The Heat: 40 million COVID-19 cases in the U.S.

The Heat

Lab manager Robyn Schuman holds blood samples to be tested for Covid-19 at the Bellville Medical Center, in Bellville, Texas, September 1, 2021. – Hospitals in Texas are overwhelmed due to record numbers of Covid-19 hospitalizations. In rural areas, the most seriously ill patients are stuck in facilities that are not equipped to handle them. Every day, one of them dies because they cannot find a place in a facility better suited to their needs. (Photo by Francois PICARD / AFP)

The number of coronavirus infections in the U.S. has reached another grim milestone.

40 million cases – more than 10% of the population contracting the virus since the pandemic began.

Three months ago, the number of daily new cases had dropped to around 15,000. But with the highly contagious Delta variant, we are now seeing over 160,000 new cases confirmed – every day.

To discuss:

  • William Haseltine is Chair & President of ACCESS Health International.
  • James O’Dea is Vice President of Operations at Hartford Healthcare’s Behavioral Health Network.
  • Rafael Bernal is a reporter for The Hill.
  • Peter Chin-Hong is Professor of medicine and an infectious disease specialist at the University of California, San Francisco.

For more: