USA TODAY is keeping track of the news surrounding COVID-19 as vaccines begin to roll out nationwide. Just this week, the U.S. marked the stark milestone of more than 300,000 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic. Keep refreshing this page for the latest updates on vaccine distribution, including who is getting the shots and where, as well as other COVID-19 news from across the USA TODAY Network. Sign up for our Coronavirus Watch newsletter for updates directly to your inbox, join our Facebook group or scroll through our in-depth answers to reader questions for everything you need to know about the coronavirus.
In the headlines:
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is quarantining after coming in contact with someone who has tested positive for the coronavirus, the State Department said Wednesday, adding that Pompeo has tested negative and “is being closely monitored by the departments medical team.
Vaccine distribution update: The leaders of the governments Operation Warp Speed said Wednesday that 2 million more doses of the Pfizer vaccine are set to be delivered next week. And starting as soon as Friday in Ohio and Connecticut, vaccinations will begin for residents of long-term care facilities, said Gen. Gus Perna, who is heading the logistics of the vaccine distribution efforts.
Lawmakers are closing in on a roughly $900 billion COVID-19 stimulus deal that may include another round of stimulus checks and other much-needed benefits, according to a source familiar with negotiations not authorized to speak on the record.
Texas has become the second state to surpass 1.5 million COVID-19 cases, according to Johns Hopkins data. Only 10 countries have topped that figure.
The other state with more than 1.5 million cases, California, has ordered an additional 5,000 body bags and stationed mobile morgues in hospitals in the hardest-hit counties, including Los Angeles and San Diego, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Tuesday.
Coronavirus cases have declined in the past few weeks in some Midwestern states, including Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota and Nebraska. Hospitalizations and deaths, however, are still on the rise due to an earlier surge of infections.
COVID-19 vaccine trials report cases of brief facial paralysis: Four people in Pfizer-BioNTech trials and three people in the Moderna trials developed Bells palsy, a condition that causes temporary weakness or paralysis of the facial muscles. While it may sound scary, experts say Bells palsy is more common and less severe than people think.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday authorized the nation’s first home COVID-19 test that doesn’t need a lab or medical provider’s prescription. The test, made by Australia-based Ellume, can deliver results in about 15 minutes and will cost about $30.
Today’s numbers: The U.S. has 16.7 million confirmed coronavirus cases and 304,000 deaths. The global totals: More than 73.7 million cases and 1.64 million deaths.
Wheres the COVID-19 vaccine? Whos been vaccinated? Data on patients and vaccine shipments will flow through a complex network of state and federal data systems. We visualize the process here.
Here’s a closer look at today’s top stories:
Baby bust: Pandemic may result in 500,000 fewer US births
The coronavirus pandemic has not only claimed the lives of more than 300,000 Americans, but it may result in at least that many fewer babies being born. Experts say the economic and societal upheaval caused by the pandemic has led to a decline in both planned and unplanned pregnancies.
Though some expected the widespread stay-at-home orders issued to control the virus would usher in a baby boom, a Brookings Institute report projects 300,000 to 500,000 fewer U.S. births in 2021.
The upcoming baby bust could have “lasting implications for society,” said Phillip Levine, an economics professor at Wellesley College and co-author of the Brookings report.
Wyatte Grantham-Philips
Pandemic taking heavy toll on LGBTQ community
The disproportionate impact of the pandemic on U.S. Black and Latino populations is commonly known. The extensive harm caused by the coronavirus on members of the LGBTQ community has garnered less attention. A report Wednesday underscores the extent of the damage:
- 64% of LGBTQ households have experienced job losses vs. 45% of non-LGBTQ households.
- 38% of LGBTQ households have been unable to get medical care or delayed going to a doctor for a serious problem vs. 19% of non-LGBTQ households.
What you are seeing is a reflection of disparities that existed prior to COVID being exacerbated by the pandemic, said Logan Casey, policy researcher for the Movement Advancement Project, which produced the report based on a national poll from July and August.
Susan Miller
Pfizer facing vaccine manufacturing problems; Feds defend not contracting earlier for more
The leaders of Operation Warp Speed on Wednesday addressed a report in the New York Times that the Trump administration didn’t secure more doses of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine when the option was available.
“It wouldn’t make sense whatsoever to preorder more from one vaccine manufacturer than any other one before we knew a vaccine works,” said Moncef Slaoui, who leads Operation Warp Speed.
Meanwhile, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said Pfizer has come up about half short of what the company expected to produce this year. Azar said Pfizer is working at “maximum capacity” to deliver the 100 million doses it is contracted to supply to the U.S., and that the government is looking to expand the contract in the second quarter.
The government’s relationship with Pfizer is contractually different than to the ones with the other vaccine makers, Azar said.
“On the other five (vaccine makers), we are more intimately engaged in the support of the development and manufacturing of their product on an ongoing basis, whereas the relationship Pfizer wanted with Operation Warp Speed was the guaranteed purchase of vaccine if approved by the FDA,” Azar said.
886 more vaccine deliveries Thursday with 2M doses next week, officials say
The rollout of the first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine has gone smoothly and 2 million more are set to be delivered next week, the leaders of the governments Operation Warp Speed said in an update Wednesday.
On Thursday, 886 more deliveries will be made to locations across the United States as the country continues “a steady drumbeat cadence of deliveries of vaccine out to the American people,” said Gen. Gus Perna, who is heading the logistics of the vaccine distribution efforts.
Starting as soon as Friday in Ohio and Connecticut, residents of long-term care facilities will begin to get vaccinated, Perna said. The efforts in long-term care centers, which house some of the most vulnerable Americans, will expand to more than 1,100 facilities by Monday and then increase by thousands a day from there, he added.
Perna also described the efforts to increase distribution of the vaccine at pharmacies around the country, with 19 chains partnering with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Through those partnerships, Perna said he expects a gradual rollout starting in mid-January that will cover 37,000 facilities.
Perna said there were four trays of vaccine, two in California and two in Alabama, that dropped below the required storage temperatures when being transported. Perna said officials at the command center identified those trays and they never left the trucks. The doses were sent back to Pfizer, which along with the FDA will determine whether they are still safe and effective.
More young adults have died during pandemic than previously expected, study finds
A study has found the coronavirus contributed to excess death in adults between the ages of 25 and 44, belying the belief held by some that COVID-19 only kills the elderly,
Researchers at Brigham and Womens Hospital in Boston found that 76,000 Americans 25-44 died from March through July, nearly 12,000 more than expected based on prior seasonal trends, according to the research letter published Wednesday in JAMA.
On average, about 38% of those deaths were attributed directly to COVID-19. In New York and New Jersey, about 80% of excess deaths were attributed to the disease. In some regions that experienced substantial surges, COVID-19 deaths equaled or exceeded the number of deaths caused by unintentional opioid overdoses in 2018, said Dr. Jeremy Faust, lead author and ER physician at the hospital.
Adrianna Rodriguez
Contributing: The Associated Press
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: COVID vaccine news: 2M doses coming next week; stimulus updateread more
