U.S. COVID-19 cases surpass 20 mln, deaths spike
A day after the United States reached a sober milestone of 20 million confirmed cases of the coronavirus, California’s Public Health Department on Saturday issued an urgent call for blood donations as it grapples with the crisis.
California has become a leading U.S. flashpoint of the pandemic… with a soaring COVID-19 caseload pushing hospitals in and around Los Angeles in particular to their limits.
Medical experts attribute rising cases in recent weeks to the arrival of cooler weather and the failure of many Americans to stay at home and avoid unnecessary travel.
There's been a spike nationwide in the number of daily COVID-19 fatalities since Thanksgiving with 78,000 lives lost in December.
The recent emergence of a more transmissible variant of the coronavirus - which officials have so far identified in California, Colorado and Florida - could make a swift rollout of immunizations all the more critical.
U.S. Senator Mitt Romney on Friday urged the federal government to immediately enlist veterinarians, combat medics and others in an all-out national campaign to administer vaccinations, and to establish a clear order for Americans to receive their shots according to priority groups and birthdays.
The Republican - calling for greater action as the Trump administration fell far short of its goal of vaccinating 20 million Americans with the first of two doses of a vaccine by the end of 2020.
As of January 1st - an estimated 2.8 million vaccine doses have actually been given.
