5:30 ABC Covid PKG 01.04.2021

More than 351 thousand Americans have now died from Covid-19 since the pandemic began according to Johns Hopkins University

Month.

More than 351 thousand americans have now died from covid-19 since the pandemic began... according to johns hopkins university.

While the vaccines offer a glimmer of hope... there have been some major snags in the rollout... as health experts worry about a possible surge in cases after holiday travel.

Reena roy has the latest.

L3: abc 36 news white u.s. death toll from coronavirus surpasses 350,000 l3: abc 36 news white reena roy abc 36 news as covid-19 spreads rapidly across the u-s..vaccinations can't happen fast enough.

Nats clapping the first nurse in new york to get her shot 3 weeks ago..got her second dose on monday.

110516 sot, director of northwell health: we look forward to 21 as a year where we can see the light at the end of the tunnel but with such high demand for the vaccine coast to coast..some people have been getting turned away..even after waiting overnight in a 3 mile long line in daytona beach florida.

New sot peter laskowski / waiting to receive vaccine "it's tremendously frustrating days i've been trying to get a spot and you just can't get a spot sot desantis: 120650 supply is still limited, so we ask that you bear with us, both with the health systems as well as the other folks who are doing it.

They're working really hard, this is a big priority for them, they do a great job and they're going to be administering vaccines as quickly as they can.

The cdc reports more than 4 million people have been vaccinated despite the goal of 20 million by the end of 2020 set by operation warp speed.

Chief advisor moncef slaoui downplaying the delays on cnn..saying it's up to state officials to handle distribution.

Slaoui: listen, nothing has gone wrong.

What we have committed was to have 20 million doses of vaccine available for the american people to be immunized with.

This as a record 125 thousand americans are hospitalized with the virus according to the covid tracking project..

Healthcare workers overwhelmed.

New sot - scott brickner, bsn- cedars sinai medical center it's like treading water from 100 feet below the surface, you're already drowning but you have to keep trying because that's what you do.

And now growing concern about a possible surge in cases after the holidays.

The tsa reporting more than 3.3 million people took to the skies over the weekend..

As health experts sound the alarm about a new and potentially more contagious variant of covid- 19..originally detected in the uk and now here in the u.s.- -- dr. ashish jha saying on nbc-- new dr jha on nbc: sot "it will end up infecting so many more people that the total number of people who will get sick and die is much, much worse.

I think we underestimate how powerful a more contagious virus can be."

Tag: the new variant is not believed to be more deadly..and scientists say the vaccines will likely work against it.

Reena roy abc news new york.

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