U.S. expected to have 500,000 COVID-19 deaths by February, CDC official warns

U.S. expected to have 500,000 COVID-19 deaths by February, CDC official warns The grim news comes as Los Angeles is battling a more contagious variant of the virus. California leads the world in coronavirus cases, with over 3 million residents infected. Jamie Yuccas cbseveningnews

As the U.S. closes in on 400,000 coronavirus deaths, the incoming director of the Centers for Disease Control said that by the middle of February, officials expect the death toll to be staggering.

"By the middle of February, we expect half a million deaths in this country," Dr. Rochelle Walensky said.

The grim news comes as Los Angeles is battling a more contagious variant of the virus. California leads the world in coronavirus cases, with over 3 million residents infected.

UCLA epidemiologist Dr. Anne Rimoin told CBS News that she "certainly" suspects there are more variants active in the population. She likened searching for the variants to "shining a flashlight in the dark," adding, "You're going to see something if you start to look, and we just haven't been looking." ...

Florida's department of health has said more than 40,000 are already overdue for their second dose, as the country braces for the worst.

The darkest weeks have already hit Southern California. Data shows the dramatic increase in COVID-19 deaths in LA County, where one person is now dying every six minutes.

The coroner has a backlog of bodies, so many that LA County has just eased air quality rules to allow for more cremations. ...