US signs vaccine deal, hospitals overwhelmed

Transcript

The US coronavirus case count is approaching four million cases.

As the nation battles to get coronavirus under control there are signs of progress on the vaccine front.

The federal government has reached what’s being called a “historic” deal to buy at least 100 million doses of vaccines from pharmaceutical company Pfizer if it’s approved.

Officials say depending on when one is made available, they can start acquiring the vaccine as early as December.

Pfizer is just the latest vaccine-maker in recent days to issue a promising report this week.

The senior vice president of the company said preliminary data from their study showed good immune responses from patients vaccinated.

Meanwhile at the rate the virus is spreading, officials say if you don’t already know someone who’s been infected, that’s likely to change in the coming weeks.

California has surpassed New York in total confirmed cases.

And many of the cases in hard-hit Los Angeles County are driven by young people.

Infection and hospitalization rates are painting a bleak picture in the South.

With hospitals overwhelmed in Texas, Governor Greg Abbott is now backing a curfew in the Rio Grande Valley, while stopping short of supporting a shelter place order issued by a county judge.

Hospitals are also under pressure in Florida, where more than 50 ICU’S have reached capacity and health officials says just 15 percent of ICU beds remain available statewide.

ICU capacity in the state’s hotspot, Miami-Dade County, now tops 132 percent.

Still Florida’s governor says he thinks the state is on the right course even as experts warn of a long road ahead for the US.

Researchers at the University of Washington now estimate the US will see almost 220-thousand deaths by November.

But that’s about five-thousand deaths below an earlier forecast because more people now wear face masks and practice social distancing.

Officials say getting it under control will require people to follow basic public health guidelines.

Posted – 7.23.20