US COVID-19 Cases Surpass 8 Million Mark

By Mary Anne R. Oct 16 2020, 22:10 PM EDT

Us Covid-19 Cases to Approach Third Peak with More Deaths in Winter — Spencer Platt/Getty Images

The COVID-19 cases in the United States have surpassed the eight million mark on Friday as health officials struggle to battle the rising rate of infections.

According to a CNN report, the cases are increasing daily based on data from Johns Hopkins.

The U.S. has seen 53,000 more new daily cases for the past week on average. It is an increase of over 55 percent in over a month, adding this Friday's caseload.

Reports said that with this recent peak, it appears that no region is safe. For instance, the Northeast region is seeing a rise in cases, when it remained stable since the spring. In the Midwest, increases come with the new cases.

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert, noted that infection rates are too high for the end of the year. Other health experts added that this sets the country for a very difficult winter.

Winter and COVID-19

More than 17,000 people could possibly die from COVID-19 between now and Feb. 1. It could bring the U.S. COVID-19 death toll to around 390,000.

"Unfortunately, in the United States, it's still the first wave of the outbreak," Ali Mokdad, professor of health metrics sciences at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington, said in an NPR report.

The model forecasts three possible scenarios that show the potential effect of policies and people's behavior. The worst scenario assumes that social distancing mandates will not be imposed, which could result in nearly 483,000 deaths by Feb. 1.

The ideal scenario shows communities continue to impose the wearing of face masks, which would make the death toll 315,000.

Mokdad said the country is stuck in a reactive cycle, saying that people change their reactions when there is a spike in cases. Mokdad noted that the U.S. is like in a roller coaster in every situation.

Mokdad said that whenever the country manages to bring the cases down, people immediately let their guard down.

"But this is a deadly virus - you cannot give it a chance to circulate," Mokdad noted in a report, adding that cold weather also plays a role.

Vaccine Distribution

As the country faces more uptick in COVID-19 cases, the Trump administration discussed some of its plans for the COVID-19 vaccine.

Officials announced that they assigned CVS and Walgreens pharmacies to distribute vaccines once one is approved.

Dr. Robert Redfield, director for the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said in a CDC statement that it aims to solve logistical hurdles.

"Decrease the burden of distributing, administering, and reporting COVID-19 vaccination for both states and long-term care facilities," Redfield said in a CNN report.

President Donald Trump said Friday that seniors would be the first to get any vaccine once approved. However, no vaccine has received the approval of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration yet.

CDC posted some positive developments on COVID-19 vaccines on Wednesday, which promises some vaccines by the end of the year.