Your Daily Roundup for December 3rd

Good morning. As the COVID-19 pandemic takes a toll on life in America, our team at Future Majority is tracking the latest updates: 

Two incredibly grim records have been surpassed:

On Wednesday, the toll of COVID-19 on the nation was made starker than ever. For the first time, more than 100,000 people were in hospitals across the country with the virus. Tragically, the U.S. surpassed its highest single day death toll, with 2,760 Americans losing their lives to the disease yesterday alone. The warning from the CDC Director, Dr. Redfield, could not be more clear: The coming months he said, are “...going to be the most difficult time in the public health history of this nation.”

Three former presidents committed to take a vaccine publicly:

Former Presidents of the United States George W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama said that they would get their COVID-19 vaccines on camera to help assure the public that vaccines are safe and of the utmost importance to receive to curb the spread of the pandemic. The three former presidents said they would take the vaccine after it is deemed safe and given to priority populations as outlined by the CDC. There is a history of communities in the United States mistrusting vaccines and this public campaign is one potential way to get more Americans on board. 

712,000 Americans are newly out of work:

State unemployment claims reached 712,000 last week, a drop of 75,000 from the week prior, but still well above pre-pandemic levels. 25 states reported more than 1,000 layoffs in the last week as well, with most coming in the food services, retail, hospitality and healthcare sectors. Another 289,000 Americans filed for the federal unemployment assistance program. There is still no sign of a deal for economic relief on Capitol Hill.