US hospitals are beginning to be overwhelmed amid record coronavirus cases

As confirmed coronavirus cases rise to their highest levels since the pandemic began, hospitals across the country are reporting critical staff shortages. And those shortages may only grow worse in the weeks to come, as thousands of the 1 million Americans diagnosed with Covid-19 in the past week begin to require hospitalization.

According to an NPR analysis of data released by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) this week, more than 1,000 hospitals across the country have been identified as “critically” short on staff as they face a dramatic third wave of Covid-19 infections.

That amounts to about 18 percent of all hospitals that report to HHS. In all, 21 percent of hospitals, representing 40 states and Puerto Rico, expect their staffing needs to increase in coming days. Seven states report shortages in 30 percent or more of their hospitals. North Dakota — which has one of the most severe coronavirus outbreaks in the US — is the worst-hit, with 51 percent of hospitals reporting shortages.

Nebraska, Virginia, and Missouri report expecting the largest upticks they’ve faced during the pandemic in the next week.

According to NPR, the HHS data is incomplete because many hospitals do not share staffing numbers with HHS. The agency has been collecting this data since July, but this is the first time it has released it to the public.

These staff shortages translate to exhausted and overworked doctors, nurses and other hospital employees, and also pose a risk that, as employees become sick themselves, there will be no one to cover for them.

Fear of overwhelming hospital systems was a large part of the “flatten the curve” messaging that accompanied the start of the outbreak in the United States in March. By keeping caseloads to reasonable numbers and admitting only the sickest patients to hospitals, medical experts explained, there was less risk of running out of bed space, ventilators, and other equipment central to the care of Covid-19 patients. It also meant that resources would be available for non-Covid-19 patients as well.

With hospitalization and case rates at record highs, hospitals could soon be out of staff and space

Ultimately, the curve was flattened — but with cases worse than they have ever been, hospitals are again in danger of running out of space, and of health care professionals.

As of November 20, 82,178 people were hospitalized with Covid-19, according to the Covid Tracking Project — far more than the previous records of nearly 60,000 reached in the spring and summer. And on November 20, the US hit a record high of 192,805 confirmed coronavirus cases, breaking the record of the previous day: 182,832 confirmed cases.

The United States shattered another single-day record for new coronavirus cases on Friday with more than 196,000 Covid-19 infections confirmed and at least 1,900 deaths, according to NBC News counts. The previous single-day record for new cases was reported on Thursday with 193,200 infections.

England will end Covid-19 lockdown with stricter tiered system

LONDON — England will end a national Covid-19 lockdown on Dec. 2 and move into tougher tiered regional restrictions than before, with more areas facing severe constraints to prevent the virus from reigniting, Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s office said.

https://www.reddit.com/r/UFC255tv/
https://www.reddit.com/r/UFC255tv/comments/jyl24v/ufc_255_live_streamreddit/
https://www.reddit.com/r/UFC255tv/comments/jyl2m1/ufc_255_live_streamreddit/
https://www.reddit.com/r/UFC255tv/comments/jyl2uk/ufc_255_live_streamsreddit/
https://blog.goo.ne.jp/azam1223/e/10b4bd9f066d366079fabc792bbd62eb
https://blogasdfg12345posts.tumblr.com/post/635439370247258112/dsfgtry
https://slexy.org/view/s205S8p9bZ
https://jsfiddle.net/7n4zm25w/
https://paiza.io/projects/4Nq8pgmqCb-uqEtv0T2TOw
http://www.mpaste.com/p/QpJYt
https://paste2.org/9yj8v75n
https://pasteio.com/x3EqzMzVqeyU

https://www.nms.org/web/oxe2/UFCq-v-Nuggets-liv-tvc02-02-x-06.html
https://www.nms.org/web/oxe2/UFCw-v-Nuggets-liv-tvc02-02-x-06.html
https://www.nms.org/web/oxe2/UFCe-v-Nuggets-liv-tvc02-02-x-06.html
https://www.nms.org/web/oxe2/Figueiredo-v-Nuggets-liv-tvc02-02-x-06.html

Johnson ordered England in to a monthlong lockdown in early November after infection cases and deaths started to rise again, angering businesses and some of his own political party over the economic consequences.

A second wave of infections has started to flatten, official data shows, but scientific advisers are expected to warn on Monday that previous regional restrictions did not go far enough and harder measures are needed to prevent another national lockdown.

Britain has suffered the worst death toll in Europe and the deepest economic contraction of any G7 nation, prompting sharp criticism of Johnson’s handling of the pandemic.More than 1 million people flew through U.S. airports on Friday, according to data from the Transportation Security Administration, fueling fears of even greater spread of the virus. It was the second-heaviest domestic air traffic day since the start of the pandemic, despite pleas from health officials for Americans to stay home.

“This is the 2nd time since the pandemic passenger volume has surpassed 1 million,” TSA spokeswoman Lisa Farbstein wrote on Twitter on Saturday.

Health officials have warned that the burgeoning wave of infections could soon overwhelm the healthcare system if people do not follow public health guidance, particularly around not traveling and mingling with other households for Thursday’s traditional Thanksgiving celebration.

The number of Thanksgiving air travelers was expected to decline by 47.5 percent from 2019, but nonetheless, 2.4 million people were forecast to take to the skies, according to a report earlier this month from the American Automobile Association. It said the number traveling by car was expected to fall by only about 4 percent.It’s when regulators allow shots to be given to certain people while studies of safety and effectiveness are ongoing.

Before any vaccine is permitted in the U.S., it must be reviewed by the Food and Drug Administration, which requires study in thousands of people. Normally, the process to approve a new vaccine can take about a decade. But the federal government is using various methods to dramatically speed up the process for Covid-19 vaccines.

During a health crisis, the FDA can loosen its normal scientific standards to allow emergency use of experimental drugs, devices, vaccines and other medical products. The first vaccines to get the provisional green light in the U.S. are almost certain to be made available under this process, known as emergency use authorization.

Instead of the usual requirement of “substantial evidence” of safety and effectiveness for approval, the FDA can allow products onto the market as long as their benefits are likely to outweigh their risks. It has already used its emergency powers to authorize hundreds of coronavirus tests and a handful of treatments during the pandemic.

But the agency has almost no experience granting emergency use for vaccines and has laid out extra standards it will use to make decisions on upcoming Covid-19 shots.

In October, FDA officials told vaccine makers they should have two months of safety follow-up from half of the people enrolled in their studies before requesting emergency authorization. That data is expected to be enough for FDA to allow vaccinations of certain high-risk groups, such as front-line health workers and nursing home residents.

Full approval of a vaccine will likely require six months of safety follow-up as well as extensive inspections of company manufacturing sites. The leading vaccine makers are not expected to complete that process until next spring or summer. Only then is the FDA expected to grant full approval, which would allow vaccinations of the general population.The United States topped 12 million cases of Covid-19 on Saturday, as the third wave’s uncontrolled spread prompted the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to urge Americans not to travel for Thanksgiving.

The country recorded more than 200,000 coronavirus cases over the last 24 hours, bringing the total to 12,002,863, according to NBC News’ tally. The total number of deaths is 255,567.

More than 40 states plus Washington D.C., Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Guam are experiencing a percentage increase in cases from over the past 14 days. Of those, a dozen states are seeing a spike in new cases.