Tag: COVID-19

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Why Does The US Have Far More Deaths From COVID-19 Than EU?

L-R Donald Trump, VP Mike Pence (image: public domain/Flickr)
Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence have argued in recent weeks the increase in confirmed U.S. cases of COVID-19 is primarily the result of more testing for the virus being conducted. However, that’s not true, as The New York Times explains. The U.S., which once trailed the European Union in per capita overall deaths, has now racked up many more. From the New York Times:

Most other high-income countries are dealing with modest numbers of new cases — often an inevitable consequence of reopening — and the countries are responding aggressively. Many are following the advice of public health experts, ordering social distancing, mask-wearing and partial lockdowns and doing their best to track people who came in contact with new patients.

The United States is not. President Trump and many governors continue to flout scientific advice and send mixed messages about the seriousness of the virus.

As the U.S. soars past the EU in coronavirus-related deaths, it’s worth noting that the population of the EU (446 million) eclipses the U.S. (328 million) by nearly 120 million. In the graphic below, check out how many more deaths due to COVID-19 the U.S. has suffered versus the EU. Also, Japan – which has a population of 128 million – has far fewer deaths. But wearing a face mask in the Asian country is a common practice, year in, year out.

(graphic via New York Times)

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Gilead Sciences Announces Pricing For COVID-19 Drug Remdesivir

(image via Depositphotos)
Gilead Sciences Inc. has announced that it will charge U.S. hospitals approximately $3,120 for the majority of patients who need remdesivir, one of the first drugs to show significant upside in treating COVID-19. From Bloomberg News:

Patients suffering from the illness caused by the novel coronavirus are usually given six vials of remdesivir over five days. The price, which comes to $520 a vial, would apply to commercially insured patients in the U.S., according to a letter from Gilead Chief Executive Officer Daniel O’Day posted on the company’s website Monday.

It plans charge $390 a vial, or $2,340 for a five-day regimen, for direct government purchases by the U.S. or other developed countries.

Gilead’s pricing decision is consequential because it sets a precedent for how much future Covid-19 treatments might cost. While it’s higher than some patient groups had pushed for, it was close to a level that some drug-pricing watchdogs have said would be acceptable based on remdesivir’s expected benefit.

Gilead has promised to donate 940,000 doses of the medication through the month of June.  So far, nearly a quarter of a million treatment courses of remdesivir have been made available for free.

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Broadway Theaters To Remain Dark Until January 2021

(photo: Ludovic Bertron/Flickr)
From the New York Times:

Broadway will remain closed for at least the rest of this year, and many shows are signaling that they do not expect a return to the stage until late winter or early spring.

The Broadway League said Monday that theater owners and producers will refund or exchange tickets previously purchased for shows through Jan. 3. Given the unpredictability of the coronavirus pandemic that has prompted the shuttering of Broadway, the League said it was not yet ready to specify exactly when shows will reopen.

“Returning productions are currently projected to resume performances over a series of rolling dates in early 2021,” the League said in a statement.

Among the logistical issues industry leaders are discussing with government and medical officials: “screening and testing, cleaning and sanitizing, wayfinding inside theaters, backstage protocols and much more.”

Since March 12, all 41 Broadway theaters have been dark due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Percentage Of Younger People Testing Positive For Coronavirus On The Rise

From the Washington Post:

Health officials are imploring young people to wear masks and practice social distancing as coronavirus transmission among younger Americans continued to drive record outbreaks in several states.

The pleas come as governors in Texas and Florida instituted new limits on bars and alcohol consumption to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus, citing the skyrocketing number of young people who are contracting it.

At the White House Friday, Vice President Pence and other members of the Trump administration’s coronavirus task force, in its first briefing in weeks, urged young people to take the virus more seriously.

“Younger Americans have a particular responsibility to make sure that they’re not carrying the coronavirus into settings where they would expose the most vulnerable,” Pence said.

Robert R. Redfield, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said younger people are often asymptomatic or have mild symptoms but can easily spread the virus to older or immune-compromised patients.

In Oklahoma, nearly half of all new cases reported since the state began reopening 65 days ago are under the age of 35. According to the Centers for Disease Control, younger coronavirus patients (ages 18-49) made up 35 percent of hospitalizations last week.

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Florida Shuts Down Bars Statewide As Record-High Cases Of Virus Reported

(photo by Maurício Mascaro via Pexels)
From the Miami Herald:

The Florida Department of Business and Regulatory affairs announced Friday it is suspending alcohol consumption at all bars statewide, amid a surging statewide coronavirus caseload.

The announcement was tweeted just before 11:30 a.m. by Department Secretary Haley Beshears. It was not immediately clear how the announcement would affect restaurants that serve alcohol, restaurants with bars that serve alcohol, or bars that serve food.

Earlier Friday, the state announced another record of reported COVID-19 cases.

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US Breaks Single-Day Record For New Coronavirus Cases (Again)

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

For the second day in a row, the United States reported a record total of new coronavirus cases on Thursday – more than 41,000 new cases – on Thursday. Five states – Alabama, Alaska, Montana, Missouri, and Utah — reported their highest daily totals since the pandemic began. Florida continues to see high numbers reported – more than 8,900 new coronavirus cases on Friday – adding to the 10,000 new cases over Wednesday and Thursday, sending the Sunshine State’s total number of cases past 120,000, according to the New York Times. In Texas, with surging numbers of new cases being reported, Gov. Greg Abbott reversed course and ordered all bars to close on Friday. He also ordered restaurants to reduce operating capacity. This comes just a day after Abbott hit the ‘pause’ button on the Lone Star state’s reopening while at the same time telling Texans that going “backward” and closing down businesses was “the last thing we want to do.” But today Abbott said, “It is clear that the rise in cases is largely driven by certain types of activities, including Texans congregating in bars. The actions in this executive order are essential to our mission to swiftly contain this virus and protect public health.” And in Arizona, there’s alarming news for those who continue to maintain COVID-19 only affects the elderly or ill. Drive-up sites in Arizona are being swarmed by people asking to be tested, and those in the 20 to 44 age range make up nearly half of all cases. In Florida, the median age of residents testing positive for coronavirus is now 35-years-old, down from 65 in March.

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New Coronavirus Cases Hit Record Single-Day High In US

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

Folks, it’s no hoax. From the Washington Post:

Across the United States, more than 36,000 new infections were reported by state health departments on Wednesday — surpassing the previous single-day record of 34,203 set on April 25. Texas, Florida and California led the way, with all three states reporting more than 5,000 new cases apiece.

Even as case numbers climb, reports circulated that the federal government is poised to stop providing federal aid to testing sites in some hard-hit states, including Texas, prompting a top federal official to respond that testing was on the rise. Since the start of the pandemic, the United States has recorded more than 2.3 million coronavirus cases and at least 119,000 deaths, while the global number of cases has soared past 9 million.

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EU May Continue To Ban Travelers From US Due To COVID-19 Failure

The Supreme Court declined to strike down a federal requirement of face masks during air travel

This probably explains why my cruise set to sail in August was canceled today. From the New York Times:

European Union countries rushing to revive their economies and reopen their borders after months of coronavirus restrictions are prepared to block Americans from entering because the United States has failed to control the scourge, according to draft lists of acceptable travelers reviewed by The New York Times.

That prospect, which would lump American visitors in with Russians and Brazilians as unwelcome, is a stinging blow to American prestige in the world and a repudiation of President Trump’s handling of the virus in the United States, which has more than 2.3 million cases and upward of 120,000 deaths, more than any other country.

European nations are currently haggling over two potential lists of acceptable visitors based on how countries are faring with the coronavirus pandemic. Both lists include China, as well as developing nations like Uganda, Cuba and Vietnam. Both also exclude the United States and other countries that were deemed too risky because of the spread of the virus.

Officials say the list will be revised every two weeks accordingly to reflect updated information and status of countries.

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COVID-19: Trump Administration May Shift Blame To CDC

Donald Trump at press conference (image via White House)
With Trump under fire for his handling of the outbreak, Oval Office advisers are looking to shift blame to the CDC. From Politico:

White House officials are putting a target on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, positioning the agency as a coronavirus scapegoat as cases surge in many states and the U.S. falls behind other nations that are taming the pandemic.

Trump administration aides in recent weeks have seriously discussed launching an in-depth evaluation of the agency to chart what they view as its missteps in responding to the pandemic including an early failure to deploy working test kits, according to four senior administration officials.

Part of that audit would include examining more closely the state-by-state death toll to tally only the Americans who died from Covid-19 directly rather than other factors. About 120,000 people in the U.S. have died of the coronavirus so far, according to the CDC’s official count.

Politically, Trump aides have also been looking for a person or entity outside China to blame for the coronavirus response and have grown furious with the CDC, including its public health guidance and actions on testing, making it a prime target.

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Six Trump Staffers Test Positive For Coronavirus Ahead Of Tulsa Rally

From the Washington Post:

Six members of the advance team preparing to staff President Trump’s rally here Saturday tested positive for the coronavirus, underscoring concerns about holding a massive indoor event in a city where cases are spiking.

The campaign made that announcement, saying quarantine procedures had gone into effect for the infected staff members and those in “immediate contact” with them, as hundreds of supporters filled downtown streets in anticipation of the president’s rally — his first since the virus brought much of public life to a standstill in March.

Upon entering the rally grounds, attendees were handed blue face coverings and directed through a maze of metal fencing, which led to a touchless temperature screening conducted by volunteers in purple smocks.

Note: Oklahoma has seen a 100 percent spike in new coronavirus cases in the past week. NBC News spoke to Trump supporters outside the rally venue today, all of whom expressed little to no concern about the virus. Several also expressed doubt about the severity of the pandemic. “If Trump felt comfortable having it here, then I’m comfortable,” said one supporter. Said another, of the coronavirus risk: “If today is the day I die, today is the day I die.” “As far as I know, I’m still an American,” said Tom Todd, Sheri’s husband and a retired welder. “This is a free country and I can do what I want. If I want to wear a mask, I wear a mask. If I don’t, I don’t. If I get sick, I get sick. That’s my choice,” Tom continued, adding that he thought the number of coronavirus deaths was being “padded.”