More than 100,000 patients are hospitalized with COVID-19 in the United States, the highest number of hospitalizations since the outbreak began early this year.
There are nearly 20,000 patients in ICU and about 7000 of them on ventilator, according to the new data collected by The COVID Tracking Project.
The data show that the number of hospitalizations has been dramatically increasing since the end of October, with about 60,000 hospitalizations since then.
The grim milestone comes as health officials continue to warn that the weeks ahead may be the deadliest, especially with new surges tied to holiday travel and lockdown fatigue.
Pfizer has already applied for an emergency use of its COVID-19 vaccine, but the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is not scheduled to meet until December 10 to discuss a possible authorization. A week later, the FDA will meet again to discuss the Moderna vaccine.
Both vaccines are not expected to be widely available to the general public until February or April next year, meaning that social distancing, wearing of masks, testing, isolating and treating patients remain our best weapons against the respiratory disease.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s leading infectious disease expert, and others have been warning against COVID fatigue, saying now was not the time to let up with help on the horizon.
Simon Ateba is Chief White House Correspondent for Today News Africa. Simon covers President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, the U.S. government, the United Nations, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and other financial and international institutions in Washington D.C. and New York City.