The daily case count on Friday evening hit 71,950, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. That's the fourth-highest number of cases reported in a single day since the pandemic began. The three highest days for new infections were in July.
"This week, we will probably have our highest number of cases that we've ever had on a daily basis in the United States," Adams said earlier on Friday at the Meridian Global Leadership Summit on Global Health Diplomacy.
Friday's case tally continues the trend from Thursday when the US reported more than 70,000 new infections. Thirty-two states have been reporting rising Covid-19 infections, according to data from Johns Hopkins.
Adams cautioned that hospitalizations are starting to go up in 75% of the jurisdictions across the country and officials are concerned that in a few weeks, deaths will also start to increase.
The good news, Adams said, is that the mortality rate in the country has decreased by about 85% thanks to multiple factors, including the use of remdesivir, steroids and better management of Covid-19 patients.
More than 41,000 people were hospitalized across the country, according to the Covid Tracking Project. This is the highest level of nationwide hospitalizations since Aug 20.
The number of people hospitalized has increased by 33% since the beginning of October, the CTP says.
Deaths are also creeping upward, with 856 on Thursday, Johns Hopkins says. The 7-day average of deaths continues to climb and is up to 763. That is the highest level of average weekly deaths in a month.
In White House coronavirus task force reports obtained by CNN this week, officials say there are "early signs of deterioration in the Sun Belt and continued deterioration in the Midwest and across the Northern States." And more state leaders have sounded the alarm on increasing infections, hospitalizations and deaths.
A vaccine trial resumes after being halted
Drugmaker AstraZeneca announced Friday it will resume the trial of its experimental coronavirus vaccine in the US.
The company said the US Food and Drug Administration has given approval to continue the trial after reviewing all of the global safety data and concluding it was safe to resume.
The trial was paused last month after a volunteer in clinical trials in Britain developed a neurological condition.
"This is going to be the most scrutinized vaccine ever produced," Adams said Friday referring to a potential Covid-19 vaccine.
While President Donald Trump said Thursday that he is hopeful that a vaccine will be approved before the end of the year, the director of the National Institutes for Health remains "cautiously optimistic."
NIH Director Dr. Francis Collins said Friday that "it might not happen and it might take longer."
"FDA is not going to approve a vaccine that has less than 50% effectiveness," Collins said Friday during a National Press Club virtual event.
But even if it's approved, it's unclear whether Americans will take it. Collins said he's troubled to see that the percentage of people willing to take the
