After being sworn in as president, Biden referred to Covid-19 in his inauguration address as a “once in a century virus quietly stalking the country.” “We will move forward with speed and urgency because we have a lot to do in this winter of danger and significant opportunity,” he added, as an ensemble predicted by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will kill 100,000 more predicted. in the coming weeks.
Biden’s urgency to reverse the pandemic took shape later that day when he signed a series of executive decrees halting the Trump administration’s withdrawal from the World Health Organization (WHO); restored the Directorate of the National Security Council for Global Health Security and Biodefense (an office stripped by the Trump administration); and mandatory masks on federal property.
Regular White House press conferences made a comeback after they ended in April when Trump suggested injecting sanitizer could be a cure for the coronavirus (it’s not, don’t do it). New press secretary Jen Psaki said yesterday that “truth and transparency” had returned to the briefing room, and the White House will combat disinformation by providing accurate information to the American people “even if it is difficult to hear.”
She added that the White House will require daily Covid-19 testing, N95 staff masks, and strict demands for social aloofness – in an effort to model good pandemic behavior. The president “has asked us to also model for the American people,” she said, in stark contrast to Trump and his administration, which largely ignored the government mask and recommendations for social distancing.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, who remains the chief medical advisor, represented the US at a virtual WHO meeting Thursday, where he thanked the health organization for leading the global Covid-19 response. He also announced that the US will resume regular contacts with the organization and honor its financial obligations. Today, Biden will also address the crushing threat of the pandemic and sign more orders to get the pandemic under control.
“There are healthier days ahead,” promised new CDC director, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, in her first statement, but getting there requires a rapid acceleration of testing, monitoring and vaccination of Covid-19. “We also need to face the long-standing public health challenges of social and racial injustice and inequality that have called for action for far too long,” she said.
YOU ASKED. WE ANSWER
Ask: How many people have been vaccinated in the US so far?
A: According to data released yesterday by the CDC, more than 16.5 million doses of Covid-19 have been administered in the US, about 46% of the 36 million doses distributed. At least 2.1 million people have received both required doses, according to the data.
Wednesday’s figures mark a significant increase in the proportion of administered doses in the total. Previously, that share had remained below 40%. However, a note on the CDC’s Covid Data Tracker site indicates that the agency is “refining how the number of doses distributed is reported,” which could affect this calculation.
According to a recent CNN analysis of government data, the US vaccine rollout has not gone smoothly, with the nation falling behind several other countries in the vaccination efforts against Covid-19. Sources with direct knowledge of the new administration’s Covid-related work told CNN that one of the biggest shocks the Biden team had to digest during the transition period was what they saw as a complete lack of a vaccine distribution strategy under Trump, even weeks after multiple vaccines have been approved for use in the United States.
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WHAT IS IMPORTANT TODAY
Studies suggest that vaccinated people are protected from new Covid-19 variants
New research this week provides reassuring evidence that people who have been vaccinated against the coronavirus are protected against emerging new variants. Two teams tested two of the new variants against blood taken from people who had received the full two-course dose of the Moderna or Pfizer vaccine, Maggie Fox reports.
While the mutations in the new variants of the virus – one first seen in Britain and another first identified in South Africa – allowed them to evade some of the immunity generated by vaccination. it was far from a complete breakaway, the two teams reported separately.
Recalling last year, China is announcing travel restrictions ahead of Chinese New Year
China’s National Health Commission has announced a series of domestic travel restrictions to stem the spread of Covid-19 as the country prepares for mass movements of people to celebrate the Lunar New Year. Millions of Chinese migrant workers planning to travel back to rural areas are now required to submit a negative Covid test result within seven days of departure. People from medium or high risk areas are discouraged from traveling altogether.
This is because Chinese officials reported 144 new Covid-19 cases across the country on Wednesday, including 18 imported infections. It has been banned from leaving all residents of Beijing’s Daxing district since Wednesday due to the rising number of cases.
California officials say providers can resume the Moderna vaccine from a specific batch after a break
Health officials in California have authorized health care providers to “immediately” resume administration of the Moderna vaccine from a specific batch following an interruption earlier this week due to possible allergic reactions. It’s because most coronavirus statistics are improving in the state, which was the epicenter of the virus in the US. But the severity of the cases in the state and the death toll remain high.
California added 22,403 new cases on Wednesday, which is well below the average daily count for the state of about 38,000, but also reported 694 new Covid-19-related deaths on Wednesday – the second highest one-day toll to date. And with a limited supply of coronavirus vaccines, state epidemiologist Erica Pan said it could take four to five months for all Californians over 65 to be vaccinated.
ON OUR RADAR
- Zimbabwe’s Foreign Minister Sibusiso Moyo – known for appearing on state television in 2017 about the takeover of the late President Robert Mugabe’s army – died after Covid was caught.
- Amazon wasted no time contacting newly-installed US President Joe Biden to prioritize the vital workers in its administration’s distribution plans. The company also offered to help with Biden’s promise to vaccinate 100 million Americans in the first 100 days.
- Quarantining Australian Open tennis stars is urged not to feed mice in hotel rooms after world No. 28 Yulia Putintseva discovered an infection.
- The number of North Korean defectors entering South Korea has fallen sharply in 2020. This is probably due to the pandemic.
TOP TIP
Anosmia – a condition known as ‘smell blindness’ or loss of sense of smell – is a common symptom of Covid-19 (and other viruses) and can seriously affect the sense of taste as the senses are intertwined. And while most people regain their sense of smell or taste within days to weeks, experts say some may not regain their sense of smell after months.
For example, Kaya Cheshire still lacks 90% of her sense of smell since she got a mild form of Covid-19 last July. At the suggestion of her doctor, Cheshire has recently begun “fragrance training,” using strong-smelling things like rose, lemons, cloves, garlic, eucalyptus and menthol to retrain her brain. Learn how Covid-19 survivors have adjusted their meals due to anosmia.
TODAY’S PODCAST
‘We wanted science to save us. But it cannot save us from our own human nature. ‘ – CNN’s Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta
A year ago this week, a man walked into a clinic in Washington State and became the first patient to test positive for Covid-19 in the US. Gupta reflects on the painful lessons of this tragic year. Listen now.
