The coronavirus pandemic continues to worsen in the U.S. as the nation reported a record number of people dying from COVID-19 in a single day — again.
More than 4,400 people across the country were reported dead from the virus on Tuesday, according to Johns Hopkins University’s count. The previous record for daily deaths was hit only last week, when over 4,100 people died in one day.
The country also hit other grim milestones for the virus in recent weeks, including peak rates of new infections and hospitalizations, The Washington Post reported.
Since the pandemic began last year, more than 22.8 million Americans have been infected with the coronavirus and more than 381,000 people have died.
Black and Latinx people have been disproportionately hard hit, being around four times as likely to be hospitalized with COVID-19 as white people, and nearly three times as likely to die, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Meanwhile, the Trump administration’s vaccine rollout is going far slower than expected: Just over 10 million Americans have gotten their first doses of the vaccine so far, about half of the 20 million Americans the administration said would be vaccinated by the end of 2020.
This week, the Trump administration told states that all residents over age 65 and those with underlying health issues should be made eligible for vaccinations. The administration will also no longer be holding back vaccines for second doses, but releasing all those available for the more widespread administration of first doses.
President-elect Joe Biden takes office in one week, at the height of the pandemic and as President Donald Trump is subject to impeachment proceedings for inciting a deadly riot at the Capitol last week. Biden has said that getting the coronavirus pandemic under control is his administration’s top priority, and he will start by asking that all Americans wear masks.
Several Democratic members of Congress have tested positive for the virus after sheltering with Republican colleagues who refused to wear masks during the pro-Trump insurrection.