According to real-time epidemic data from Johns Hopkins University in the United States, as of January 1, 2021 local time, the cumulative number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the United States exceeded 20 million.
Previously, researchers at the University of Washington modeled and predicted that the number of confirmed cases in the United States would reach 20 million by the end of January 2021.
The modelling based on the current epidemic prevention level of the American people to restore 60% of normal life. If completely people return to their pre-epidemic life, the number of confirmed cases will reach 25 million in late January.
However, no one expected the reality that the United States reached the 20 million mark a month ahead of schedule. Looking forward to the trend of the epidemic in the United States at this juncture, the lack of awareness of epidemic prevention, slower-than-expected vaccination, and the spread of COVID-19 mutant strains… All of this make the trend of the epidemic in the United States not optimistic.
According to Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti told CNN on December 31 that “we will still experience the most difficult and darkest days.”
According to reports, the aggravation of the coronavirus epidemic in California has led to a sharp rise in the number of hospitalizations.
It is difficult to find one bed, and often only waits for one patient to die before vacating the bed for other patients.
California health officials said that Los Angeles County and other parts of California have been battling the surge of COVID-19 cases in the past few weeks, and the outbreak has worsened partly because of holiday gatherings.
Dr. Christina Ghaly, director of health services in Los Angeles County, said the pandemic is pushing hospitals to the “brink of disaster”.
From 292 days to 54 days
Looking back on the first confirmed case of the COVID-19 epidemic in the United States to now more than 20 million infected people, the daily number of confirmed cases in the United States has continued to grow, the cumulative number of confirmed cases has soared in a shorter and shorter time intervals, and the epidemic is becoming more and more severe.
On January 21, 2020, local time, the United States reported the first confirmed case of COVID-19; on February 6, the United States reported the first case of COVID-19 death; on March 19, the United States had more than 10,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19, 58 days after the first confirmed case.
Since then, the epidemic in the United States has developed rapidly. Just five days later, on March 24, the cumulative number of confirmed cases in the United States reached 50,000.
On March 27, the total number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the United States exceeded 100,000, becoming the country with the largest number of confirmed cases in the world at that time; on April 2, six days later, more than 200,000 cases of COVID-19 in the United States; just eight days later, on April 10, the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the United States exceeded 500,000; 18 days later, April On the 28th, the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the United States exceeded 1 million;
40 days later, on June 7, the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the United States exceeded 2 million; after 63 days, on August 9, the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the United States exceeded 5 million.
Although the increase in confirmed cases in the United States slowed down slightly at the end of August, the coronavirus epidemic peaked again in mid-October.
On November 8, there were more than 10 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the United States, 91 days after the number of confirmed cases in the United States exceeded 5 million, and 292 days after the first confirmed case was reported.
Compared with the current suspension of the epidemic in some countries in Europe and the United States, the United States is ushering in the third outbreak of the coronavirus epidemic in the country.
After entering December 2020, the epidemic situation in the United States is even more serious. On January 1, 2021, the cumulative number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the United States exceeded 20 million, just 54 days after the time it exceeded 10 million.
People lack awareness of pandemic prevention
The repeated acceleration of the spread of the epidemic in the United States is naturally related to the weak awareness of epidemic prevention among the American people.
At the end of November 2020, during the Thanksgiving holiday in the United States, the number of air travel in the United States reached the highest number since March of that year.
Anthony Fauci, the top infectious disease expert in the United States, said in an earlier interview with the media that the United States may be in response to “wave after wave” of epidemics after Thanksgiving.
However, the public once again ignored the warnings of experts about epidemic prevention.
According to the New York Times on December 31, 2020, during winter holidays in the United States, many people ignore the government’s emphasis on COVID-19 epidemic prevention requirements and decide to travel by air or have dinner.
Between December 23 and 26, 2020, about 3.8 million people went out by air. Such public gatherings, including air travel or gatherings, undoubtedly increase the risk of infection.
The movement of people will lead to the further spread of the epidemic, making it more difficult for state governments and even the federal government to control the epidemic.
When the number of confirmed cases in the United States exceeded 1 million on April 28, 2020, the U.S. government focused on restricting New York State and the West Coast region, but at the same time relaxing the management of other areas.
As a result, the novel coronavirus spread further in gathering places such as nursing homes and prisons, or on food such as frozen meat.
It is reported that 6% to 8% of confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the United States are related to meat packaging production lines, and many workers are infected with the novel coronavirus.
Vaccination is not satisfactory.
As for the coronavirus vaccine that is highly expected, according to Sky News on December 29, 2020, incoming President-elect Biden warned that the United States is “far behind” in the process of vaccination against the novel coronavirus, and the American people want to be the most difficult ones to come. Prepare for a month.
“The administration of current President Trump has proposed vaccinations of 20 million Americans by the end of December 2020. But as of December 29, 2020, we have only been vaccinated against millions.
As the current vaccination program is progressing, it will take years instead of months to vaccinate the American people.” Biden said.
According to NBC Business, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said that 11.4 million doses of the coronavirus vaccine had been distributed in the United States, but only 2.1 million doses were applied, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
CDC officials said that the problem is due to the lag in some data, the way the region manages and allocates, and the cooperation between the government and pharmacies is still under construction.
The U.S. government still plans to vaccinate hundreds of millions of people across the United States by mid-2021. In response, Fauci said he hoped that the distribution and number of vaccines inoculations could increase in January to realize the federal government’s commitments.
The pandemic is controllable, but the test is severe.
At the same time, the emergence of new variants of the novel coronavirus has also added uncertainty to the control of the epidemic. On December 29, 2020, local time, Colorado reported the first coronavirus mutant infection in the United States, which first appeared in the United Kingdom.
The man has no previous travel history and is currently in quarantine. The second case of COVID-19 mutant strain infection was diagnosed in California. U.S. media analysis said that the COVID-19 mutant strain may have been “human-to-human transmission” in the United States.
Previously, British experts said that the mutant strain was extremely infectious. The United States is also worried that if the epidemic caused by the mutant strain of the novel coronavirus is only in the early stage of transmission, the United States has not yet controlled the epidemic caused by the previously unmutated novel coronavirus, and the medical institutions and facilities in the United States are overloaded, the United States will face an unprecedented crisis in January 2021.
According to CNN, Fauci said in an interview on December 30, 2020 that if the United States can implement vaccination at the end of April, it is expected to return to normal life by early autumn 2021. “As long as 70-85% of the people are vaccinated, there will be It is possible to achieve herd immunity to control the epidemic.”
Meanwhile, another American medical expert, Peter Hotz, said that to achieve such an outcome, it is necessary to ensure that more than 1 million doses of vaccines per day are administered on average, “although theoretically feasible, it is a great test for the American health system.”
The number of daily deaths in the United States reached a new high on December 29, 2020, with more than 3,700. On the night of the 30th, nearly 3,700 people died.
According to the coronavirus epidemic tracking reports of many American media, more than 125,000 patients were reported to be hospitalized on the 30th.
Beds and medical facilities such as oxygen cylinders were in short supply. Nearly 12,000 people were hospitalized in Texas. Ambulances were waiting to treat patients admitted to the hospital due to the novel coronavirus.
Operation Warp Speed adviser said that the United States may urgently authorize the use of the AstraZeneca-Oxford coronavirus vaccine just approved in the UK in April 2021.
The United States is undergoing a three-phase trial of the vaccine, which will be produced before potential authorization. . Previously, the United States had approved the use of two vaccines – Pfizer vaccine and Modena vaccine.
Several experts said that the United States may face worse spread of the epidemic due to the negative impact of frequent gatherings and travel during Christmas Day in December 2020.
Although vaccination has given hope, it will take months before the vaccine is mass-vaccinated to guide the COVID-19 epidemic in the United States. The United States will first experience a terrible epidemic winter before it sees the “light” of controlling the epidemic.
