US records more than 4,000 COVID-19 deaths in one day for first time
Thursday saw the country hit a grim coronavirus milestone.
The US on Thursday recorded more than 4,000 deaths from COVID-19 in a single day for the first time. There are at least 4,111 deaths, and daily coronavirus cases hit a new record as well, with 280,028 new infections, The New York Times reported.
It comes as the long-awaited COVID-19 vaccine rollout suffers delays.
"I think it would be fair to just observe what happens in the next couple of weeks," Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health, told NPR on Thursday. "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."
On Friday, Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Stephen Hahn told reporters he wants states to start being "more expansive in who they can give the vaccine to," according to CNBC. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended prioritizing health-care workers and nursing homes, but Hahn noted that a wider distribution should be driven by "data and science."