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COVID-19 News from Around the Web

California has nation’s 2nd confirmed case of virus variant
AP - December 31, 2020
California on Wednesday announced the nation’s second confirmed case of the new and apparently more contagious variant of the coronavirus, offering a strong indication that the infection is spreading more widely in the United States. … The announcement came 24 hours after word of the first reported U.S. variant infection, which emerged in Colorado. That person was identified Wednesday as a Colorado National Guardsman who had been sent to help out at a nursing home struggling with an outbreak.
U.S. surpasses coronavirus death and hospitalization records amid delay in vaccinations
Washington Post - December 31, 2020
For the first time, more than 125,000 people are battling the coronavirus in hospital beds throughout the United States. The rise in current hospitalizations, which have been above 100,000 since Dec. 2, comes as the country also recorded a new high for the daily death toll: 3,862 deaths. The previous record, set on Dec. 17, was 3,406.
Warp Speed Officials Say Covid Vaccine Distribution Is Going Too Slowly
The New York Times - December 31, 2020
The distribution of vaccines in the United States has gotten off to a slower-than-expected start, federal health officials acknowledged in a news conference on Wednesday, though they also voiced confidence that the pace would accelerate in the coming weeks. As of Wednesday, more than 14 million doses of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines had been sent out across the United States, up from 11.4 million doses on Monday morning. But just 2.1 million people had received their first dose as of Monday morning, according to a dashboard maintained by the CDC. “
Coronavirus cases in children surpass 2 million mark
Fox News - December 31, 2020
A surge in pediatric coronavirus cases over the last several weeks has seen the number of illnesses in kids surpass 2 million, according to the AAP. More than 1 million of those coronavirus cases in kids have been reported nationwide since Nov. 12, according to the medical group’s data. … Children now represent approximately 12.4% of all cases in the U.S., according to the data, and as of Dec. 17, at least 172 children had died due to the illness.
Jobless claims: Another 787,000 Americans filed new unemployment claims last week
Yahoo! Finance - December 31, 2020
Jobless claims unexpectedly fell last week but still held at a historically elevated level, as impacts from the coronavirus pandemic still reverberated across the labor market. … at 787,000, weekly initial jobless claims remain high compared to the about 200,000 new claims filed on average each week before the pandemic.
NIH study uncovers blood vessel damage and inflammation in COVID-19 patients’ brains but no infection
National Institute of Health - December 31, 2020
In an in-depth study of how COVID-19 affects a patient’s brain, National Institutes of Health researchers consistently spotted hallmarks of damage caused by thinning and leaky brain blood vessels in tissue samples from patients who died shortly after contracting the disease. In addition, they saw no signs of SARS-CoV-2 in the tissue samples, suggesting the damage was not caused by a direct viral attack on the brain.
Fauci sees U.S. gaining control over pandemic by next autumn
Reuters - December 31, 2020
The leading U.S. infectious disease specialist, Dr. Anthony Fauci, said on Wednesday he foresees America achieving enough collective COVID-19 immunity through vaccinations to regain “some semblance of normality” by fall 2021, despite early setbacks in the vaccine rollout.