“Increase vigilance.” New call to action from White House COViD advisor Dr Deborah Birx. Now showing graphic where fall spike in cases much steeper than earlier waves.
Birx attributes sharp fall COVID spike to early cold snap in October and people being inside then.
Now: chart showing states’ COVID hospitalizations—- the Dakotas are the worst.
Birx now is warning about household gatherings’ risks.
Pence who earlier promised no shutdowns now says feds have eyes on local hospital capacity. New speaker says task force has grown PPE supplies 10-15 times... have 4 months of surge capacity for N95 masks.
Graphic about state stockpiles has MN with 31-60 day supply of PPE.
Fall meaning autumn
Fauci sighting!
Fauci is clearly excited about the COVID vaccines.
Fauci is saying the vaccines far exceeded expectations for preventing severe disease. Now he's turning to vaccine "reticence" ... says the process of the speed did not compromise safety or integrity.
Also says review of the data was done by independent people who have no allegiance to anything.."not the administration, not to me." Now will be reviewed by FDA and undergoing additional scrutiny. Put to rest this was rushed or compromised. "This was really solid."
Vaccines will roll out at end of December to "high priority" people. But Fauci also says more important now, with vaccine coming, to control COVID. If fighting a battle, you don't stop shooting when the cavalry is coming, he says.
Fauci sum-up: 1) Continue the battle to control COVID with mitigation measures and 2) Get the vaccine when it becomes available.
Dr. Moncef Slaoui talking about vaccine distribution.. says nation distributes annual flu vaccine efficiently every year. COVID vaccine will build on this proven model, he says. Large role for UPS, Fedex, big pharmacy chains.
When EUA comes, (emergency use authorization), distribution will begin in 24 hours, Slaoui says.
CDC's Redfield comes out swinging a bit (good to see), saying "Masks work."
Redfield is also addressing schools and saying K-12 should stay open (presuming in-person classes). Last summer, there was concern about potential White House interference in agency recommendations on this. More background here: washingtonpost.com/education/2020…
Next speaker continues to make case for keeping schools open, though qualifies it with where data indicates it's safe. This is key component missing here...the Upper Midwest is in the midst of hurricane-force COVID surge.
Now: HHS Sec. Alex Azar, who is taking victory lap for vaccine development. Fair, but let's thank the scientists as well.
One of the vaccine companies will submit EUA app tomorrow, Pence says.
Most important part of this press conference: Fauci expressing confidence in the vaccines' safety and efficacy.
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Gov. Tim Walz COVID press conference underway. The focus is on mental health.
There is a 24/7 crisis text line available. Just MN to 741741
A nice contribution to this from Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan who notes that so many of us feel stressed during the pandemic and it's OK to reach out for help. "We have never experienced anything like this in our lifetime."
Some hospitals are nearing the point of turning new patients away and some already. -- Chart shared by Gov. Tim Walz during MN state address happening now.
It's not just beds, or PPE or drugs or ventilators "Somebody has to administer those. And they're getting sick." Walz referring to health care providers. They are getting sick from community exposure not at work, he emphasizes.
The MN Governor's COVID briefing has begun... focus is not on numbers but on human toll this pandemic is taking.
First up is former State Rep. Nick Zerwas.
It was 8 days ago when a mild cough turned into something more severe, Zerwas says. Thought he was on the mend but developed difficulty breathing. His PULSE OXIMETER alerted him to dangerously low blood oxygen levels.
Hospitalizations gone up 90% in last 10 days in Upper Midwest, Gov. Tim Walz says in today's COVID briefing. Says good news about Moderna vaccine is light at end of tunnel, but says we need to get all of us to that light at the end of the tunnel.
"Terrifying" is the word MDH Commish Jan Malcolm uses to describe global COVID numbers.
Based on current rate of growth, might get to 300K in MN by middle of next week .(Remember it took 27 weeks to get to first 100K, roughly six weeks to get to 200K, a point made last week by state health officials)
15 COVID cases in MN linked to Sturgis, one is in hospital. MDH puts out call today during briefing to ask attendees to self-quarantine but more cases likely.
Another plea to "lay low" for students heading back to college, K-12. Evidence so far (looking at you, St. Olaf students) suggests the problem isn't before going back to college, but when the students are on campus.
More on MN COVID cases linked to Sturgis: 1 was employee at temporary bar and the remaining were attendees. Doesn't appear that there are commonalities at this point, such as eating at the same restaurant or staying at same campground. Those who became ill were in many locations.
Now live tweeting the 1 p.m. Minnesota Department of Health COVID briefing. Please follow along. For full coverage go to StarTribune.com.
On the line: @mnhealth's Commissioner Jan Malcolm and State Epidemiologist Dr. Ruth Lynfield.
Globally: 10.4 mil cases, 511k deaths. US: 2.6 mil cases and 127K deaths. MN: 426 new cases, an increase about the same as yesterday. Test positivity is 3.7%, up a bit from prior week but still good.