‘Dark weeks ahead’: Incoming CDC director expects 500,000 COVID deaths by mid-February

The first month of Joe Biden’s administration could be the deadliest period in the nation’s COVID-19 pandemic, one of his top officials warned Sunday. Dr. Rochelle Walensky, who is nominated to lead the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, expects the country’s coronavirus death toll to reach 500,000 by mid-February.