1/14/2021
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`‘Things Will Get Worse,’ Fauci Warns, as U.S. Hits a New Daily Death Record - The New York Times
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`Things Will Get Worse,ʼ Fauci Warns, as U.S. Hits a New Daily Death Record
`
`Last Updated
`Jan. 14, 2021
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`Israel, its vaccine supplies dwindling, secures a new supply. And the Capitol Hill riot may turn out to be a super-spreader event, experts
`say.
`
`Follow live news updates on Covid-19, vaccine, cases and deaths across the globe.
`
`Hereʼs what you need to know:
`
`As U.S. tops 4,000 deaths in a day, a record, Fauci warns that January will get harder.
`
`France vows to speed up vaccinations as it warns that restrictions will remain in place for now.
`
`Top officials in New York clash over where police personnel stand in the vaccine line.
`
`Rapid virus testing will ramp up inthe U.S., as F.D.A. approved three new at-home kits.
`
`Experts say the Capitol Hill riot was probably a super-spreader event.
`
`Israel reaches a deal with Pfizer for enough vaccine to inoculate all its population over 16 by the end of March.
`
`More states are detecting the highly contagious virus variant.
`
`As U.S. tops 4,000 deaths in a day, a record, Fauci warns that January will get harder.
`
`Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the top infectious disease expert in the United States, predicted on Thursday that the daily death toll from the
`coronavirus would continue to rise for weeks to come, and counseled patience with the vaccination program gearing up across the nation.
`
`Hours later, officials across the United States reported yet another daily record for deaths, over 4,000. The total for the pandemic in the
`U.S. has surpassed 365,400.
`
`In an interview with NPR, Dr. Fauci said the high toll was likely to continue, and was probably a reflection of increased travel and
`gatherings over the holidays.
`
`“We believe things will get worse as we get into January,” he said.
`
`He stressed that it was still possible to “blunt that acceleration” by strictly adhering to public health measures like social distancing and
`mask wearing.
`
`“Now’s not the time to pull back on this,” he warned.
`
`The virus has exacted a punishing toll across the United States. In recent days, Wyoming and Arizona been among states that have
`recorded high per capita rates of virus deaths, according to a New York Times database. On Thursday, Florida reported more than 19,800
`cases, the state’s highest single-day total.
`
`Dr. Fauci advised Americans to be patient with the snags and delays that have slowed the vaccination effort and provoked widespread
`frustration.
`
`So far, at least 5.9 million people in the United States have received a dose of one of the two Covid-19 vaccines that have been authorized
`for use, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That figure is far short of the goal federal officials had set to give at
`least 20 million people their first shots by the end of December.
`
`Dr. Francis S. Collins, the head of the National Institutes of Health, said Wednesday he was “not totally surprised” that vaccine distribution
`had gotten off to a “rocky” start.
`
`“We had this remarkable plan that Warp Speed had put in place to have doses ready to go the very next day after the F.D.A. approval, but
`that’s a lot of logistics,” he told The Washington Post, referring to Operation Warp Speed, the administration’s vaccine development
`program. “So maybe we shouldn’t be too shocked that it didn’t go like clockwork.”
`
`He also echoed Dr. Fauci’s warning, and said “the next couple of weeks are going to be really critical.”
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`https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/01/07/world/covid-19-coronavirus
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`‘Things Will Get Worse,’ Fauci Warns, as U.S. Hits a New Daily Death Record - The New York Times
`1/14/2021
`But the rollout is beginning to accelerate. More people were reported as having received their initial shots in the third week of the vaccine
`drive than in the first two weeks combined. The C.D.C.’s count rose by 470,000 between Tuesday and Wednesday. and then by another
`612,000 between Wednesday and Thursday.
`
`In a letter on Thursday to Alex M. Azar II, the secretary of health and human services, the American Hospital Association called on the
`federal government to do more to coordinate what is being done in different states and municipalities.
`
`“Hospitals are committed to be a central part of the vaccination effort, but hospitals alone cannot do it, especially as we care for
`burgeoning numbers of critically ill Covid-19 patients, and struggle to maintain sufficient staffing work to have enough personal protective
`equipment and other resources,” Richard J. Pollack, chief executive of the association, wrote in the letter.
`
`Mr. Azar urged the states on Wednesday not to stick too rigidly to the C.D.C.’s guidelines on whom to vaccinate in what order.
`
`“There is no reason that states need to complete, say, vaccinating all health care providers before opening up vaccinations to older
`Americans or other especially vulnerable populations,” Mr. Azar said at a news conference. He added that, “It would be much better to
`move quickly and end up vaccinating some lower-priority people than to let vaccines sit around.”
`
`In the NPR interview, Dr. Fauci said that any program on so large a scale would have to overcome stumbling blocks, and that the timing of
`the rollout, which began around the December holidays, may have added to the delays.
`
`“I think it would be fair to just observe what happens in the next couple of weeks,” he said. “If we don’t catch up on what the original goal
`was, then we really need to make some changes about what we’re doing.”
`
`— Karen Zraick and Rebecca Robbins
`
`Tracking the Coronavirus ›
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`On Jan. 13
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`Mass.
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`Japan declares a state of emergency for the Tokyo area.
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`TOKYO — Japan declared a state of emergency in Tokyo and three surrounding prefectures on Thursday, after days of record coronavirus
`counts and a rapidly rising death toll. It was Japan’s first emergency declaration because of the pandemic since April.
`
`The announcement came five days after governors from the affected prefectures had pleaded with the central government to act. Prime
`Minister Yoshihide Suga, reluctant to hurt the economy, had hesitated to invoke the emergency measure, but he eventually bowed to the
`pressure.
`
`Deaths from the virus in Japan have doubled in less than two months, passing 3,700, and Tokyo’s governor has warned that the medical
`system is under stress. Polls have shown widespread dissatisfaction with Mr. Suga’s four-month-old administration and its handling of the
`pandemic.
`
`The emergency declaration, which will last one month, relies mostly on voluntary compliance, and health experts warned that it might not
`be enough to turn the tide.
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`https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/01/07/world/covid-19-coronavirus
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`+34%
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`‘Things Will Get Worse,’ Fauci Warns, as U.S. Hits a New Daily Death Record - The New York Times
`1/14/2021
`The government is asking restaurants to close by 8 p.m., employers to encourage staff members to work from home, and residents to
`refrain from going out for all but the most essential tasks — also after 8 p.m. Schools, museums, cinemas, gyms and shops will stay open.
`
`Japan has reported a total of 258,393 cases, far fewer than many Western countries. After it emerged in May from its previous, brief state
`of emergency, it held up what it called the “Japan model”: an intense focus on contact tracing and cluster busting, widespread mask
`wearing and as few restrictions on the economy as possible.
`
`But as Japan has experienced several record-setting days for new infections since late last month — Tokyo reported over 2,000 cases on
`Thursday, and the country a record 5,953 — its coronavirus-fighting model has come under strain. Japan is not expected to start
`inoculating the public until at least the end of February, a process that will take months.
`
`“We are having too many cases to trace right now, and the state of emergency is coming too late,” said Fumie Sakamoto, an infection
`control manager at St. Luke’s International Hospital in Tokyo. She said the hospital’s intensive care beds and general wards were full.
`
`— Motoko Rich and Makiko Inoue
`
`ADVERTISEMENT
`
`France vows to speed up vaccinations as it warns that restrictions will remain in place for now.
`
`French officials vowed to speed up their vaccination campaign on Thursday, but warned that restrictions and curfews would remain in
`place in order to halt a rise in infections and hospitalizations.
`
`“2021 will be the year of hope,” Jean Castex, the prime minister, said at a news conference, citing the vaccine, which has been administered
`to about 45,000 people in France so far.
`
`But he added: “It is out of the question that we drop our guard in the coming weeks.”
`
`Mr. Castex said that the number of new daily infections was still high — hovering around 20,000 — and pressure on hospitals was still
`acute, with nearly 25,000 Covid-19 patients hospitalized around the country.
`
`Mr. Castex announced that cultural establishments that are currently closed, like museums, movie theaters and music halls, would remain
`shuttered until the end of January at least, and that bars and restaurants would not reopen before mid-February at the earliest — dashing
`the hopes of the service industry, which was still hoping to reopen on Jan. 20, as previously scheduled.
`
`An 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew will also remain in place for the time being, Mr. Castex said. In 15 areas of France, that curfew has already been
`tightened to 6 p.m., and could be similarly restricted in the coming days in 10 new areas. Mr. Castex said he could not rule out new
`nationwide restrictions, but he added that schools would only close again if the situation became particularly dire.
`
`Mr. Castex also addressed a barrage of criticism over the government’s sluggish vaccination rollout, acknowledging that it had started
`slower than in other countries but attributing the delay to France’s initial focus on retirement and nursing homes.
`
`Still, the government vowed to speed things up, promising that at least 1 million people would be vaccinated by the end of the month and
`announcing that all people older than 75 would be eligible for vaccinations starting Jan. 18.
`
`“We are doing everything to enable you to get vaccinated in good conditions,” Olivier Véran, the health minister, said at the news
`conference, adding that vaccination centers would soon open around the country and that people would be able to go through a simplified
`sign-up procedure to get their shots.
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`https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/01/07/world/covid-19-coronavirus
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`‘Things Will Get Worse,’ Fauci Warns, as U.S. Hits a New Daily Death Record - The New York Times
`1/14/2021
`Mr. Véran also announced that French health authorities had approved administering the second Pfizer vaccine shot up to six weeks after
`the first shot, instead of the recommended three-week interval.
`
`France also announced on Thursday evening that health authorities had detected two clusters of the new, more transmissible variant of
`the virus that was first identified in Britain. The clusters were in the Ile-de-France region, where Paris is, and in Brittany. Overall, French
`health authorities have reported 19 cases of the variant in France, and three cases of a different one first detected in South Africa.
`
`“We want to avoid the spread of this variant in France at all costs,” Mr. Véran said of the British variant, adding that health authorities
`were closely monitoring it.
`
`— Aurelien Breeden
`
`Top officials in New York clash over where police personnel stand in the vaccine line.
`
`Only a sliver of Police Department employees will be eligible for vaccination in New York City, Mayor Bill de Blasio said on Thursday,
`despite pledging earlier to vaccinate 10,000 members by the end of the week.
`
`The change came after Mr. de Blasio said Wednesday that the state approved vaccines for some home care workers, Department of
`Corrections employees and other city staff members in emergency response or medical roles — including 25,000 police personnel.
`
`“Yesterday I told you about the new state rules that have come out that we interpreted very clearly, very appropriately and very legally to
`mean we could vaccinate our corrections officers and that we could vaccinate our police officers,” Mr. de Blasio said Thursday. “We were
`told by the state they would not allow that.”
`
`Under the state’s direction, the mayor said, only several thousand New York City medical corp. officers are currently eligible to be
`inoculated. Mr. de Blasio has urged Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo to expand the pool of people eligible for vaccines so that it could include
`seniors over the age of 75 as the city’s vaccine rollout remains sluggish.
`
`The governor defended the state’s approach on Thursday, arguing that the state did not yet have enough supply to move to the next
`priority group and that police officers did not qualify as health care workers simply for being trained in C.P.R.
`
`Mr. Cuomo said that the 900,000 or so doses the state had received so far were not enough to inoculate the estimated 2.1 million health care
`workers statewide who he said are part of the highest priority group, known as Phase 1A.
`
`The governor said the state has administered 430,000 vaccines to date and had ramped up the pace of vaccinations this week, from 30,000
`doses administered on Monday to about 50,000 doses expected to be administered on Thursday.
`
`State officials said New York City had administered only 144,000 doses out of the 304,000 it has received since December — less than 50
`percent — even though state officials said 917,000 city health care workers could receive the vaccine under Phase 1A.
`
`On Thursday, Mitchell Katz, the head of the city’s public hospital system, NYC Health and Hospitals, said that workers in the hospital
`system who want to be vaccinated had been reached and that it was time to move on to other eligible groups.
`
`“As the days moved on, we found that the demand, after all the people who most wanted it passed, the demand began to decrease,” Mr.
`Katz said. “We now have appointments available and we don’t have arms to give that injection to.”
`
`Thousands of appointments to receive a vaccine were available, the city’s health commissioner, Dr. Dave A. Chokshi, said Thursday. On
`Saturday, eligible health care workers can begin booking appointments at the two massive vaccination sites opening on Sunday. These
`sites, one in Brooklyn and the other in the Bronx, will operate seven days a week, day and night.
`
`“Everyone agrees on one thing, we want the maximum number of high priority people vaccinated,” Mr. de Blasio said. “Sometimes the
`federal government and the state government need to stand back and let the local government do what it knows how to do best.”
`
`The governor and the mayor’s quarrel on vaccines was on full display on Thursday as each official blamed the other this week and aides to
`both leaders squabbling on Twitter over how to most efficiently distribute the vaccine.
`
`The mayor’s plea has come as some federal officials have urged states not to stick rigidly to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
`guidelines about whom to vaccinate first.
`
`“There is no reason that states need to complete, say, vaccinating all health care providers before opening up vaccinations to older
`Americans or other especially vulnerable populations,” Mr. Azar said at a news conference on Wednesday. He added that, “it would be
`much better to move quickly and end up vaccinating some lower-priority people than to let vaccines sit around.”
`
`— Juliana Kim, Luis Ferré-Sadurní and Rebecca Robbins
`
`Rapid virus testing will ramp up inthe U.S., as F.D.A. approved three new at-home kits.
`
`https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/01/07/world/covid-19-coronavirus
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`4/13
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`‘Things Will Get Worse,’ Fauci Warns, as U.S. Hits a New Daily Death Record - The New York Times
`1/14/2021
`Amid surging coronavirus cases, the top U.S. testing official on Thursday announced another scale-up in the country’s diagnostic efforts,
`touting the importance of tests that can run from start to finish outside the lab.
`
`The government will allocate an additional $550 million to community-based testing programs across all 50 states, said Adm. Brett Giroir,
`the assistant secretary for health. The government will also put $300 million toward 60 million kits for federal distribution to nursing
`homes and other vulnerable communities.
`
`Dr. Giroir projected that the country’s capacity for non-laboratory testing could more than double by June.
`
`In a video livestream, Dr. Giroir held up three new at-home testing kits, designed by Ellume, Abbott and Lucira Health, that recently
`received emergency green lights from the Food and Drug Administration. All can deliver results in a matter of minutes after a quick nasal
`swab, though only Ellume’s product can be purchased without a prescription.
`
`The Abbott and Ellume tests search for bits of coronavirus proteins called antigens. Lucira’s test, like most laboratory-based tests, hunts
`for genetic material.
`
`Dr. Giroir, who will depart his position on Jan. 19 as part of the transition to the Biden administration, praised the tests as “sophisticated”
`but cautioned that none were yet in widespread use. Production ramp-ups are in progress, he noted, but might not alter the market for a
`few months.
`
`Ellume’s test, for example, while it will be sold over the counter in a few weeks, will still be available in only very limited quantities.
`
`Experts have repeatedly cautioned that rapid tests are not as accurate or consistent as tests that route people’s samples through a
`laboratory, where they are typically processed with a technique called polymerase chain reaction, or P.C.R.
`
`Rapid tests, which can run from start to finish in a matter of minutes, may also falter more often when used on people without symptoms.
`Even so, they are often used — as a way to frequently screen some populations like nursing home residents and schoolchildren.
`
`But rapid tests typically have cost and convenience on their side — benefits that Dr. Giroir repeatedly underscored in a call with reporters.
`He noted the slow and bumpy rollout of testing in the United States, where speedy tests results are still a relative rarity.
`
`Dr. Giroir said it was “not yet obvious” whether widespread at-home testing would be successful.
`
`Susan Butler-Wu, a clinical microbiologist at the University of Southern California’s Keck School of Medicine, said at-home testing might
`streamline the testing process. People who feel sick could test themselves and determine whether they need to isolate or seek treatment in
`a matter of minutes.
`
`But outsourcing testing to the general public also carries risks.
`
`Incorrect results, for example, could be tougher to catch, interpret and act on when people test themselves at home. False negatives might
`embolden people to mingle with others, hastening the spread of the virus, while false positives could unnecessarily keep people out of
`work or school.
`
`And both types of errors could erode public trust in testing.
`
`Dr. Butler-Wu also noted that rapid test results might not make it to the right care providers and to public health officials when collected at
`home.
`
`If results aren’t properly reported, she said, “you’re flying blind — you don’t know the prevalence in your community.”
`
`— Katherine J. Wu
`
`ADVERTISEMENT
`
`https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/01/07/world/covid-19-coronavirus
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`5/13
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`1/14/2021
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`‘Things Will Get Worse,’ Fauci Warns, as U.S. Hits a New Daily Death Record - The New York Times
`
`Experts say the Capitol Hill riot was probably a super-spreader event.
`
`The mob that stormed the Capitol yesterday did not just threaten the heart of American democracy. To scientists who watched dismayed
`as the scenes unfolded on television, the throngs of unmasked intruders who wandered through hallways and into private offices may also
`have transformed the riot into a super-spreader event.
`
`The coronavirus thrives indoors, particularly in crowded spaces, lingering in the air in tiny particles called aerosols. If even a few of the
`pro-Trump extremists were infected — likely, given the current rates of spread and the crowd size — then the virus would have had the
`ideal opportunity to find new victims, experts said.
`
`“It has all the elements of what we warn people about,” said Anne Rimoin, an epidemiologist at the University of California, Los Angeles.
`“People yelling and screaming, chanting, exerting themselves — all of those things provide opportunity for the virus to spread, and this
`virus takes those opportunities.”
`
`President Trump has downplayed the pandemic almost since its beginning, and many of his supporters who entered the Capitol yesterday
`did not appear to be wearing masks or making any effort at social distancing. Under similar conditions, gatherings held in such close
`quarters have led to fast-spreading clusters of infection.
`
`Similar concerns were raised by the Black Lives Matter protests in the summer. But most of those were held outdoors, and greater
`numbers of participants seemed to be masked. Research afterward suggested that they were not super-spreading events.
`
`But hundreds of rioters shouting in crowded rooms and hallways for extended periods of time can infect dozens of people at once, Dr.
`Rimoin and other experts said.
`
`The melee was most likely a super-spreader event, said Dr. Joshua Barocas, an infectious diseases physician at Boston University,
`“especially given the backdrop of the highly transmissible variants that are circulating,”
`
`The prospect that members of Congress may have been exposed, amid an already difficult transfer of power, particularly disturbed some
`scientists.
`
`“I am worried not only that it could it could lead to super-spreading, but also super-spreading to people who are elected officials,” said Dr.
`Tom Inglesby, director of the Center for Health Security at Johns Hopkins University.
`
`Representative Jake LaTurner, Republican of Kansas, announced on Twitter early Thursday morning that he had tested positive for the
`virus. Mr. LaTurner was cloistered in the chamber with other members of Congress for much of the day.
`
`— Apoorva Mandavilli
`
`Israel reaches a deal with Pfizer for enough vaccine to inoculate all its population over 16 by the end of
`March.
`
`In a boost to Israel’s vaccination campaign, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced on Thursday that he had reached an
`agreement with Pfizer that will enable all Israelis above age 16 to be inoculated against Covid-19 by the end of March.
`
`Mr. Netanyahu made the remarks hours before Israel was set to tighten its current lockdown. Health experts believe the new highly
`transmissible variant of the virus has fueled a rising infection rate.
`
`“We are going to be the first country to beat the coronavirus,” Mr. Netanyahu declared in a statement at his office in Jerusalem.
`
`The vow came after days in which health officials warned that Israel’s supply of vaccines was dwindling.
`
`He said planes carrying the vaccine would be arriving soon and boasted that he had spoken to Albert Bourla, Pfizer’s chief executive, 17
`times in the past several weeks.
`
`More than 18 percent of Israel’s population has already received the first dose of the vaccine, a rate that has far outstripped the rest of the
`world and buoyed Mr. Netanyahu’s battered domestic image.
`
`As part of the agreement with Pfizer, Mr. Netanyahu said that Israel would be an “international model for quickly vaccinating an entire
`country” and that Israeli authorities would share data with the pharmaceutical giant to help “develop strategies to defeat” the virus.
`
`The Israeli health minister, Yuli Edelstein, said the government would give priority to a broader swath of its population to receive the
`vaccine starting next week. He did not give specifics.
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`https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/01/07/world/covid-19-coronavirus
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`‘Things Will Get Worse,’ Fauci Warns, as U.S. Hits a New Daily Death Record - The New York Times
`1/14/2021
`As of Thursday, Israel was permitting people 60 and older to be inoculated, as well as a number of other target groups. It has also provided
`them to members of the broader public under some circumstances.
`
`Despite his optimism about the vaccines, Mr. Netanyahu was adamant that Israelis abide by the lockdown. “It is forbidden to forget for a
`moment that the pandemic is raging around the world,” he said.
`
`Israel has averaged 6,695 cases per day over the past week, a substantially higher number than the previous seven days, according to a
`New York Times database.
`
`— Adam Rasgon
`
`More states are detecting the highly contagious virus variant.
`
`The list of states to identify the dangerous new coronavirus variant is growing.
`
`Texas, Connecticut and Pennsylvania confirmed their first cases on Thursday, joining California, Colorado, Georgia, Florida and New York.
`
`Florida has at least 22 confirmed cases, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. California has reported at least 26.
`
`Experts have warned that the United States is woefully ill-equipped to track the rapidly transmissible variant. Without a robust, national
`system to identify genetic variations of the coronavirus, states are left on their own to identify the variant.
`
`The Texas Department of Health and Human Services said an adult male resident of Harris County, which includes Houston, with no
`history of travel tested positive for the coronavirus. Genetic sequencing this week showed that the infection was caused by the variant.
`
`“The fact that this person had no travel history suggests this variant is already circulating in Texas,” Dr. John Hellerstedt, the
`commissioner of state health services, said in a statement. “It’s not surprising that it showed up here given how rapidly it spreads.”
`
`Dr. Hellerstedt urged Texans to “redouble our commitment" to social distancing and public health measures.
`
`In Connecticut, Gov. Ned Lamont said two individuals between 15 and 25 years old had tested positive for the variant. Both had traveled
`outside of the state, he said, one to Ireland and the other to New York. Genetic sequencing showed the cases are unrelated.
`
`Pennsylvania also reported that its case was because of international exposure.
`
`Last month, Britain became the first country to identify the new variant, which is now surging there and burdening its hospitals with new
`cases. Now, the variant has been identified in at least 33 countries, including Britain. Dr. Hans Kluge, the World Health Organization’s
`regional director for Europe, called the spread of the variant across the continent “an alarming situation.”
`
`“Without increased control to slow its spread, there will be an increased impact on already stressed and pressurized health facilities,” Dr.
`Kluge said at a briefing on Thursday, warning that the variant may, over time, “replace other circulating lineages” as it has in Britain.
`
`Dr. Kluge urged countries to continue to investigate transmission, increase genetic sequencing and to share data.
`
`— Remy Tumin
`
`ADVERTISEMENT
`
`Los Angeles County urges ambulance crews not to bring to hospitals patients they cannot resuscitate.
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`https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/01/07/world/covid-19-coronavirus
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`7/13
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`‘Things Will Get Worse,’ Fauci Warns, as U.S. Hits a New Daily Death Record - The New York Times
`1/14/2021
`With hospitals in Los Angeles County swamped with Covid-19 patients, a memo that went out to the county’s ambulance crews last week
`caused public alarm and prompted explanations from medics on social media about their care practices.
`
`In the memo, a slightly updated version of which was released on Monday, the county Emergency Medical Services Agency instructed the
`crews not to transport most adult patients whose hearts had stopped beating to a hospital if resuscitation in the field was unsuccessful or if
`the patients met established criteria for declaring death.
`
`The measure was needed “due to the severe impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on E.M.S. and 9-1-1 receiving hospitals,” Dr. Marianne
`Gausche-Hill, the agency’s medical director, wrote in the directive.
`
`What the memo actually reflected, though, was an effort to spare overburdened emergency rooms from having to spend time and
`resources on patients who were already beyond their help. And rather than a dire last resort, it was actually a relatively small change from
`the county’s previous policy, which already discouraged emergency personnel from taking most patients whose heartbeats could not be
`restored where they were found to the hospital.
`
`“Although this has been in place, paramedics have been transporting some of these patients to emergency departments,” Dr. Gausche-Hill
`wrote in an email in response to questions about the policies. “We suggest that they don’t,” she continued, because “the emergency
`department would not offer any additional therapeutic interventions.”
`
`She added that the policy allowed exceptions for cases where the scene was unsafe or when emergency crews had particular concerns
`that need to be discussed with a physician.
`
`Ambulances used to regularly rush patients without a heartbeat to a hospital, a practice known as “scoop and run,” but that changed about
`a decade ago, according to Dr. David K. Tan, president of the National Association of E.M.S. Physicians.
`
`These days, he said, “the standard of care is to understand that cardiac arrest is an E.M.S. problem, it’s not a hospital problem, and that a
`patient’s chances of survival are better to work them where you find them.”
`
`Several medics around the country, like Kari Dickerson, a paramedic in Kentucky who tweets as @MedicTrommasher, jumped into social
`media to try to quell anxieties about the directive they believed were unfounded.
`
`“The people I saw most upset were Black and brown people,” said Ms. Dickerson, who said that she had to explain to her parents that “this
`is stuff we already do.” She said that she read posts by people expressing fears that “medics were just going to leave people on the floor”
`and that “E.M.S. was the one deciding who would live and who would die, who was worthy.”
`
`Ms. Dickerson said she was concerned that these misunderstandings could lead to anger at personnel who had to break the news that
`someone had died, with families wondering, “Did they do this on purpose, did they not work as hard as they would have for somebody that
`looks like them?”
`
`She added, “People are already worried that there’s some hierarchy of who gets care even prior to a pandemic, and now that we’re in it, it’s
`even worse.”
`
`Research shows that once E.M.S. had attempted without success to resuscitate them, patients like those described in the Los Angeles
`directive rarely live, even if transported to a hospital, said Dr. Jeffrey M. Goodloe, a director of the American College of Emergency
`Physicians.
`
`“None of us, ever, want to withhold the chance of survival from someone that is depending upon us,” said Dr. Goodloe, who is also chief
`medical officer for an E.M.S. system covering Oklahoma City and Tulsa.
`
`So for areas where hospital wards are overflowing and empty beds are scarce, he said, “the best advice we can give somebody is work to
`keep yourself well so you don’t need E.M.S. care, or emergency department care, or hospital based care.” He added, “Prevention is more
`important than ever.”
`
`— Sheri Fink
`
`The virus spread faster in counties where large universities held classes in person.
`
`The spread of the coronavirus accelerated sharply in U.S. counties where large universities held classes in person last fall, federal health
`researchers reported on Wednesday.
`
`Incidence rates in those counties rose more than 50 percent in the first three weeks after classes started, compared with the previous
`three-week period, according to a new study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. By contrast, infection rates declined in
`counties without large universities or where large universities held classes remotely last fall, the study said.
`
`https://www.nytimes.com/live/2021/01/07/world/covid-19-coronavirus
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`‘Things Will Get Worse,’ Fauci Warns, as U.S. Hits a New Daily Death Record - The New York Times
`1/14/2021
`The findings come as many students who were home for the holidays prepare to return to campus. They will converge on college towns at
`a time when the virus is surging in many parts of the country, overwhelming hospitals and straining health care serv