How does the body react after administration of the vaccine?
12:45
(CNN) -
The green light for a covid-19 vaccine could come any day in the U.S., but top health experts warn that the nation is only at the beginning of a winter that is projected to be one of the longest. difficult in the history of the country.
“We are in an unprecedented health crisis in this country.
The disease is everywhere: Midwest, West Coast, East Coast, North, South.
The health workers are exhausted, the hospitals are totally full, "former Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius told CNN Wednesday night.
December has already been devastating.
On Wednesday it registered more than 3,100 deaths from covid-19, the highest number of daily deaths since the start of the pandemic, beating a record set just a few days ago.
Currently, there are more than 106,600 COVID-19 patients nationwide, the largest number possible, according to the Covid Tracking Project.
And the nation's average daily new cases is now more than 200,000, and that's as experts expect another surge to begin soon, fueled by the Thanksgiving trips and gatherings that took place last month.
Covid-19 vaccines are a "really significant light at the end of the tunnel," Sebelius said, but in the coming months it is crucial that Americans stay vigilant and follow safety guidelines, such as wearing face masks, social distancing and stay away from indoor meetings.
"We have to take what we have learned in the last eight months and really put it into practice, so that we do not continue to have this unthinkable number of deaths and illnesses," he said.
Nurses treat a covid-19 patient at UMass Memorial Hospital in Worcester, Massachusetts.
His warning in the last week has been echoed by other prominent health officials and experts warning that while a vaccine may be almost here, the country is not likely to experience any significant impacts until well into 2021, and that is. if enough people are vaccinated.
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Let's say we get 75%, 80% of the population vaccinated.
I think if we do it efficiently enough during the second quarter of 2021, by the time we get to the end of the summer ... we may have enough herd immunity that protects our society as we get to the end of 2021, we could get very close, to a certain degree of normalcy that is close to where we were before, ”Dr. Anthony Fauci said in a webinar at Harvard's TH Chan School of Public Health on Wednesday.
One big challenge: reaching out to American communities who doubt the vaccine and are skeptical about the science behind it.
"We want to make sure the vaccines are actually delivered, and we're afraid that won't happen," Paul Ostrowski, who leads the supply, production and distribution of Operation Warp Speed, told "Good Morning America ”on Wednesday.
"We must build trust in the American people," he said.
"We just want to make sure everyone gets this vaccine, because we have to get our lives back."
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Yes, there is a vaccine, but not enough for everyone
New measures across the country
As the pandemic continues, state and local leaders continue to tighten restrictions in hopes of slowing both the spread of the virus and its deadly effects.
Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott announced new measures Wednesday, closing all indoor restaurants and recreational activities, such as bowling alleys, pool halls and hookah bars.
Based on covid-19 patterns, intervention was required, city health officials said.
"The City of Baltimore has not had to implement such severe restrictions since the early days of the pandemic and the implementation of the stay-at-home order," wrote the city's health department on Twitter.
"Unfortunately, with the volume of new cases we are seeing and the implications it has on hospital utilization, during a period of widespread community transmission, activities such as eating, drinking and smoking in close proximity to others should not continue."
In Mississippi, Governor Tate Reeves signed a new ordinance that adds stricter limitations on indoor and outdoor gatherings and moves more counties to the state's mask mandate list, meaning 61 of the state's 82 counties they are under a command of masks.
The Indiana governor said he will require hospitals to postpone or reschedule non-emergency procedures performed in an inpatient hospital setting from December 16 to January 3 to preserve the hospital's capacity.
Gov. Eric Holcomb also announced new limits on social gatherings starting this weekend, based on the color zone (determined by weekly cases per 100,000 and seven-day positivity rate) in counties.
In Alabama, Gov. Kay Ivey announced Wednesday that she will extend the state's home security order that includes a statewide mask mandate for another six weeks.
And North Dakota officials announced the extension of two orders that require face covers and limit capacity at bars, restaurants and other event venues.
20 million could be vaccinated in the coming weeks
Now, more than half (53%) of all Americans say they would likely receive a first-generation covid-19 vaccine as soon as it becomes available, according to the results of a new survey from Axios-Ipsos.
That number jumped from 51% before Thanksgiving to 38% in early October.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not yet licensed any vaccines.
But an emergency use authorization is expected soon and about 20 million people are likely to get vaccinated in the coming weeks, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar told CNN on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, in the UK, "thousands" of people were vaccinated on Tuesday, the first day of the launch of the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine, according to the National Health Service (NHS).
A day later, health officials said that people with "a significant history of allergic reactions" should not receive the vaccine, after two health workers experienced symptoms after receiving an injection.
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The FDA will not "take shortcuts" when deciding whether to authorize the vaccine, Azar said, saying he was confident that what happened in the UK would be "something the FDA considers."
Vaccines are also likely to start now in Canada, where health officials announced on Wednesday an emergency approval for Pfizer's covid-19 vaccine.
Azar said he remains confident that by the end of the second quarter of 2021, any American who wants a vaccine will be able to get it.
"Although we have such a bright future ahead of us, we face extremely worrying trends in the spread of the virus," Azar said.
"For now, we need to redouble the steps that can keep us all safe."
CNN's Cheri Mossburg, Naomi Thomas, Jamiel Lynch, Ganesh Setty, Melissa Alonso, and Kay Jones contributed to this report.
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