COVID-19 cases on the rise across the United States

Cases of COVID-19 are rising across the United States.
On Friday, the U.S. recorded its largest single-day number of infections since the start of the pandemic.
Some health experts warn the trend is likely to continue throughout the holiday season.
"The reality is that the worst could be yet to come and that the beginning has been more or less the warmup act for what is about hit," says Dr. Peter Hotez, of Baylor College of Medicine.
At least 35 states are seeing a rise in new week-to-week cases, according to Johns Hopkins University.
"Some of the worst-hit places in the country right now are rural areas and those health facilities are very quick to be overrun," says CNN Medical Analyst Dr. Celine Gounder.
Meantime, the White House says it's doing all it can to control the pandemic.
"We're not going to control the pandemic. We are going to control the fact that we get vaccines, therapeutics and other mitigation areas," says White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows.
Five members of Vice President Mike Pence's staff have recently tested positive for COVID-19. Pence, who the White House says continues to test negative for the virus, spent the weekend on the campaign trail.
"COVID is a reality that they don't want to face. This has been a failure and they're just not going to talk about it now and they'll just pretend that it's not happening," says Olivia Troye, former White House Coronavirus Task Force member.
The University of Washington's Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation predicts more than 100,000 lives could be saved through February if 95% of Americans wear masks while in public.
"We know that it's easier to wear a mask in the winter than it is in the summer. And I think that it would be very reasonable to put forward a mask mandate," says CNN Medical Analyst Dr. Rochelle Walensky.
The director of the National Institutes of Health, says he is "cautiously optimistic" that a vaccine will be authorized before the end of 2020. However, he admits that it might take longer than that.