The U.S. has reported an average of 44,116 new COVID-19 cases daily in the past week, up 6 percent from the average seen two weeks ago, reports The New York Times.
Nine updates:
1. CMS on Oct. 6 shared how it will implement an interim final rule that requires hospitals to report COVID-19 and flu data to participate in the Medicare program. Hospitals will be given 14 weeks to comply with reporting requirements. Read more on the rule here.
2. The FDA outlined the requirements for issuing emergency use authorization to a COVID-19 vaccine Oct. 6, reports NPR. The guidelines make it very unlikely that a vaccine will be authorized by Election Day and were released the same day The New York Times reported that top White House officials were pushing back on the stricter requirements.
3. President Donald Trump had no COVID-19 symptoms Oct. 6 and was doing "extremely well" after leaving Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, White House physician Sean Conley, DO, said Tuesday, according to The New York Times.
4. Several top Pentagon leaders are quarantining after Adm. Charles Ray, vice commandant of the Coast Guard, tested positive for COVID-19, reports The New York Times.
5. President Trump's top speechwriter and policy advisor Stephen Miller is the latest White House aide to test positive for COVID-19, reports The New York Times.
6. Top vaccine official Rick Bright, PhD, resigned from the HHS Oct. 6, several months after filing a whistleblower complaint against the agency. Dr. Bright alleges he was removed from his role as director of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority after raising concerns about the Trump administration's response to COVID-19 and nepotism within HHS. In an Oct. 6 amended whistleblower complaint, the vaccine expert said he had only been given one assignment since the role change, which he has now completed.
7. Seven states — Arkansas, Montana, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Wisconsin and Wyoming — saw record hospitalizations Oct. 6, according to data tracked by The Washington Post.
8. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo imposed tighter COVID-19 restrictions on areas of New York City Oct. 6, reports The New York Times. Amid rising COVID-19 cases, the restrictions will affect synagogues and other houses of worship in some areas, while a separate set of new rules will shut down certain schools, restaurants and gyms.
9. Washington, D.C., reported 105 new COVID-19 cases Oct. 5, the highest daily increase since June.
Snapshot of COVID-19 in the U.S.
Cases: 7,502,004
Deaths: 210,918
Recovered: 2,952,390
Counts reflect data available as of 8:30 a.m. CDT Oct. 7.
More articles on public health:
COVID-19 hospitalizations by state: Oct. 7
Top officials push back on FDA vaccine standards; Trump isolates at White House — 7 COVID-19 updates
21 states where COVID-19 is spreading fastest, slowest: Oct. 7