US surpasses 19mn COVID cases as Trump signs long-awaited aid package

The United States has surpassed 19 million coronavirus cases, adding one million new cases in just less than a week.

The US recorded 165,151 new cases in the 24 hours to Monday evening, bringing the overall total to 19,107,675 cases, figures from Johns Hopkins University showed.

The country has a total of 333,069 COVID-19 deaths, the highest in the world, the Baltimore-based institution said.

Coronavirus cases have been surging at an alarming rate in the world's largest economy, adding at least one million new cases per week since early November.

More than a million Americans have received the first dose of their COVID-19 vaccines, however, top US government scientist Anthony Fauci warned Sunday that the worst of the pandemic may be yet to come.

US officials say the pandemic is driving the country to a "critical point" as holiday travel spreads the coronavirus.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) also on Sunday reported 18,909,910 cases of the coronavirus, an increase of 179,104 cases from its previous count, and said deaths had risen to more than 330,900.

As the COVID pandemic takes a record toll in US cases and deaths, the US economy has been gravely battered, with jobless rates spiking in recent weeks.

The pandemic left million of Americans without job and turned to the biggest headache for President Donald Trump, whose mishandling of the COVID crisis cost him the November presidential election.

On Sunday, Trump signed off on a $2.3 trillion spending legislation that includes $900 billion for coronavirus relief and the remainder for government spending through next September.  

Under pressure from all sides and after delaying for nearly a week and, the Republican president finally signed the massive stimulus bill in a long-sought boost for millions of Americans and businesses battered by the coronavirus pandemic.

US lawmakers reached a deal last week for the long-awaited deal after months of wrangling to provide the first aid in months to an economy and individuals battered by the surging coronavirus pandemic.

Trump signs coronavirus relief and government funding bill into law

US President Donald Trump has signed off on a $2.3 trillion spending legislation that includes $900 billion for coronavirus relief.

‘Severe allergic reaction to Moderna COVID vaccine’

A doctor in Boston developed a severe allergic reaction after receiving Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine on Thursday, the New York Times reported.

Dr. Hossein Sadrzadeh, a geriatric oncology fellow at Boston Medical Center, said he had a severe reaction almost immediately after being vaccinated, feeling dizzy and with a racing heart, the NYT reported.

It is the first severe reaction publicly linked to Moderna’s vaccine, which is in its first week of a nationwide rollout.

David Kibbe, a spokesman at the Boston Medical Center, said Dr. Sadrzadeh “felt he was developing an allergic reaction and was allowed to self-administer his personal epi-pen. He was taken to the Emergency Department, evaluated, treated, observed and discharged. He is doing well today.”

A US Food and Drug Administration official said last week that the FDA is investigating around five allergic reactions that occurred after people were administered Pfizer Inc and BioNTech SE’s COVID-19 vaccine in the United States.

US Covid 19 discrimination

Dr. Moore, a medical doctor in the US who took to social media to vent her frustration at not being taken seriously by white doctors in Indiana University, was discharged against her will.

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