Unemployment Claims Soar & Deaths Hit New Record High As Trump Continues To Botch Vaccine Rollout

The pandemic continues to surge uncontrolled because of Trump’s refusal to do anything to help. Coronavirus deaths just hit a new record high for the second day in a row and new unemployment claims soared last week. Meanwhile, the Trump administration continues to botch the vaccine rollout and has only made it more difficult for the incoming Biden administration to control the pandemic.

Weekly unemployment claims soared last week to nearly 1 million — four times higher than the pre-pandemic average.

NBC News: “The latest weekly initial jobless claims soared to 965,000 last week, according to data released Thursday by the Department of Labor, as the economy struggles to contain the fallout from rising coronavirus infection rates across the country… the weekly figure continues to be four times higher than the pre-pandemic average.”

The U.S. hit a new single-day record high yesterday, for the second day in a row, with over 4,300 coronavirus deaths.

Associated Press: “Coronavirus deaths in the U.S. hit another one-day high at over 4,300 with the country’s attention focused largely on the fallout from the deadly uprising at the Capitol. The nation’s overall death toll from COVID-19 has eclipsed 380,000, according to Johns Hopkins University, and is closing in fast on the number of Americans killed in World War II, or about 407,000.”

Washington Post: “The United States set a another record for coronavirus deaths reported in a single day, tallying more than 4,250 lives lost on Tuesday, with new infections still at an all-time high and hospitals across the country contending with a flood of sick patients.”

The Trump administration continues to botch its vaccine rollout and made abrupt changes that could create hurdles for the Biden administration.

Politico: “Trump administration health officials blindsided states on Tuesday with an abrupt and dramatic shift in how they’ll distribute coronavirus vaccines that may set up new hurdles for the Biden transition team. The administration plans to punish states that don’t move fast enough on vaccinations or that fail to provide the government real-time reports on inoculations. Trump officials also urged states to immediately start vaccinating anyone 65 and over or with high-risk medical conditions. Those moves, however, won’t fix the chaos and inequities that have marked the vaccine rollout so far, including low uptake in underprivileged communities hardest hit by the pandemic, public health experts and some officials representing state health departments told POLITICO. And they could put states struggling to vaccinate hard-to-reach communities farther behind.”