New York City, Texas vaccine shipments; 490K US deaths
A current examine discovered pregnant ladies in Washington state had been contaminated with COVID-19 at a 70% larger price than others at comparable ages.
Additionally, charges of an infection amongst pregnant ladies of coloration had been far larger than researchers anticipated, in accordance with the examine printed within the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. The examine gives additional proof that being pregnant needs to be thought-about a high-risk well being situation for COVID-19 vaccine precedence, mentioned senior writer Dr. Kristina Adams Waldorf, an OB-GYN on the University of Washington School of Medicine.
“Our data indicates that pregnant people did not avoid the pandemic as we hoped that they would, and communities of color bore the greatest burden,” Waldorf mentioned.
– Adrianna Rodriguez
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In the headlines:
►The White House has postponed President Joe Biden’s scheduled journey to Michigan, delaying his tour of a Pfizer facility in Portage from Thursday to Friday, in accordance with sources acquainted with the go to. Although particulars of the delay weren’t accessible, the Washington are was in line for ice and snow Thursday.
►New York is suing Amazon, claiming the corporate failed to supply employees with a secure setting at two warehouses as COVID-19 infections surged nationwide.
►If the COVID-19 vaccine rollout appears chaotic and incomprehensible, with numbers that do not add up and allocations that do not make sense, you’re not alone.
►North Korea tried to hack into the servers of U.S. drugmaker Pfizer to steal coronavirus vaccine information, South Korean intelligence officers reported Tuesday, in accordance with The Washington Post.
►In remarks to the United Nations Security Council on Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken known as on “all countries” to supply all information from the earliest days of their outbreaks. The feedback come days after reviews that China refused to offer uncooked information on early COVID-19 circumstances to a World Health Organization staff probing the origins of the pandemic.
📈 Today’s numbers: The U.S. has greater than 27.8 million confirmed coronavirus circumstances and 490,400 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University data. The international totals: More than 110 million circumstances and a couple of.43 million deaths. More than 72.4 million vaccine doses have been distributed within the U.S. and about 56.2 million have been administered, according to the CDC.
📘 What we’re studying: Want a worry-free Fourth of July? COVID-19 vaccinations want to hurry up – and quick. Read more here.
Return to normalcy: So when is it – Summer? Fall? Christmas?
The COVID-19 vaccine rollout can appear chaotic and incomprehensible, with numbers that do not add up and allocations that do not make sense. Jeff Zients, White House COVID-19 response coordinator, this week forecast sufficient vaccine provide for 300 million Americans by the tip of July. President Joe Biden and high public well being aide Dr. Anthony Fauci talked a couple of return to normalcy, too – at Christmas.
Vaccine distribution from the federal authorities has been booming since Biden took workplace, rising elevated 57% since Jan. 25. As of this week, it is as much as 13.5 million doses shipped per week. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says greater than 70 million doses have been distributed. To meet Zients forecast, nevertheless, distribution from the federal authorities might want to ramp up appreciably. At the present stage, it would not occur till autumn.
Dr. Amesh Adalja, a senior scholar on the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, is amongst consultants attempting to know how figures from the CDC, the White House and the states match collectively. He says he cannot.
“None of us know what’s going on,” he mentioned.
– Elizabeth Weise
Storms stall vaccination drive: ‘The virus does not take snow days’
New York Mayor Bill de Blasio mentioned vaccine doses anticipated this week had been delayed by winter climate elsewhere within the nation, forcing the town to carry off making 30,000 to 35,000 vaccination appointments. The metropolis has lower than 30,000 first doses left and would possibly run out of the COVID-19 vaccine Thursday, he mentioned. The southeastern U.S., walloped by energy outages and icy circumstances, is experiencing the identical hassle. Some vaccination websites canceled appointments, and vaccine shipments proceed to be delayed, the White House acknowledged.
“Having vaccine centers take snow days is just going to back things up more than they already are,” mentioned Dr. Amesh Adalja, senior scholar on the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security. “The virus doesn’t take snow days.”
Military vaccination acceptance price seems excessive
Air Force Maj. Gen. Jeff Taliaferro, vice director of operations for the Joint Staff, says “very early data” means that simply as much as two-thirds of service members supplied a vaccine have accepted. That seems to be a better acceptance price than the final inhabitants – surveys point out that as much as half of Americans says they’re uncertain they’ll settle for the vaccine when it’s accessible to them. Troops, nevertheless, typically reside, work and struggle intently collectively in environments the place social distancing and sporting masks can at occasions be troublesome.
“We’re still struggling with what is the messaging and how do we influence people to opt in for the vaccine,” mentioned Brig. Gen. Edward Bailey, the surgeon for Army Forces Command.
Cuomo takes extra warmth for nursing house deaths
The Justice Department has been analyzing New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s coronavirus process drive and trying to determine whether the state intentionally manipulated data concerning deaths in nursing properties, two folks acquainted with the matter instructed The Associated Press. Cuomo, as soon as a nationwide chief within the wrestle towards the virus, is going through requires an investigation after his high aide, Melissa DeRosa, instructed lawmakers final week that the state “paused” the discharge of sure COVID-19 nursing house information to state lawmakers. Cuomo and DeRosa have mentioned they delayed the info launch as a result of they had been centered on an identical inquiry from the Justice Department.
“No excuses,” Cuomo mentioned this week. “We should have done a better job in providing information, we should have done a better job of knocking down the disinformation. I accept responsibility for that. I am in charge.”
– Jon Campbell
Pandemic takes extreme toll on life expectancy for Black neighborhood
Life expectancy within the United States dropped to its lowest level in 15 years, and even decrease for Black Americans and Latinos, throughout the first half of the coronavirus pandemic, a examine launched Thursday discovered. Data by June 2020 reveals life expectancy at beginning for the full U.S. inhabitants fell from 2019 by a 12 months to 77.8 years, the bottom since 2006, in accordance with researchers on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics. Life expectancy for Black populations declined probably the most from 2019 – by 2.7 years, to 72 years.
“It was disturbing to see that gains that have been made for the Black community and decreasing the gap between life expectancy for African Americans and (white) Americans over the past six years had come to a halt,” mentioned Dr. Leon McDougle, president of the National Medical Association.
– Adrianna Rodriguez
Pfizer vaccine is weaker towards South Africa variant, new report says
Neutralizing antibody response from the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine diminished by two-thirds towards the coronavirus variant first recognized in South Africa, but it surely’s not recognized how which may influence the vaccine’s stage of safety, in accordance with a preliminary report printed Wednesday within the New England Journal of Medicine.
The South Africa variant, generally known as B.1.351, has been detected in solely about 20 COVID-19 circumstances within the U.S. however raised considerations due to the likelihood it’d resist vaccines. Pfizer and BioNTech mentioned there was “no clinical evidence to date” that its vaccine is not effective against that variant but are working on an update or booster shot anyway.
“It is unclear what impact a discount in neutralization by roughly two-thirds would have on (vaccine)-elicited safety from COVID-19 attributable to the B.1.351 lineage of SARS-CoV-2,” says the report, authored by researchers from Pfizer, BioNTech and the University of Texas Medical Branch.
Researchers discovered no discount in efficacy towards the U.Okay. variant.
2 Louisiana residents accused of attempting to bribe Hawaiian airport screener
Two Louisiana residents have been arrested for attempting to bribe Hawaii airport screeners to permit them to bypass the state’s obligatory Safe Travels guidelines, officers mentioned. Johntrell White, 29, and Nadia Bailey, 28, arrived in Hawaii on Feb 12 with out “valid COVID-19 exemptions or pre-tests,” officers mentioned in a news release. They instructed an airport screener that they might give her $3,000 to allow them to each by with out quarantining.
“The screener alerted deputy sheriffs, who arrested them both for bribery. White and Bailey were booked and released and immediately flew back to the mainland,” the discharge mentioned.
Hawaii’s present journey restrictions enable for guests in the event that they produce a damaging check earlier than arrival or to endure a compulsory 10-day quarantine.
Mexico arrests 6 for trafficking false coronavirus vaccines
Police in Mexico arrested six folks Wednesday within the northern border state of Nuevo León for allegedly trafficking in faux coronavirus vaccines. Assistant Health Secretary Hugo López-Gatell later mentioned that the fakes had been introduced as Pfizer vaccines, that are solely accessible in Mexico by authorities vaccinations groups. He mentioned the suspects had supplied the vaccines on the market for the equal of round $2,000 per dose.
“You don’t play around with health, and in these moments of pandemic, nobody should be profiteering,” Public Safety Secretary Rosa Icela Rodríguez mentioned.
USA TODAY; The Associated Press
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