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COVID-19 News from Around the Web

The US reported more than 4,000 Covid-19 deaths in one day for the first time ever
CNN - January 8, 2021
It's the third day in a row of record daily deaths from the disease, according to data from Johns Hopkins University, while the number of people who have been infected topped more than 21.56 million. The CDC’s most recent forecast projected there will be between 405,000 and 438,000 deaths by the end of the month. The previous forecast, published December 30, projected up to 424,000 deaths by January 23.
U.S. Now Has More Than 50 Cases of the Faster-Spreading COVID Strain; CDC Expects More to Come
PEOPLE - January 8, 2021
There are now more than 50 cases of the faster-spreading COVID-19 variant in the U.S., according to data from the CDC, and the agency believes cases could significantly increase in the coming weeks. The CDC has identified 52 cases in the U.S. of the B.1.1.7 variant, which was first found in the United Kingdom. The majority of cases are in California and Florida, which have 26 and 22, respectively. The other four cases are in Colorado, which has two, and in Georgia and New York, which each have one.
U.S. wants faster vaccinations as pandemic worsens, job market suffers
Reuters - January 8, 2021
Federal, state and local officials sought to speed up slow-moving vaccinations on Thursday, a day after a record 4,000 Americans died and as employment statistics showed the pandemic and accompanying government lockdowns had slammed the job market. As of Thursday roughly 6 million people across the United States had been given the first of two shots, despite the nationwide distribution of more than 21 million doses, according to the CDC.
In counties where university classes were in person, Covid-19 cases rose 56%
CNN - January 8, 2021
Counties where large colleges and universities opened for in-person classes in the fall suffered a significant rise in the incidence of Covid-19, according to a new study from the CDC. Within three weeks of colleges or universities opening to in-person instruction, counties that were home to these institutions "experienced a 56% increase in incidence," … Meanwhile, the researchers found that incidence decreased by 5.9% in counties without universities and by 17.9% in those with universities that held remote classes.
People without symptoms spread virus in more than half of cases, CDC model finds
Washington Post - January 8, 2021
People with no symptoms transmit more than half of all cases of the novel coronavirus, according to a model developed by researchers at the CDC. … Fifty-nine percent of all transmission came from people without symptoms, under the model’s baseline scenario. That includes 35 percent of new cases from people who infect others before they show symptoms and 24 percent that come from people who never develop symptoms at all.
In Los Angeles and Beyond, Oxygen Is the Latest Covid Bottleneck
Kaiser Health News - January 8, 2021
[COVID] damages the lungs, and the crush of patients in hot spots such as Los Angeles; the Navajo Nation; El Paso, Texas; and in New York last spring have needed high concentrations of it. That has stressed the infrastructure for delivering the gas to hospitals and their patients. The strain in those areas is caused by multiple weak links in the pandemic supply chain. In some hospitals that pipe oxygen to patients’ rooms, the massive volume of cold liquid oxygen is freezing the equipment needed to deliver it, which can block the system.