Tag: coronavirus

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India’s COVID Second Wave Is Leading Factor In Rising Cases Globally

New York state is about to drop its face mask mandate as COVID-19 cases continue to drop in the Empire State.

A man wearing a face mask during the pandemic New cases of COVID1-9 worldwide have now exceeded their previous peak with the number of infections higher than it’s ever been. According to the Washington Post, a leading factor for the increase is the intensity of India’s second wave. That country now accounts for nearly one third of all new cases.

It wasn’t supposed to happen like this. Earlier this year, India appeared to be weathering the pandemic. The number of daily cases dropped below 10,000 and the government launched a vaccination drive powered by locally made vaccines.

But experts say that changes in behavior and the influence of new variants have combined to produce a tidal wave of new cases.

India is adding more than 250,000 new infections a day — and if current trends continue, that figure could soar to 500,000 within a month, said Bhramar Mukherjee, a biostatistician at the University of Michigan.

One crematorium in the city of Surat says it used to receive about 20 bodies a day, but now it is receiving 100. As of Monday evening, at least 3,023,700 people have died worldwide from coronavirus.

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Half Of US Adults Have Received At Least One COVID Shot

Getting my second dose of the Pfizer COVID vaccine

Getting my second dose of the Pfizer COVID vaccine
Getting my second Pfizer vaccine shot last month
The Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released new data on Saturday that shows nearly half of U.S. adults (49.7%) have received at least one dose of the corona virus vaccine. That accounts for more than 128 million over the age of 18 having received at least one shot. More than 82 million, or 31.8% of adults, are fully vaccinated. See the full data here. The U.S. is averaging just over 3 million vaccine shots a day, which is good news considering a recent poll showed 49% of Republican men have no intention of getting the shot. A big part of overcoming the pandemic relies on folks getting vaccinated in order to stop the spread of the virus. That equation now includes a focus on about new, more potent variants which now make up about half of new infections in the U.S. With that in mind, the White House announced Friday that it will allocate $1.7 billion from the recent stimulus package to target the detection, surveillance and mitigation of the variants.

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News Round-Up: April 12, 2021

Nigel Shelby

Nigel Shelby
Nigel Shelby
Some news items you might have missed: • The Advocate: The parents of a Huntsville, Ala., teen Nigel Shelby – who killed himself in 2019 after being bullied at school for being gay – are now suing that school district. They allege that school officials knew their son was considering taking his life. • Kenneth-in-the-212: The NYC-based blog has a new weekly feature – ‘Manspread Monday.’ You know you want to hit that link… 🙂

• Buzzfeed: This hilarious SNL skit about period lesbian dramas is so accurate it hurts. “My parents died before I was born.” “Mine too.”

• Variety: Nomadland dominated at the BAFTA Film Awards, where the Frances McDormand-led road movie picked up four prizes including lead actress, cinematography, director, and best film. • Bloomberg News: Video chat on you TV? Apple is working on a product that would combine an Apple TV set-top box with a HomePod speaker and include a camera for video conferencing through a connected TV and other smart-home functions. • Detroit Free Press: Ted Nugent, the aging rocker, mocked health guidelines regarding the COVID-19 pandemic in a recent Facebook video asking, “Why weren’t we shut down for COVID one through 18?” Of course, the coronavirus that has killed close to 560,000 people in the U.S. was named for the year in which the first infection was reported — 2019.

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Nearly 40% Of Marines Are Refusing COVID Vaccine

Vials of COVID-19 vaccine

Vials of COVID-19 vaccine New data released Friday shows almost 40% of U.S. Marines are taking a pass on coronavirus vaccines. From CNN:

As of Thursday, approximately 75,500 Marines have received vaccines, including fully vaccinated and partially vaccinated service men and women. About 48,000 Marines have chosen not to receive vaccines, for a declination rate of 38.9%.

The military cannot make the vaccines mandatory now because they have only emergency use authorizations from the Food and Drug Administration, meaning service members who are required to receive a series of other vaccinations have the option of declining shots to protect against Covid-19.

Officials say most of the vaccine hesitancy stems from concerns about the speed at which the vaccines were developed and fears over long-term effects.

According to the Pentagon, there are some 2.2 million service members operating around the globe. Read the full report here. Some folks feel the hesitancy may come from military service members tending to lean right politically and conservatives have been vocal about not wanting to take the shot – even though their savior Donald Trump will tell you he created it with his own two hands.

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Johnson & Johnson Vaccine Deliveries To Drop Due To Manufacturing Issues

Image of a vaccine shot

Image of a vaccine shot There’s going to be a big dip in Johnson & Johnson vaccine deliveries due to woeful failures at the contracted manufacturing plant in Maryland. From the New York Times:

Johnson & Johnson will allocate 86 percent fewer doses across the United States next week than are currently being allocated, according to data provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, dealing a setback to a national vaccination campaign that has just found its footing.

The distribution of the drug, a single-shot vaccine, has been inconsistent since Johnson & Johnson delivered its first batch at the beginning of March, sending 2.8 million doses across the country before dipping below 400,000 in the following weeks.

Last month, Johnson & Johnson was forced to jettison up to 15 million doses manufactured at the factory because the batch had been contaminated with a virus used in the production of AstraZeneca’s vaccine, which is also manufactured there.

The Johnson & Johnson shot has been popular for it’s easier to store “one-and-done” single dose. J & J had previously promised to deliver 24 million new doses by the end of April. Read the full article here.

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Poll: 90% Of College Students Plan On Getting Vaccinated

Vials of vaccine

Vials of vaccine
(image via Depositphotos)
Axios reports the results of an exclusive poll conducted by BeatTheVirus and Generation Lab showing nearly 90% of college students are “absolutely certain” or “probably” going to get vaccinated against the coronavirus when they are eligible. In that more than 120,000 cases of COVID-19 have been traced back to universities and colleges, getting shots in those arms represents an important demographic in bringing the pandemic under control. With eligibility opening up to all adults in the next week or so across the country, many large state schools have set-up large-scale COVID-19 vaccination sites on their campuses. The new polling indicates getting back to social activities is high on the students’ list of reasons to get vaccinated: • 30% said their top reason to get vaccinated was to resume in-person relationships • 23% said their top reason was to return to in-person events like sports, live performances or bars It’s worth noting, however, that a different survey conducted by the Pew Research Center showed the willingness to get vaccinated sooner than later among 18-29 year-olds was 60 percent.

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Ontario Goes Into Lockdown As ICU Patients Hit Record COVID Numbers

The first confirmed case of the omicron variant in the U.S. has been discovered in California.

The Canadian province of Ontario will be under a four-week lockdown due to a record number of ICU patients with COVID-19. As health experts have warned for weeks now, the new variants of the coronavirus are proving to be much more contagious and lethal. From Bloomberg News:

The order imposes restrictions on businesses and residents across the Canadian province of 14.7 million people, beginning April 3. Restaurants won’t be allowed to serve customers except for takeout and delivery orders; indoor public events are banned, with a few exceptions. Supermarkets and pharmacies will operate at 50% capacity and other retailers at 25%.

Officials said the main variant spreading in the province — known as B.1.1.7 — is 50% more lethal, twice as likely to send patients to intensive care units and three times as likely to require ventilation.

At a press conference Thursday afternoon, Ontario Premier Doug Ford said regarding the new variants, “This is a new pandemic. We are now fighting a new enemy,” Bloomberg reports that half of new ICU patients in the Canadian province are under 60.

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News Round-Up: April 1, 2021

Film & TV star Richard Chamberlain

Film & TV star Richard Chamberlain
Film & TV star Richard Chamberlain (image via Boy Culture)
Some news items you might have missed: • Boy Culture: Out actor Richard Chamberlain (above) turned 87 this week. Click over to BC for more photos of the eternally handsome star. • The Gaily Grind: The Nebraska Supreme Court has reversed a ruling by a judge who denied a lesbian couple’s petition to adopt a child because he said a dictionary defined a “wife” as having a husband. • Instinct Magazine: Did you know it’s the 20th anniversary of the first legal same-sex wedding and marriage? Twenty years ago, Dutch couple Gert Kasteel and Dolf Pasker became the first same-sex couple to get legally married in the Netherlands and the world.

• CNN: The ongoing Phase 3 clinical trial of Pfizer/BioNTech’s coronavirus vaccine confirms its protection remains high for at least six months after the second dose and likely lasts even longer. The vaccine also appears to be fully effective against the B.1.351 variant currently circulating in South Africa and beyond. • RawStory: Supporters of Donald Trump are furious that his vice president, Mike Pence, might try to run for president in 2024. Trump fans are still angry about Pence refusing to fight the 2020 election with the Electoral College certification. • NBC News: Every Republican in Congress voted against President Biden’s COVID stimulus package, that’s not stopping them from trumpeting popular aspects of the bill to their constituents as if they’d actually done something. • AP: The Montana legislature has approved a bill that would allow discrimination against LGBTQ people based on their ‘religious beliefs.’ Lawmakers rejected an amendment that would make it clear the law couldn’t be used to justify discrimination. The legislation now heads to the governor’s desk who has indicated he will sign it into law.

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Biden Implores Governors To Reinstate Face Mask Mandates

President Joe Biden asks governors to reinstate face mask requirements before pandemic surges again

President Joe Biden asks governors to reinstate face mask requirements before pandemic surges again
President Joe Biden (screen capture)
During an event today announcing wider coronavirus vaccine eligibility, President Joe Biden called on “every governor, mayor, and local leader to maintain and reinstate the mask mandate – please.” “This is not politics,” Biden emphasized. “Reinstate the mandate if you let it down. And businesses should require masks as well. The failure to take this virus seriously — precisely what got us in this mess in the first place — risks more cases and more desks — deaths.” “We’re in the life-and-death race for the virus that is spreading quickly, with cases rising again, new variants are spreading,” added Biden. “And, sadly, some of the reckless behavior we have seen on television over the past few weeks means that more new cases are to come in the weeks ahead.”

Hours after Biden’s speech, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said at a White House briefing that while the nation has “much reason for hope,” she added, “but right now I’m scared.” “I am asking you to just hold on a little longer, to get vaccinated when you can, so that all of those people that we all love will still be here when this pandemic ends,” said Walensky. According to the New York Times COVID tracker, over the past week there has been an average of 63,204 cases per day, an increase of 15 percent from the average two weeks earlier. Biden also announced he’s directed his COVID team to make sure there’s a vaccine site within 5 miles of 90 percent of Americans by 3 weeks from today. In related news, the latest Harvard CAPS-Harris Poll survey found that 71% of voters approve of how Biden has reacted to the pandemic, an increase of 3 points since February. Biden’s overall job approval stands at 61 percent with a relatively low disapproval at 39 percent.

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Data Confirms Moderna & Pfizer Vaccines Are Highly Effective In Real-World Use

Vials of COVID-19 vaccine

Vials of COVID-19 vaccine Now that the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccines have been utilized in millions of people for a few months now, health professionals are looking at actual real-world data which shows both are indeed highly effective at preventing COVID-19 infections. From the New York Times:

Consistent with clinical trial data, a two-dose regimen prevented 90 percent of infections by two weeks after the second shot. One dose prevented 80 percent of infections by two weeks after vaccination.

There has been debate over whether vaccinated people can still get asymptomatic infections and transmit the virus to others. The study, by researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, suggested that transmission may be extremely unlikely, as infections were so rare.

There also has been concern that variants may render the vaccines less effective. The study’s results do not confirm that fear. Troubling variants were circulating during the time of the study — from December 14, 2020 to March 13, 2021 — yet the vaccines still provided powerful protection.

In related news, President Biden will announce today that 90% of adults will be eligible to get a coronavirus vaccine within the next three weeks, which moves up his earlier deadline. Plus, the number of pharmacies distributing the vaccines will double soon.