Coronavirus: US passes 20 million cases, as Mitt Romney calls for emergency medics to be drafted to administer vaccine
- On Wednesday alone, more than 3,900 people died of Covid-19 in the US, a new daily record
- Experts believe the worst is yet to come as health care workers brace for a surge in cases and deaths after holiday gatherings
The United States has recorded more than 20 million cases of Covid-19, Johns Hopkins University said on Friday in its real-time tally, as the New Year brought another grim milestone underlining the country’s struggle to quell the virus.
The US has so far registered 20,007,149 cases and 346,408 deaths in the pandemic, the Baltimore-based university said, making it the country with by far the highest official number of cases and the highest death toll.
Senator Mitt Romney on Friday urged the US government to immediately enlist veterinary surgeons, combat medics and others in a sweeping proposal to administer coronavirus vaccinations and slow the rising death toll.
The 2012 Republican presidential nominee called for action after it emerged that 2.8 million Americans had received their first dose, far short of the 20 million the Trump administration promised by the end of 2020.
“That comprehensive vaccination plans have not been developed at the federal level and sent to the states as models is as incomprehensible as it is inexcusable,” Romney said in a statement.
