Since New Year's Eve, one person in Virginia has died from COVID every hour ...
Since New Year's Eve, one person in Virginia has died from COVID every hour as state surpasses 5,000 cases for third straight day
Sabrina Moreno Jan 8, 2021
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the top infectious disease expert in the U.S., told Virginia community leaders on Friday that itll be open season for vaccinations in April, meaning anyone who wants a vaccine will be able to get it. ... If we get that overwhelming majority of people vaccinated, I think we could start approaching a reasonable degree of normality toward the mid-fall of 2021, he continued. ... He spoke as Friday marked the third day in a row that Virginia reported more than 5,000 additional cases.
Fauci joined a conference call that the VCU Massey Center director, Dr. Robert Winn, has held with Black faith leaders every Friday since March to dismantle misinformation about COVID-19, share how to stay safe as cases surge and address the deep-rooted mistrust in the health care system perpetuated by ongoing discrimination in medical care thats made Black communities hesitant to receive the vaccine.
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Since New Years Eve, roughly one person in Virginia has died from COVID-19 every hour. By April 1, that could increase to about five deaths per hour, according to projections from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation. ... Both agencies correctly predicted the state would surpass 5,000 deaths on the last day of 2020.
Nationally, the U.S. shattered daily records on Friday, reporting more than 4,000 deaths for the first time. Thats a person dying every 20 seconds. ... Virginias current death toll is at 5,312 people. Health officials say even this is an undercount due to delays in reporting and the verification of death certificates.
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smoreno@timesdispatch.com
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