As of Today, the World Health Organization has reported a total of 27,020,890 Covid-19 cases in the US. Which is 16,140,287 more than the second most affected country India. Total deaths are 468,051 with 3,639 deaths that happened in the last 24 hours nationwide. The CDC website reports that the pandemic peaked January 8,2021 with total reported cases of 274,627. There is however a glimmer of hope, by February 10, 2021 cases had declined nationally to 83,109. Unfortunately, the number of deaths has stayed about the same in that time frame at 3,736 on 2/11/2021
We are all in this together
The WHO has also issued a joint statement with UNICEF Executive director Henrietta Fore and WHO Director General DR. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. They hope to raise awareness of how the vaccine is distributed. So far, only ten countries have received 75% of the vaccines. The issue they have is that this may be a good business strategy. There is no way to end a pandemic. 130 countries haven’t received any vaccine. They call on leaders to “look beyond their borders and employ a vaccine strategy that can actually end the pandemic and limit variants.” Part of the problem is that variants of the virus will have a chance to proliferate. The leaders of WHO and Unicef also explained that “This self-defeating strategy will cost lives and livelihoods, give the virus further opportunity to mutate and evade vaccines and will undermine a global economic recovery.” The leaders are also calling on all countries to vaccinate the frontline health care workers with the first 100 days of the vaccine rollout.
Vaccine distribution in the US, the numbers
According to USA today, the first vaccines were given Dec 14, 2020. Only 3.4% of the US population have completed the two-dose vaccination plan. 10.5%of the population have received the first dose and 37.1 % of the vaccine has not been distributed yet. It is happening but there is a 3-4 week delay before the second dose is administered. While the Moderna vaccine is authorized for adults. The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is available for anyone 16 and older. States are prioritizing medical staff, people in nursing homes or other long-term facilities, essential workers, the elderly and people with medical conditions. If you are a frontline healthcare worker you may have already had the vaccine. If you are a nurse it is a great time to contact a staffing agency for available positions.
Ramping up vaccine
Dr. Fauci of the National Institute of Health Allergy and Infectious diseases has stated that by March and April hopefully we will start to see a mass vaccination approach. It will be “open season” meaning everybody can get the vaccine. By the end of the summer we could be able to accomplish the goal of getting 250 million or more of the US population vaccinated. Dr. Fauci also explained that it seems from initial testing that the new UK variant of the virus is wiped out by existing vaccines. However, it is of the utmost importance to administer the vaccine as quickly as we can.
Demand for nursing is not going away
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment projections for registered nurses are among the top occupations for job growth through 2029. The bureau estimates 175,900 openings for RNs each year up to 2029. That number includes nurse retirements and workforce exits as a factor.
RNs can seek job opportunities through staffing agencies who are well equipped to help them get placed properly. The average salary for nurses is $73,300.