With a glimmer of hope emerging as the United States enters summer with some of the lowest rates of COVID-19 infections in months, the country could surpass 600,000 deaths as early as this weekend.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention He said last week The numbers of cases and deaths have fallen to their lowest levels in nearly a year. But experts caution unvaccinated and vaccinated individuals alike not to take heed yet.
Pathologist Dr Anthony Fauci has warned of the alpha variant, which was first identified in the UK, and the delta variant is spreading rapidly across the country.
“We don’t want to allow what is currently happening in the UK to happen in the US, where you have a disturbing variant essentially taking over the role of the dominant surrogate, which has made it a very difficult situation in the UK,” he said. CNN.
Fauci said the delta variant now accounts for about 6% of infections in the United States. But the data shows that the Pfizer vaccine is partially effective against the alternative.
Meanwhile, President Joe Biden on Thursday outlined plans for the United States to help “intensify the global fight against this pandemic.”
Central to that campaign is the US commitment to purchase and donate 500 million doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine to 92 low- and middle-income countries, which Biden emphasized at the G7 summit in England. On Friday, G7 nations are set to commit to sharing at least one billion doses overall.
“This is an enormous commitment by the American people. This is not the end of our efforts to fight COVID-19 and vaccinate the world,” Biden said.
Also in the news:
â–ºThe New York Times reported The Food and Drug Administration has decided that 60 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine produced at the Baltimore plant must be disposed of due to potential contamination. The Associated Press reports that about 10 million doses will be allowed to be distributed, but according to The Times, it should include a warning that the Food and Drug Administration does not guarantee that the company running the plant has followed good manufacturing practices.
â–º Two passengers sharing a room on the Celebrity Cruises cruise ship, which was carrying only fully vaccinated passengers and crew, She tested positive for COVID-19.
Chinese regulators on Friday announced approval of a second COVID-19 vaccine for children aged 3 to 17. China has an initial goal of vaccinating 80% of its population by the end of the year, which could mean children are next in line. .
Food and Drug Administration Thursday Expiry date extension on hundreds of thousands of doses of Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine for six weeks, giving states with large unused allocations more time to give them. The shelf life of Johnson & Johnson’s vaccines was extended from three months to four and a half months after testing for stability. Many doses had reached their expiration date on June 24.
On Thursday, the organization said that only seven African countries are expected to meet the World Health Organization’s goal of vaccinating 10% of their population by September.
â–º Most hospitals in Washington, D.C. will require employees to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, Joining a growing number of healthcare systems And other companies nationwide to choose the controversial mandate.
Modern announced Thursday that it has requested an emergency use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration for a COVID-19 vaccine for children ages 12 to 17.
📈 Today’s numbers: The United States has more than 33.4 million confirmed cases of coronavirus and at least 598,700 deaths, According to data from Johns Hopkins University. Global totals: more than 174.7 million cases and more than 3.76 million deaths. More than 141.5 million Americans have been fully vaccinated – 42.6% of the population, According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
📘 What we’re reading: President Joe Biden has set a new vaccine goal for America: 70% of adults will receive at least one shot of COVID-19 by the Fourth of July. If shots continue at their current pace, the United States will lose out on this benchmark. Read the full story.
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CDC Report: Emergency visits for suicide attempts among girls up during COVID
A report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released Friday found that emergency department visits for suspected suicide attempts among girls rose during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Weekly Illness and Mortality Report said data indicated that emergency visits for suspected suicide attempts in March and April, shortly after the COVID-19 pandemic was declared, generally declined for people aged 12 to 25 years old.
But the report noted a rise at the start of summer 2020 for girls aged 12-17. The average weekly number of visits to suspected suicide attempts among girls of that age was 25% higher during the summer months and more than 50% during the winter of 2021, compared to data from 2019.
“The results of this study indicate more severe suffering among young women than has been identified in previous reports during the pandemic, reinforcing the need for increased attention and prevention to this population,” the report said.
Harris kicks off national vaccination tour
With a goal of getting shots in the arms of 70% of US adults by July 4, Vice President Kamala Harris heads to Greenville, SC, on Monday to begin a national round of vaccination by senior administration officials.
Harris will end the week with a layover in Atlanta on June 18, according to an administration official who first provided details to USA TODAY.
First Lady Jill Biden, number two Doug Imhoff and cabinet members also hit the road, stopping in North Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama and Louisiana throughout the week.
Officials will visit pop-up clinics, visit churches and university campuses and interact with historically disadvantaged communities to encourage people to receive the vaccination.
– Maureen Group
A new study shows that mass vaccination protects the unvaccinated
Mass vaccination can also reduce the possibility of transmission of the coronavirus to the unvaccinated, and thus has the potential to curb the epidemic. This is according to a new study from Israel published in Nature Medicine Thursday.
Researchers analyzed vaccination records and virus test results between December 6, 2020 and March 9, 2021, and found that vaccination rates correlated with lower infections.
“Among the vaccinated individuals infected with SARS-CoV-2, a lower viral load was observed. A lower infection and viral load indicate a lower transmission,” the study said.
But the study noted that masking and social distancing are still important, because “vaccination can, in principle, also increase transmission due to behavioral effects.”
Vaccines may be behind the slight increase in heart infection rates
Rates of heart inflammation appear higher in young people who have been vaccinated against COVID-19 than in those who have not been vaccinated, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday, although side effects are extremely rare.
In the updated data, the CDC showed that teens and young adults who received a second dose of the Moderna or Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine have a slightly higher risk than others in their age group of developing myocarditis, myocarditis, pericarditis, or inflammation. The outer lining of the heart. The increased risk, which generally occurs within a week of the second shot, is so small that it is not entirely clear if the vaccine is the cause.
But the cases detected exceed those expected among people ages 16 to 24, Dr. Tom Shimabukuro, of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Vaccine Task Force, told a federal advisory committee Thursday. As with these cases in general, males were more likely to be infected than females. The vast majority of those known made a full recovery, Shimabukuro said, with more than 90% of those admitted being sent to hospital immediately after treatment rather than needing rehabilitation.
Shimabukuro said he expects to provide more information about the potential contact at the CDC’s advisory committee meeting scheduled for June 18.
Karen Weintraub
Contributing: The Associated Press.
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