After new COVID-19 cases fell in recent weeks from their record-high peak in January, President Joe Biden’s prime public well being officers warned Monday that the U.S. may “lose the hard-earned ground we have gained” if cases plateau at their present degree.
Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, stated she was “deeply concerned” as new case counts stall however states proceed their rollbacks of virus-related restrictions.
“We cannot be resigned to 70,000 cases per day, 2,000 daily deaths,” Walensky stated.
Sunday marked the primary time in additional than a month that most states reported rising case counts, and extra cases have been recorded within the newest week than per week earlier, a USA TODAY evaluation of Johns Hopkins University knowledge reveals.
On Monday, new rollbacks also took effect in states, together with Virginia eradicating a midnight-to-5 a.m. curfew and growing capability for out of doors gatherings, Wyoming lifting all restrictions on private care companies, New Jersey opening giant leisure venues at 10% capability indoors, and Massachusetts easing restrictions for restaurant capability and permitting plenty of indoor venues to reopen with restrictions.
Globally, infections elevated final week after six consecutive weeks of declining totals, and World Health Organization head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stated a part of the rationale was the “relaxing of public health measures.”
Also within the information:
►Former President Donald Trump and his spouse, Melania, have been quietly vaccinated for COVID-19 earlier than their Jan. 20 departure from the White House, the New York Times reported. Though different high-level elected officers bought vaccinated publicly to emphasise the vaccines’ security, Trump didn’t.
►Twitter says it would begin labeling tweets with misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines beginning Monday. Since cracking down on deceptive information in regards to the coronavirus and vaccines, Twitter has eliminated greater than 8,400 tweets and “challenged” 11.5 million accounts throughout the globe.
►The variety of hospitals reporting full intensive care items has fallen by nearly 50% nationwide since early January, in response to a USA TODAY evaluation of information from the Department of Health and Human Services.
►California Gov. Gavin Newsom and state lawmakers have reached a deal that would offer $2 billion in incentives for public faculties to convey again some college students by March 31. School districts in counties within the second most restrictive tier of the state’s reopening plan could be eligible for further funding in the event that they reopen all elementary faculties and a minimum of one grade of center or excessive faculties.
►Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, instructed NBC’s “Meet The Press” on Sunday that elementary faculty kids could begin being vaccinated on the finish of the 12 months or starting of 2022. High schoolers could begin getting their doses within the fall, he stated.
📈 Today’s numbers: The U.S. has greater than 28.6 million confirmed coronavirus cases and 513,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University data. The world totals: More than 114.3 million cases and a couple of.53million deaths. More than 96.4 million vaccine doses have been distributed within the U.S. and about 76.9 million have been administered, according to the CDC.
📘 What we’re studying: The variety of COVID-19 cases and deaths at America’s nursing houses has dropped considerably since December as thousands and thousands of vaccine doses have been shot into the arms of residents and workers. Read the full story.
USA TODAY is monitoring COVID-19 information. Sign up for our Coronavirus Watch e-newsletter for updates on to your inbox or be part of our Facebook group to attach with others in regards to the coronavirus.
More U.S. deaths in January and February than in first 6 months of pandemic
If warnings from CDC officers a couple of doable resurgence in COVID-19 cases aren’t sufficient to immediate continued vigilance, maybe a reminder of the current distress the U.S. has endured will accomplish that.
It took the U.S. solely two months – January and February of this 12 months – to build up 160,209 COVID deaths. That’s greater than the nation registered within the first six months of the pandemic, and greater than the present complete for all however two nations, Brazil and Mexico.
It must also come as sobering information that on Sunday, for the primary time in additional than a month, a majority of states – 29 in all – reported rising case counts.
These are the states with extra infections within the newest week than per week earlier: Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin.
— Mike Stucka
‘Fully vaccinated’ cruise to sail from Israel
In an effort to reassure passengers of the security of its cruises, Royal Caribbean is planning a “fully vaccinated” voyage leaving from Israel in May.
The cruise line’s latest ship, the Odyssey of the Seas, will make its debut on that trip, marking the first time the company has sailed from Israel. The Middle Eastern country has already vaccinated half its population against COVID-19.
“Royal Caribbean would be the first to supply absolutely vaccinated sailings, the place each crew and friends above the age of 16 will probably be vaccinated in opposition to COVID-19,” the cruise line said on its website.
— Morgan Hines
Local pharmacies say they need more vaccines as CVS, Walgreens ramp up shots
Community pharmacies can play a critical role in delivering COVID-19 shots, but so far drugstore giants CVS and Walgreens and big-box stores such as Walmart and Kroger have been getting the lion’s share of vaccines from the initial allotment devoted to retail pharmacies, independent pharmacists say.
Some independent pharmacists say they’re frustrated that they aren’t receiving as many vaccines proportionally as major chains are getting from federal, state and local governments, and they reject the suggestion that they don’t have the technology necessary to handle the scheduling process
Still representing about 1 in 3 of the nation’s 60,000 pharmacies, these businesses say their personal relationships with customers are crucial to a successful vaccine rollout, especially with low-income communities and people of color. In the 63 major jurisdictions identified by the CDC for distribution of vaccines, locally owned pharmacies were initially allotted shots in only 17, according to the National Community Pharmacists Association.
– Nathan Bomey
Variant cases quintupled in February
The U.S. reported 306 new coronavirus variant cases Sunday, a record increase for viruses that can spread more easily, dodge some treatments and immunities, or both. Nearly all the new cases were in three states: Florida, up 104 cases to 605; Michigan, up 85 cases to 421; and Texas, up 41 cases to 102.
Among those, Florida added four cases to its previous one case of P.1, a dangerous variant first seen in Brazil, and the state’s first reported case of B.1.351, a variant first seen in South Africa.
The vast majority of cases – new and existing – are of B.1.1.7, a variant first seen in the United Kingdom that the CDC says could become America’s predominant version later this month. In February, known variant cases quintupled from 471 to 2,463 even as total coronavirus infections were dropping from a peak in January.
Presidential adviser Dr. Anthony Fauci said Monday a variant spreading in New York City has raised concerns because there’s some evidence it can evade antibody treatments and render vaccines less effective.
– Mike Stucka
Florida’s oldest residents lag in COVID vaccinations, state report shows
When Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in December limited inoculations to seniors 65 and older, he said, “The vaccines are going to be focused the place the chance is biggest, and that’s in our aged inhabitants.”
But as vaccinations ramp up statewide, Florida’s oldest residents are not getting the share of immunizations equivalent to the risk they bear from the coronavirus, especially recently.
Florida seniors 75 and older make up 62% of 30,734 residents killed by COVID-19, but only 32% of the 1,642,800 people who have received their second dose of the two-shot vaccine, a state report released Saturday shows. Seniors 65 to 74, meanwhile, account for 21% of the resident death toll and about 41% of the immunized.
– Chris Persaud, Palm Beach Post
COVID-19 survivors might need only one dose of vaccine, studies suggest
Six recent studies suggest that people who’ve already come down with COVID-19 might not need to get a second vaccine dose.
The federal government has not changed its recommendation for a second dose, but studies that look at the immune response show that while a first shot gives people who have recovered from COVID-19 a huge boost, the second shot makes little difference.
“I believe that makes excellent sense,” stated Dr. Paul Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Read more here.
– Karen Weintraub
COVID-19 testing sites across US are closing amid plunging demand
Just five weeks ago, Los Angeles County was conducting more than 350,000 weekly coronavirus tests, many of them at a massive drive-thru site at Dodger Stadium, as health workers raced to contain the worst COVID-19 hot spot in the U.S.
Now, county officers say testing has nearly collapsed. More than 180 government-supported websites are working at solely a 3rd of their capability.
“It’s surprising how shortly we have gone from transferring at 100 miles an hour to about 25,” said Dr. Clemens Hong, who leads the county’s testing operation. After a year of struggling to boost testing, communities across the country are seeing plummeting demand, shuttering testing sites or even trying to return supplies.
– Matthew Perrone, Palm Springs (Calif.) Desert Sun
Contributing: Mike Stucka, USA TODAY; The Associated Press
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