More than 9.4 million people have been infected and 233,000 have died in the United States so far during the pandemic, by far the worst tolls in absolute terms globally.

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The United States added a record of over 99,000 COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, according to Johns Hopkins University tally.

The country reported 99,660 new infections between 8.30 pm Tuesday and 8.30 pm Wednesday (0130 GMT), and 1,112 deaths, the tally showed one day after Americans voted to choose their next president.

So far, more than 9.4 million people have been infected and 233,000 have died in the United States during the pandemic, by far the worst tolls in absolute terms globally.

COVID-19 Vaccine

Frequently Asked Questions

How does a vaccine work?

A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine.

How many types of vaccines are there?

There are broadly four types of vaccine — one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine.

What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind?

Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time.

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Cases have been surging to record highs across the country since mid-October, especially in the north and the Midwest.

Health officials in some states have already sounded warnings about their ability to handle an influx in hospitalizations as the winter flu season looms.

The pandemic has also slammed the US economy, fueling a historic contraction in growth and tens of millions of job losses.

It also impacted the US election, with more than 100 million voters casting their ballot by mail or in person before Election Day on Tuesday -- the highest number of early voters ever.

The final election results are not yet known, with the count partly delayed by the high number of mail-in ballots as many Americans sought to avoid crowded polling booths.

US President Donald Trump -- who was briefly hospitalized for Covid-19 in October -- has consistently downplayed the seriousness of the outbreak, insisting that the virus will eventually just "disappear."

His Democratic election rival Joe Biden has sought to turn the vote into a referendum on Trump's handling of the crisis, and vowed to listen to scientific recommendations on handling the pandemic should he take the White House.

Follow our full coverage of the coronavirus pandemic here.

(With Inputs from AFP)

First Published on Nov 5, 2020 02:37 pm

Coronavirus update | US adds record 99,660 cases in 24 hours: Johns Hopkins tally

More than 9.4 million people have been infected and 233,000 have died in the United States so far during the pandemic, by far the worst tolls in absolute terms globally.

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tags #coronavirus #Health #John Hopkins University #United States #World News