US: Over 23.3M Cases - 390K Dead - 13.8M Recovered
Worldwide: Over 92M Cases - 1.9M Dead - 66M Recovered

Private Industry Security Guard Deaths: 260   Law Enforcement Officer Deaths: 199
*Red indicates change in total deaths

The U.S. suffers its worst day ever for Covid-19 deaths
he US reported its highest daily number of Covid-19 deaths on Tuesday with more than 4,320 fatalities attributed to the virus. It marked the second time - both this month and since the pandemic's start - that the US reported more than 4,000 Covid-19 deaths in a single day. Over the past week, the US has averaged more than 3,300 deaths every day, a jump of more than 217% from mid-November.

The numbers are grim, but to some experts they're not surprising. They follow Covid-19 case surges - fueled by holiday gatherings - across the country and weeks of record-high hospitalization numbers. Now more than 131,300 Americans are hospitalized with the virus, according to the COVID Tracking Project - and in some parts of the country, hospitals have reached their breaking point.

Arizona reported a record-high 5,082 hospitalized Covid-19 patients Tuesday and on the same day broke a second record: more than 1,180 patients with the virus in ICU beds. In Louisiana, Gov. John Bel Edwards extended an order which keeps Covid-19 mitigation measures in place for nearly another month, saying the state was seeing a "huge spike" in cases and hospitalizations. Those numbers are also on the rise in college towns as students return for the first semester of 2021. cnn.com

COVID deaths in the U.S. are currently increasing
fastest in the South and West regions:

New Workplace Safety Standards Coming?
Biden will ask OSHA to reconsider decision to skip emergency Covid standards
President-elect Joe Biden will ask the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) to reconsider its refusal to issue emergency standards for COVID-19 workplace safety, according to a Dec. 29 statement.

The incoming administration will ask OSHA, which has so far declined to issue such standards, "to determine whether to establish an emergency temporary standard to keep workers safe from COVID-19," Biden said.

He also said he would direct OSHA to target the worst violators, increase the number of inspectors and develop strategies for addressing the most dangerous workplace hazards. hrdive.com

U.S. asks states to hasten vaccine delivery, give second dose
Barely a month into a mass vaccination campaign to stop the COVID-19 pandemic, the Trump administration unexpectedly shifted gears Tuesday to speed the delivery of shots. The move came amid widespread concern over a slow start even as coronavirus cases and deaths reach new highs.

Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar announced a series of major changes to increase supply of vaccines and expand the age groups eligible to receive them as well as locations where people can get shots.

One change will have some teeth to it. Azar said that going forward the federal government will base each state's allocation of vaccines partly on how successful it has been in administering those already provided.

"If you are not using vaccines that you have the right to, then we should be rebalancing to states that are using that vaccine," Azar said at news conference. That won't happen overnight, not until officials try to sort out whether lags in reporting could be the reason for what appears to be subpar performance.

Azar also said the government will stop holding back the required second doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines, practically doubling supply. Both those shots require two doses to achieve optimum protection.

Additionally, Washington is urging states to immediately start vaccinating other groups lower down the priority scale, including people age 65 and older and younger people with certain health problems. latimes.com

Retailer Incentivizes Vaccine
Dollar General Will Pay Workers to Get Vaccine in Retail First
Dollar General Corp. is offering workers extra pay to encourage them to get vaccinated against Covid-19 as quickly as possible. Hourly employees will get the equivalent of four hours of pay after getting the vaccine, while salaried workers will receive "additional store labor hours to accommodate their time away from the store," the discount retailer said in a statement. It also will provide assistance to its distribution and transportation teams.

The announcement offers an early look at how retailers will deal with getting millions of frontline workers the vaccine -- an urgent issue from both a safety and operational standpoint, as well as an unprecedented logistical undertaking. About 10 million people have received the first dose of a Covid vaccine since immunizations started in December, according to Bloomberg's vaccine tracker. bloomberg.com

Maine orders Walgreens to give up vaccine doses
it had no immediate plans to use
State health officials Monday ordered the Walgreens pharmacy chain to send almost 2,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses it had no immediate plans to administer to two Lewiston hospitals that needed to vaccinate more health care providers. bangordailynews.com

CDC expands Covid vaccination guidelines to everyone 65 and older

Operation Warp Speed chief resigns at Biden team's request, will stay through transition

Johnson & Johnson Expects Vaccine Results Soon but Lags in Production


How the Two Most Populous States Failed in Their Response
California and Texas Fought Covid Their Own Way, Suffered Just the Same

Politics aside, the nation's two biggest states have both stumbled
in the fight against the deadly coronavirus

When the novel coronavirus struck, California embraced lockdowns and mask mandates. Texas resisted them. Yet almost a year since the U.S. recorded its first Covid-19 case, the two most populous states, so often seen as opposites, find themselves in similar shape, with crippled economies and higher casualties than most nations.

It's easier to shop, dine, and pray in Texas than in California, where most of its almost 40 million people are living under some form of lockdown. But the states' unemployment rates are virtually the same: 8.1% in Texas and 8.2% in California. Each state has lost about 30,000 people to the coronavirus. Texas has seen 103 Covid-19 patients die for every 100,000 people since the start of the pandemic, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In California the ratio is 75.

Public health experts say the grim statistics illustrate the limits of their field. Government orders can make a difference - a big one. But barring draconian measures, such as China placing the city of Wuhan under virtual house arrest, what matters most may be the daily choices of individuals.

"It's 20 decisions someone makes a day: Do I wear a mask, do I go to the store, do I congregate?" says Robert Wachter, chairman of the department of medicine at the University of California at San Francisco. "The kind of facile 'California good, Texas bad' argument doesn't hold up very well." bloomberg.com

Texas joins California as only states with 2M cases

L.A. County approaching 1M coronavirus cases as officials brace for new hospital surge

Coronavirus stay-at-home order lifted for Greater Sacramento

California's Disneyland and Dodger Stadium to become mass vaccine distribution sites


Better Covid Treatments are Keeping More People Alive
But Also, Ironically, Overwhelming Hospitals at the Same Time

As Covid-19 Pressure Mounts, U.K. Hospitals Find Pandemic Paradox
U.K. hospitals are under unprecedented stress as a fast-spreading coronavirus variant tears across the country, with the pressure intensified as doctors say they are saving more lives, meaning more hospital beds are in use.

There is "a perverse paradox" this time around, said Will Ricketts, a consultant chest physician at Royal London Hospital in the capital city, where one in 30 people is now estimated to be infected with the virus. "Patients that were previously not surviving beyond a few days of admission are now surviving weeks," said Dr. Ricketts. "This is obviously good news overall, but at least in part explains why this wave has stretched us so thin."

The number of people hospitalized with coronavirus in the U.K. has surged to its highest levels in the pandemic, and is now 49% higher than in the previous peak in April. wsj.com

UK Grocery Retailers Stand Together on Banning Maskless Shoppers
Police Standby to Help Enforce & Deal with Aggressive Shoppers

Tesco, Asda, Aldi & Waitrose join crackdown on maskless shoppers
Tesco, Asda, Aldi and Waitrose are the latest supermarkets to take a tougher stance on customers who refuse to wear a face covering without a medical exemption, and they all urged shoppers to be respectful towards staff.

They are the latest supermarkets to ban maskless shoppers, after Morrisons announced it would enforce the wearing of masks for customers unless they are medically exempt, while Sainsbury's said its security staff at entrances will "challenge" shoppers who are not wearing face coverings or who enter stores in groups.

Asked whether Co-op Food stores will take similar steps, chief executive Jo Whitfield said all customers "must take responsibility for wearing a face mask". retailgazette.co.uk

This chart shows how restaurant revenue has fallen,
even as delivery and takeout sales soar
UBS Evidence Lab found that takeout and delivery sales are failing to make up for lost dine-in customers. Weekly dine-in restaurant revenue fell 69% in the week ended Nov. 29, according to UBS. A number of factors, including cold temperatures, a surge in Covid-19 cases and new restaurant restrictions, have hurt restaurant sales this winter. cnbc.com

Bruce Willis calls not wearing mask in Rite Aid 'an error in judgment'