Covid-19 hospitalizations statewide for the fifth day in a row. Hospitals in Dallas County — the state’s second largest county — had just 13 adult ICU beds available on Wednesday, County Judge Clay Jenkins said in a tweet.

And while vaccinations are now several weeks in, it will be months before they’re widespread enough to make a meaningful impact in the pandemic’s course, experts have warned.

Health officials say they ‘overpromised’ on vaccine rollout

The vaccine rollout will need a couple weeks to catch up, Dr. Anthony Fauci said Thursday, and if that doesn’t happen, changes will need to be made.

“I think it would be fair to just observe what happens in the next couple of weeks,” he told NPR. “If we don’t catch up on what the original goal was, then we really need to make some changes about what we’re doing.”

“We just need to give a little bit slack — not a lot — but enough to say, well, we’re past the holiday season, now let’s really turn the afterburners on,” he added.

According to the latest data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 21.4 million doses have been distributed so far across the country and more than 5.9 million have been administered.

The numbers are a far cry from where officials initially promised the US would be at this time.

“We overpromised and underdelivered as a nation,” Dr. Steven Stack, commissioner of the Kentucky Department for Public Health, said at a Thursday briefing sponsored by the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials. “We only got a third of what we thought we were going to get based on the initial modeling.”

Changes to coronavirus vaccine schedule wouldn't start with FDA, agency says

“Had we just projected realistic quantities, the public wouldn’t have seen this as a shortcoming — we would have recognized it for the incredible accomplishment it was to have even this much vaccine this fast,” Stack said.

Other health leaders said states need more money and more staff in order to be able to administer the vaccines fast enough.

Pennsylvania Secretary of Health Dr. Rachel Levine said states, cities and territories had been given just $340 million to build the infrastructure for vaccine…