US sets new Covid deaths record as three states lag behind in vaccinating
In this 5 January 2021 file photo, a healthcare worker receives a second Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine shot at Beaumont Health in Southfield, Michigan
((Associated Press))The US recorded more than 4,000 deaths in a day from Covid-19 for the first time, as data shows that three states are lagging behind in vaccinations.
On Wednesday, a record 4,033 people died from the virus in the US, according to data from the Covid Tracking Project.
The US has also seen a recent rise in coronavirus cases, as the first week of 2021 had a higher number of new positive tests than at any other point during the pandemic, with a seven day daily average of 223,675.
However, the tracking project warned the increase in new cases is likely to be partially affected by delays in recording data over the holiday period.
Arizona also became the global hotspot for the pandemic on Wednesday, as it is currently reporting the highest rate of cases in the world, while California remains the worst affected state in the US.
Arizona is currently recording an average of 118.3 new cases per 100,000 people, while Los Angeles County is seeing a death due to Covid-19 every 10 minutes and a new positive test every six seconds, according to the tracking project.
The surge in cases and deaths has put an added strain on hospitals across the US, which were already struggling to cope with the number of Covid-19 patients prior to the holiday period.
There are currently 132,000 people hospitalised across the US due to coronavirus, which is double the amount from the initial pandemic peak in spring. Some 13 states in the US south also set new seven-day records for hospitalisations over the last week.
As morgues and funeral homes are becoming overwhelmed with the amount of fatalities, refrigerated trucks have been sent to California to store corpses, according to the Daily Mail.
The surge in cases and deaths comes as the US has started vaccinating healthcare workers and vulnerable people across the country.
Although the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the use of two separate vaccines last month, three US states are lagging behind in uptake of the treatments.
Data from the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi currently all have less than 1,000 people per 100,000 residents receiving their first dose of a vaccine.
Mississippi currently has 953 people initiating vaccination per 100,000 residents, while Alabama has 997 and Georgia is recording 978.
A majority of US states have between 1,001 and 2,000 people per 100,000 residents receiving their first dose, while 17 states, including New Mexico and New Hampshire, have more than 2,001.
Since 7 January, the US has only administered 5.92 million vaccine doses, which is far behind its initial target of 20 million by the end of December.
Despite the delay in vaccinations, Dr Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert and part of the White House coronavirus task force, told CNN in late December when the figure was at 1.9 million that he is optimistic about the status of the US vaccinations programme.
He said that “whenever you roll out a large programme that’s a comprehensive vaccine programme with a brand new vaccine like this, in the beginning it always starts slow and then starts to gain momentum.”
Dr Fauci added that he believes the rollout will “catch up with the projection that by the time we get to April, mid-late April, you’ll have taken the high-priority people and already accounted for them and then anyone can get vaccinated”.
According to Johns Hopkins University, there are now more than 21.5 million people who have tested positive for the coronavirus in the US. The death toll has reached 365,346.
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