U.S. hits record COVID-19 deaths and hospitalizations

The head of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention predicts the country is about to go through “the most difficult time in the public health history of the nation.”

Dr. Robert Redfield made the comment during a U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation webcast Wednesday.

It comes as the country surpassed 100,000 COVID-19 hospitalizations, the highest since the pandemic began.

Redfield says earlier surges in COVID-19 illnesses were concentrated in one area of the country or another, and health care workers and equipment could be shifted from one place to another to deal with it.

But now, he says, all parts of the country are seeing rising infections and illnesses.

Wednesday also saw 3,157 deaths, which is the highest daily number reported, according to Johns Hopkins University.

COVID-19 vaccines are expected to begin rolling out to Americans later this month.

But they likely won’t be widely available until sometime in 2021.