New strain in France, Spain; California crisis; 80M cases
USA TODAY is maintaining observe of the information surrounding COVID-19 as a pair of vaccines be a part of the U.S. struggle in opposition to a virus that has killed greater than 330,000 Americans because the first reported fatality in February. Keep refreshing this web page for the newest updates on vaccine distribution, together with who’s getting the pictures and the place, in addition to different COVID-19 information from throughout the USA TODAY Network. Sign up for our Coronavirus Watch newsletter for updates on to your inbox, join our Facebook group or scroll by our in-depth answers to reader questions for all the things it’s essential know concerning the coronavirus.
In the headlines:
►California Gov. Gavin Newsom stated in a video posted on Facebook and Twitter Thursday that the variety of Californians hospitalized due to the coronavirus might double in 30 days if present tendencies proceed.
►South Korea, beforehand successful story in dealing with the coronavirus pandemic, is grappling with a extreme uptick in cases throughout Christmas week: 1,241 on Christmas Day alone. That’s the most important every day improve the nation has ever seen.
►The Duke ladies’s basketball workforce is ending its 2020-21 season after simply 4 video games, because of considerations concerning the coronavirus pandemic, the college introduced Friday night.
►CNN reviews that cases of the brand new strain of the coronavirus originating in the United Kingdom have been introduced in France and Spain on Christmas Day.
►Pope Francis made a plea on Christmas Day, urging “vaccines for everybody, especially for the most vulnerable and needy,” who needs to be first in line. Francis made the off-the-cuff remarks throughout his traditional “Urbi et Orbi” blessing.
►Japan has confirmed the nation’s first 5 cases of the new variant of the coronavirus that was recognized in the United Kingdom. Health Minister Norihisa Tamura stated the 5 folks arrived from Britain from Dec. 18 to Dec. 21.This comes because the nation struggles to gradual the coronavirus, as its capital metropolis Tokyo reviews a brand new excessive of 949 cases.
📈 Today’s numbers: The U.S. has greater than 18.7 million confirmed coronavirus cases and 330,000 deaths, in accordance with Johns Hopkins University data. The international totals: More than 79 million cases and 1.7 million deaths.
Here’s a better have a look at in the present day’s high tales:
Hit exhausting by COVID, some indigenous folks are hesitant to get a vaccine
For many, the promise of a vaccine provides hope and reduction. But Josie Passes, a member of the Crow Tribe in Montana, is cautious of its long-term penalties.
Though tribal communities have been disproportionately ravaged by COVID-19 nationwide, Passes just isn’t alone in her reluctance. As tribes start to obtain and distribute COVID-19 vaccines, many tribal members hesitate to get immunized.
Some folks worry Indigenous populations will likely be used as “guinea pigs,” whereas others are reluctant to belief the Indian Health Service. Some really feel invincible, as tribes have survived devastating ailments, like smallpox, and violent massacres. Many would favor to attend and observe the results of the vaccine as extra folks obtain it.
Experts say this skepticism is warranted, as tribes have skilled disinvestment, incompetence and brutality by the hands of the federal authorities. The penalties of this neglect transcend generations and manifest in the present day as systemic inequalities, a lot of which have been additional uncovered by the COVID-19 pandemic. Read extra right here.
— Nora Mabie, Great Falls Tribune
Black physician dies of COVID-19 after reporting racist remedy at hospital
A Black physician who died of COVID-19 after weeks of battling the virus stated she was mistreated and delayed proper care at an Indiana hospital due to her race. Dr. Susan Moore, 52, died Dec. 20 following a number of hospitalizations for problems from COVID-19, first at IU Health North and later at Ascencion-St. Vincent in Carmel, Indiana.
Her frustrations with the care offered at IU Health have been chronicled on Facebook in a number of updates. The first got here Dec. 4 when she stated delays in her remedy and analysis have been motivated by the colour of her pores and skin.
Citing affected person privateness, an IU Health spokesperson declined to talk particularly to the case, however shared a written assertion on behalf of IU Health North:
“As an organization committed to equity and reducing racial disparities in healthcare, we take accusations of discrimination very seriously and investigate every allegation,” the statement reads. “Treatment options are often agreed upon and reviewed by medical experts from a variety of specialties, and we stand by the commitment and expertise of our caregivers and the quality of care delivered to our patients every day.”
– Justin L. Mack and Holly V. Hays, Indianapolis Star
Will small film theaters survive a gradual vacation season?
The COVID-19 disaster has devastated movie show homeowners of all sizes, however small impartial homeowners are feeling it extra profoundly. Nationwide, a handful already have gone dark permanently and 70% of small- to midsize film theaters are susceptible to shutting down with out federal help, in accordance with the National Association of Theater Owners (NATO).
Many are scrambling to outlive with non-public screenings and popcorn specials, amongst different methods. Their loss could be an enormous blow to America’s cultural life. They signify a significant supply of independently-produced, extra severe artwork movies. And in an age dominated by glossy multiplexes, their grand outdated, marquee-adorned theaters typically present the one leisure in America’s small and rural cities.
Fortunately, salvation seems on the horizon. Somewhat-noticed provision of the $900 billion COVID reduction invoice handed by Congress this week would supply $15 billion to struggling small film theaters, dwell leisure and performing arts venues, and museums. A final-minute lobbying marketing campaign by NATO added film theaters and $5 billion to theoretically cowl their monetary wants.
– Paul Davidson
His father developed the polio vaccine. This is what he thinks about COVID-19.
Dr. Peter Salk vaguely remembers the day he was vaccinated in opposition to polio in 1953. His father, Dr. Jonas Salk, made historical past by creating the polio vaccine on the University of Pittsburgh and inoculated his household as quickly as he felt it was protected and efficient.
Cases of polio peaked in the early Fifties, but it surely arrived each summer time disabling a mean of greater than 35,000 folks every year for many years, typically inflicting paralysis and loss of life, in accordance with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Public officers closed swimming swimming pools, film theaters, amusement parks and different pastimes that naturally got here with summer time trip.
Jonas Salk’s vaccine helped wipe polio from a lot of the world, one thing that many individuals hope will occur with the coronavirus vaccine. However, Salk warns eradicating polio from the United States was a protracted and troublesome journey, and he doesn’t count on eliminating COVID-19 will likely be any simpler.
“It’s going to be a long road, just even getting enough vaccines out to people around the world … this virus does not respect borders,” stated Salk, a physician and a part-time professor of infectious ailments on the University of Pittsburgh, the place his father developed the polio vaccine. “It travels by airplane everywhere in the world and unless this virus can be contained everywhere, it’s going to continue to spread and be a problem.”
– Adrianna Rodriguez
Contributing: The Associated Press
