A vaccine could soon get the green light, but Americans need to stay vigilant to avoid ‘unthinkable death toll,’ expert says – KTVZ

A green light for a Covid-19 vaccine could come any day now in the US, but leading health experts warn the nation is only at the start of a winter thats projected to be one of the most difficult in the nations history.

We are in a totally unprecedented health crisis in this country. The disease is everywhere Midwest, West Coast, East Coast, North, South. Health care workers are exhausted, hospitals are totally full, former Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius told CNN Wednesday night.

December has already proved devastating. Wednesday recorded more than 3,100 Covid-19 deaths the highest daily death toll ever since the pandemics start, beating a record set just days ago. There are now more than 106,600 Covid-19 patients nationwide, the most ever, according to the COVID Tracking Project. And the countrys average of daily new cases is now more than 200,000 and thats as experts are soon expecting another surge to kick off, one fueled by the Thanksgiving travel and gatherings that took place last month.

Covid-19 vaccines are a really significant light at the end of the tunnel, Sebelius said, but in the coming months its crucial that Americans stay vigilant and follow safety guidelines, like wearing face masks, social distancing and staying away from indoor gatherings.

Weve got to take what weve learned in the last eight months and really put it into practice, so we dont continue to have this unthinkable death toll and disease toll, she said.

Her warning has in the past week been echoed by other leading health officials and experts who warn that while a vaccine may be almost here, the country will likely not see any meaningful impact until well into 2021 and thats if enough people get vaccinated.

Lets say we get 75%, 80% of the population vaccinated. I believe if we do it efficiently enough over the second quarter of 2021, by the time we get to the end of the summer we may actually have enough herd immunity protecting our society that as we get to the end of 2021, we could approach very much, some degree of normality that is close to where we were before, Dr. Anthony Fauci said in a Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health virtual event Wednesday.

One big challenge: reaching the American communities that are hesitant of the vaccine and skeptical about the science behind it.

We want to make sure that the vaccines are actually administered, and were afraid that wont happen, Paul Ostrowski, who is leading supply, production and distribution for Operation Warp Speed, told Good Morning America Wednesday.

We must build a trust in American people, he said. We just want to make sure that everybody gets this vaccine, because weve got to get our lives back.

While the pandemic rages on, local and state leaders continue to tighten restrictions in hopes of curbing both the spread of the virus and its deadly effects.

Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott announced new measures Wednesday, shutting down all restaurant dining and indoor recreation like bowling alleys, pool halls and hookah bars.

Based on the Covid-19 patterns, intervention was required, city health officials said.

Baltimore City has not had to implement such severe restrictions since the very earliest days of the pandemic and the implementation of the stay-at-home order, the citys health department wrote on Twitter. Unfortunately, with the volume of new cases that we are seeing and the implications it has on hospital utilization, during a period of widespread, community transmission, activities such as eating, drinking and smoking in close proximity to others, should not continue.

In Mississippi, Gov. Tate Reeves signed a new executive order adding stricter limitations on indoor and outdoor gatherings and moving more counties to the states mask mandate list meaning 61 of the states 82 counties are under a mask mandate.

Indianas governor said he will require hospitals to postpone or reschedule nonemergent procedures done in an inpatient hospital setting from December 16 through January 3 to preserve hospital capacity.

Gov. Eric Holcomb also announced new caps on social gatherings starting this weekend, based on which color zone (determined by weekly cases per 100,000 and seven-day positivity rate) counties are in.

In Alabama, Gov. Kay Ivey announced Wednesday shell be extending the states Safer at Home order that includes a statewide mask mandate for another six weeks. And North Dakota officials announced the extension of two orders that require face coverings and limit capacity at bars, restaurants and other event venues.

Now, more than half 53% of all Americans say they would likely get a first-generation Covid-19 vaccine as soon as its available, according to new poll results from Axios-Ipsos. That number is up from 51% before Thanksgiving and 38% in early October.

No vaccine has yet been authorized by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). But an emergency use authorization is expected soon and about 20 million people could likely get vaccinated in the next few weeks, Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar told CNN Wednesday.

Meanwhile in the UK, thousands of people were vaccinated Tuesday, the first day of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine rollout, according to the National Health Service (NHS).

A day later, health officials said people with a significant history of allergic reactions should not be given the vaccine, after two health care workers experienced symptoms after receiving a shot.

The FDA will not cut any corners when deciding whether to authorize the vaccine, Azar said, saying he was sure what happened in the UK would be something the FDA looks at.

Vaccinations will also likely now kick off in Canada, where health officials announced Wednesday an emergency approval for Pfizers Covid-19 vaccine.

Azar said he remains confident that by the end of the second quarter of 2021, any American who wants a vaccine will be able to get one.

Even as we have such a bright future ahead, we face extremely concerning trends in the spread of the virus, Azar said. For now, we need to double down on the steps that can keep us all safe.

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A vaccine could soon get the green light, but Americans need to stay vigilant to avoid 'unthinkable death toll,' expert says - KTVZ