New daily deaths dropped to 2,749 on Friday, yet the seven-day average climbed to 2,379, according to the COVID Tracking Project. The 7-day average for the three metrics that mark the severity of the nation’s outbreak – new cases, new deaths and overall hospitalizations – all broke new records for the second day in a row and a record was also set for hospitalizations
* US death toll from COVID-19 approaching 300,000 as Johns Hopkins researchers say 3,309 died on Friday
* As of Saturday morning, there have been 15,851,735 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 295,539 deaths * New figures come as US regulators gave the final go-ahead on Friday to the nation’s first COVID-19 vaccine
* Researchers in Washington State released projections showing that 502,000 Americans will die by April 1
* Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation says peak daily deaths have not yet been reached and will come in mid-January
* The IHME models predicts that 48 states are expected to have high or extreme stress on ICUs at some point in the next four months as hospitalizations continue to grow
The United States recorded more than 3,300 deaths from COVID-19 on Friday - the largest single-day toll since the start of the pandemic - as it authorized the use of Pfizer’s vaccine, with the first inoculations expected within days, marking a turning point in a country where the pandemic has killed more than 295,000 people.
The Food and Drug Administration granted an emergency use authorization for the vaccine, developed with German partner BioNTech, which was shown to be 95 per cent effective in preventing the disease in a late-stage trial.
It said the vaccine can be given to people aged 16 and older. Healthcare workers and elderly people in long-term care facilities are expected to be the main recipients of a first round of 2.9 million doses this month.
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Covid-19 Coronavirus Pandemic In The U.S. -- News Updates December 12, 2020
US to begin Covid vaccinations on Monday -- France 24