More than 4 million Americans positive for COVID in November

The United States reported 4.2 million new cases of CoVID-19 in November and all its hopes of slowing down the virus rest on vaccines.

More than 36,000 people were also killed by the pandemic in November, pushing hospitalisations to a record high of nearly 93,000.

In seven days, more than 10,000 people died and 1.1 million contracted the virus.

The new COVID-19 cases were more than double the previous monthly record set in October, as large numbers of Americans still refuse to refuse to wear masks.

They also continue to gather in holiday crowds, against the recommendation of experts.

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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is expected to rule on Dec. 10 on whether to approve the emergency use of a vaccine developed by Pfizer Inc.

A second candidate from Moderna Inc could follow a week later, officials have said, raising hopes that Americans could start receiving inoculations before the end the year.

However, widespread vaccinations could take months.

Other global pharmaceuticals including AstraZeneca PLC and Johnson & Johnson also have vaccines in the works.

This led a member of the Trump administration’s “Operation Warp Speed” programme to predict the country could be vaccinated by June.

“One hundred percent of the Americans that want the vaccine will have the vaccine by (June).

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“We will have over 300 million doses available to the American public well before then,” Paul Ostrowski, the vaccine program’s director of supply, production and distribution, told MSNBC television on Monday.

In the meantime, leading health officials are pleading with Americans to follow their recommendations and help arrest the pandemic.