Tag: Covid

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Navajo Nation studies no new Covid circumstances, deaths for first time in six months

Navajo Nation reports no new Covid cases, deaths for first time in six months

Northern Navajo Medical Center is shown as staff inside begin receiving the COVID-19 vaccine December 16, 2020 in Shiprock, New Mexico. Northern Navajo Medical Center’s medical staff are among the first in the Navajo Nation to receive their Pfizer BioNTech vaccinations today.

Micah Garen | Getty Images News | Getty Images

The Navajo nation, which inhabits the largest area of ​​an indigenous tribe in the United States, reported Monday that it had no new coronavirus cases and deaths in the last 24 hours of launching an aggressive vaccination campaign.

The tribe, whose land stretches across Utah, Arizona, and New Mexico, had the highest per capita infection rate in the United States at the height of the pandemic.

The last time the tribe didn’t report any new cases was on September 8, when four people died of Covid-19. That hope was short-lived as cases rose again after Labor Day and up to 400 new daily cases were reported by November.

“No deaths and no cases in 24 hours – yes, it’s remarkable,” said Navajo Nation President Jonathan Nez during a town hall meeting Tuesday. “But let’s not let that get into our heads. This is not the time to travel.”

The number began to decline when Pfizer and Moderna rolled out Covid-19 vaccines across the Navajo nation and the rest of the US after drug makers received emergency clearance from the Food and Drug Administration in mid-December.

As of Tuesday, 57% of Navajo citizens had received at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine, and 38% had been fully vaccinated with both doses. Vaccines are available in the strain for anyone aged 16 and over. According to the University of Arizona, there are approximately 298,000 enrolled members of the Navajo Nation, of whom approximately 173,000 Navajos live on the reservation.

The tribe also still has a mask mandate and a daily curfew, and health officials continue to offer free masks and hand sanitizer to citizens.

49 new cases have been recorded in the past seven days, and tribal health officials say an average of 285 tests are performed per day. As a former hotspot in the United States, the strain is in the second lowest place per 100,000 population in the United States in new cases for the past seven days. It ranks third between Puerto Rico and Hawaii the lowest.

Tribal health officials said the Navajo Nation has been in Code Orange for three weeks, meaning the cases are on a downward trend. Its outbreak is so limited that it now falls under the yellow code, which would mean there is no evidence of a sustained recovery in coronavirus cases in the strain, officials said.

Acting Assistant Area Manager Captain Brian Johnson said five rounds of U.S. government funding under the CARES Act, along with Navajo Citizens’ compliance, made a significant difference in the tribe’s ability to fight the pandemic.

Last Monday, some companies were allowed to reopen with a capacity of 25% under certain restrictions. Parks and lakes will soon be reopened only to Navajo citizens. The tribe still doesn’t allow outside visitors and requires that all schooling be virtual.

“We’re not out of the pandemic yet,” Nez said when addressing the Navajo Nation. “Be strong and resilient like our ancestors from time immemorial. … Covid-19 will also be defeated because we are strong warriors and have the armor and weapons to fight this modern monster.”

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Vaccinated Folks Can Get Covid, however It’s Most Seemingly Very Uncommon

Vaccinated People Can Get Covid, but It’s Most Likely Very Rare

More than two months after being fully vaccinated against Covid, a doctor in New York awoke with a headache and a dull, heavy feeling of tiredness. Fever and chills soon followed, and his senses of taste and smell began to fade.

That, he thought, couldn’t happen. But it was: He tested positive for the corona virus.

“It was a big shock,” he said. He knew that no vaccine was perfect and that the Pfizer BioNTech shots he received were 95 percent effective in a large clinical trial. “But somehow it was 100 percent in my eyes,” he said.

The doctor, who asked for anonymity to protect his privacy, is one of the few reported cases of people infected after a partial or even full vaccination. Nearly 83 million Americans have received at least one dose of a Covid vaccine and it is unclear how many of them will have a “breakthrough” infection, although two new reports suggest the number is very low.

One study found that only four of 8,121 fully vaccinated employees at Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas became infected. The other found that only seven of 14,990 workers at UC San Diego Health and the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California at Los Angeles two or more weeks after receiving a second dose of the Pfizer BioNTech or Moderna vaccines tested positive. Both reports, published Tuesday in the New England Journal of Medicine, show how well the vaccines work in the real world and during a period of intense transmission.

While these breakthrough cases are quite rare, they are a clear reminder that vaccinated people are not invincible, especially if the virus remains widespread.

“We strongly believed that this data shouldn’t lead people to say, ‘Let’s all vaccinate and then we can all stop wearing masks,” said Dr. Francesca J. Torriani, an infectious disease specialist at UC San Diego Health, which led the California study, “These measures must continue until a larger part of the population is vaccinated.”

Only some of the virus-positive health workers in the California study showed symptoms, she said, and they tended to be mild, suggesting the vaccines were protective. This reflects data from the vaccine trials, which suggest that breakthrough infections were mild and did not require hospital admissions. Some people had no symptoms at all and were only discovered through tests in studies or as part of their medical care.

Updated

March 23, 2021, 1:20 p.m. ET

For example, doctors at the University of North Carolina found some asymptomatic cases in vaccinated patients tested for coronavirus before surgery or other medical procedures, according to Dr. David Wohl, the medical director of this center’s vaccination clinic.

He said the lack of symptoms may have caused the vaccine to do exactly what it was supposed to do: stop people from getting sick, even if it doesn’t completely stop the virus from infecting them.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has a small team studying breakthrough cases, said an agency spokeswoman Kristen Nordlund. One question the researchers are asking is whether certain variants of the coronavirus could play a role in breakthrough cases.

“There is currently no evidence that Covid-19 occurs after vaccination due to changes in the virus,” said Ms. Nordlund.

In the next few months, Pfizer and Moderna are expected to release data showing how often people who have been vaccinated become infected with the virus, even if they don’t show symptoms. The companies tested participants in their vaccine trials for antibodies to a protein called N, which is part of the coronavirus but not part of the vaccine. Finding these antibodies means that a vaccinated person has been infected with the virus. Some study volunteers also have their noses wiped regularly to test for an active viral infection.

Another question is how effective are the vaccines in people whose immune systems have been weakened by illness or medication, said Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease expert at Vanderbilt University. Breakthrough cases can occur in these people because their bodies cannot produce a robust response to a vaccine.

“And it’s amazing how widespread immunodeficiency is,” said Dr. Conductor. He called the disease “a testament to modern medicine” because many patients with the disease are successfully treated for conditions that would have killed them not so long ago.

The doctor, who fell ill in New York despite being fully vaccinated, stayed home in isolation for almost two weeks. He described his illness as relatively mild and said he had been treated with monoclonal antibodies to fight the virus. “If the worst flu is a 10, it was a four,” he said.

Without the vaccine, he said, he thinks he would have been sicker.

“I would have been afraid for my mortality,” he said. “But I wasn’t afraid for a moment. I didn’t think I was going to die. I think you won’t die – that’s a pretty big deal. “

Apoorva Mandavilli contributed to the coverage.

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CDC Covid steering should adapt to new science extra shortly

CDC Covid guidance must adapt to new science more quickly

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention must adjust their Covid recommendations faster as new scientific knowledge emerges, said Dr. Scott Gottlieb told CNBC on Monday, adding that the agency needs to do the same with more transparency.

“These guidelines have more of an economic impact than regulation,” but Gottlieb said in Squawk Box that they are much less publicly scrutinized.

The former Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration’s comments came after the CDC changed its guidelines on social distancing in schools, not society at large, on Friday. The Public Health Agency said that with universal masking, most students can sit 3 feet apart instead of the previous 6 foot protocol. The CDC also continued to recommend a separation of at least 6 feet between adults in schools and between adults and students.

In an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal on Sunday, Gottlieb urged the CDC to be more open about the science behind their guidelines, writing that the “exact basis for their initial view of staying 6 feet apart” remains unclear . In the Journal and on CNBC, he said initial recommendations and precautions early last year were based on the novel coronavirus, which spread like seasonal influenza.

“It was sensible to do this because we didn’t know much about the coronavirus and therefore assumed that it would behave like the flu. It didn’t behave like the flu,” said Gottlieb in “Squawk Box” and claimed it crucially led health officials to “both overestimate and underestimate this virus”.

“It’s not so much an important question: ‘Were we wrong?’ We were wrong in some ways, “added Gottlieb, who headed the FDA in the Trump administration from 2017 to 2019. “But: ‘Have we learned quickly enough and adjusted our recommendations and guidelines quickly enough?’ The answer is no. “

In a statement to CNBC, a CDC spokesman said that “during the first year of the pandemic, there were concerns about some of the CDC’s guidelines.” However, the spokesman said the agency’s new director under President Joe Biden, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, has “pledged to restore scientific credibility and public confidence in the agency” the latest science.

We underestimated the role of air quality and quality masks because we underestimated that aerosol transmission spreads this.

Dr. Scott Gottlieb

Former FDA commissioner

Gottlieb said on CNBC that health officials “have overestimated the benefits of physical distancing because the flu spreads primarily through droplet transmission, and we know droplets don’t spread more than six feet.” On the other hand, he added, “We underestimated the role of air quality and quality masks because we underestimated the fact that aerosol transmission spreads it.”

Initially, doctors had expressed some skepticism about whether advising Americans to wear face covering – especially something homemade like a scarf or headscarf – would be effective. However, in early April last year, the CDC began recommending that people wear them in public, especially in environments like grocery stores where social distancing was more difficult to maintain.

There is little debate in the public health community these days about the importance of wearing face masks, and some experts like White House Chief Medical Officer Dr. Anthony Fauci, even started to suggest that wearing two masks is probably more effective.

As early as October, the CDC recognized the spread of the coronavirus through particles in the air that “linger in the air for minutes to hours” and infect people who were more than a meter apart.

On the CDC website, titled “How COVID-19 Spreads,” the health department says it “most often” happens through close contact between people within 6 feet.

“There is evidence that, under certain conditions, people with COVID-19 appear to have infected others more than three feet away,” adds the CDC. “These transmissions took place in closed rooms with insufficient ventilation. Sometimes the infected person breathed heavily, for example when singing or exercising.”

Some of the areas where Covid risks were initially overestimated also included contaminated surfaces, Gottlieb told CNBC. The CDC updated its website in May 2020 – about two months after the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus a pandemic – to emphasize that the virus did not spread easily from a person touching a contaminated surface, according to NBC News.

Gottlieb acknowledged that in the early stages of a health crisis like the Covid pandemic, there may be a lack of quality information to use as a basis for guidelines.

“When the CDC makes recommendations, there are different levels of evidence and different levels of security behind those recommendations,” he said. “If the agency is unsure or suggests a recommendation for a less specific science, they should be really transparent about it so that we can take seriously an interpretation we want to take, but they usually don’t.”

The CDC spokesman told CNBC that “key findings” have already been implemented following the agency’s latest review, including “reviewing key guidelines for possible updates at least every three months” and “improving clarity and usability”.

Dr. Scott Gottlieb is a CNBC employee and board member of Pfizer, the genetic testing startup Tempus, healthcare technology company Aetion, and Illumina biotech. He is also co-chair of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings and Royal Caribbean’s Healthy Sail Panel.

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Third Covid wave hits Europe, France, Germany eye extra lockdowns

Third Covid wave hits Europe, France, Germany eye more lockdowns

Members of the medical staff are reviewing a patient’s information in the pulmonology department of the AP-HP Cochin hospital in Paris on March 18, 2021 as the number of people hospitalized with the Covid-19 increases in the French capital.

CHRISTOPHE ARCHAMBAULT | AFP | Getty Images

More than a year after the coronavirus outbreak was declared a pandemic, Europe continues to grapple with the virus amid a third wave of infections and an increase in lockdown measures.

At the same time, the introduction of vaccinations in the block remains sluggish, which is affected by manufacturing and delivery problems, so that the heads of state and government of the European Union meet this week to again discuss the introduction of possible export bans for vaccines.

A handful of countries are reintroducing lockdowns to contain a third wave of infections. France, Poland and Ukraine are implementing stricter measures over the weekend that should last at least several weeks.

A month-long partial lockdown was reintroduced on Saturday in Paris as well as 15 other regions of France to deal with rising case numbers, largely due to new, more contagious variants of Covid.

However, the last partial lockdown is less strict than the previous ones, leading some to question the point of such a move, while others have said the new measures are confusing. There is still a curfew and interregional travel is still effectively prohibited. Around 21 million people in France are affected by the new regulations.

The country reported over 30,000 new cases a day on Sunday, bringing the total number of infections in the country to over 4.2 million. So far, over 92,000 people have died as a result of the virus in France.

In the meantime, Europe’s largest economy, Germany, could extend a national lockdown until April as the country also battles a third wave of Covid-19 cases. Several states have reportedly called for the current restrictions to be extended as the Covid incidence rate has exceeded 100 cases per 100,000 people. A level previously announced by the government would prompt them to implement an “emergency brake” – a stalling of the lifting of lockdown measures – to prevent further spread.

The move would be a blow to Germany, which had started to simplify lockdown measures, allowing schools to reopen in February and some non-essential businesses to resume customers earlier this month.

Vaccination fights

As more and more cases of coronaviruses occur in large parts of the EU, the introduction of the vaccine remains sluggish and controversial.

EU leaders will meet virtually on Thursday to discuss whether to block vaccine exports while supplies in the region remain tight and the vaccination program lags behind that in other developed nations.

Criticized for ordering coronavirus vaccines in large quantities later than the UK and US, the EU has subsequently faced supply issues despite two of the vaccines it has approved – the recordings from Pfizer-BioNTech and AstraZeneca-University of Oxford – were used. made in the EU.

There are reports that the EU could block exports of AstraZeneca vaccine at a Dutch plant – a move that could also jeopardize the previously successful launch of vaccines in the UK. UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson is expected to reach out to his European counterparts to try to break the impasse on vaccines.

The launch of the AstraZeneca-Oxford University vaccine has been fraught with several hurdles in the past few weeks. A handful of European countries have discontinued the use of the shot due to concerns about its possible association with reports of blood clots.

The World Health Organization and the European Medicines Agency carried out safety reviews of the vaccine last Thursday, the latter determining it is safe, effective, and the benefits outweigh the risks.

The conclusion resulted in a reversal of the vaccine suspension in most (but not all) European countries that had discontinued its use, but the move could damage public confidence in the vaccine, which was already shaky due to misguided questions about the vaccine’s effectiveness shot in the over 65s.

Real-world data has since proven the vaccine to be highly effective in reducing severe Covid cases, hospital stays and adult deaths. The vaccine received another boost on Monday when the results of a large U.S. study were published that found the AstraZeneca vaccine was 79% effective in preventing symptomatic illness and 100% effective against serious illness and hospitalization.

However, a YouGov poll published on Monday found that the decision of some European nations to suspend use of the AstraZeneca vaccine “severely damaged the public perception of the safety of the vaccine in Europe”.

The survey, which was conducted between March 15 and 18 in seven European countries (UK, Germany, Italy, France, Spain, Denmark and Sweden) found that the vaccine was more likely than not in France, Germany, Spain and the US Italy is classified as unsafe as safe. It should be noted that the survey was conducted the week that the vaccine’s safety data was questioned, and especially before the EMA published its safety decision on the shot.

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Texas Roadhouse founder Kent Taylor dies at 65 after taking life following put up Covid battle

Texas Roadhouse founder Kent Taylor dies at 65 after taking life following post Covid struggle

A man walks past a Texas Roadhouse restaurant in Arvada, Colorado.

Matthew Staver | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Texas Roadhouse’s founder and CEO Kent Taylor died Thursday, the restaurant chain announced on its Facebook page. He was 65 years old.

Taylor died of suicide after battling post-Covid-19 symptoms, including severe tinnitus, the family said in a statement issued by the company. Tinnitus is typically described as ringing in the ear.

“Kent Taylor committed suicide this week following a battle with symptoms after Covid, including severe tinnitus,” the family said. “Kent fought and fought hard like the former course champion he was, but the suffering that had become so much worse over the past few days became unbearable.”

Taylor’s family said Taylor recently committed to funding a clinical trial to help military personnel with tinnitus.

“We will miss you, Kent. Because of you and your dream of Texas Roadhouse, we can say that we (love) our jobs every day,” the company wrote on Friday in a Facebook post.

The Louisville-based restaurant company announced Friday that President Jerry Morgan would be named CEO after Taylor’s death.

“While you never expect the loss of a visionary like Kent, our succession plan, which Kent led, gives us great confidence,” said Greg Moore, lead director of Texas Roadhouse.

Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer tweeted Thursday that the city had “lost a loved and unique citizen.”

“Kent’s kind and generous spirit has been his constant driving force, whether he’s quietly helping a friend or building one of America’s largest companies in @texasroadhouse,” wrote Fisher. “He was a sole proprietorship who embodied the values ​​of never giving up and putting others first.”

If you or someone you know has thoughts of suicide or self-harm, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at this link or by calling 1-800-273-TALK. The hotline is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

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European nations resume utilizing AstraZeneca Covid vaccine after regulator OK

European nations resume using AstraZeneca Covid vaccine after regulator OK

A dose of the Oxford / AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine is being made by a member of the Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service of the Basingstoke Fire Station, which has been set up as a vaccination center and where crews are still answering 999 calls on February 4, 2021 in Basingstoke, England.

WPA pool | Getty Images

LONDON – The European Medicines Agency has decided that the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine is safe and effective, despite some concerns about possible side effects.

Thursday’s announcement comes after more than a dozen EU countries stopped using the AstraZeneca shot developed with Oxford University after around 30 cases of blood clots. Some other countries have stopped using individual batches of the vaccine.

France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and several other European nations are now planning to resume the use of the shot after the regulatory authority’s OK.

The EMA said Thursday that the vaccine’s benefits outweighed the risks. No batch or quality problems with the vaccine were found, although an association with the blood clot incidents could not be definitively ruled out.

“This is a safe and effective vaccine,” said Emer Cooke, EMA Executive Director, at a news conference Thursday.

“The benefits of protecting people from Covid-19, with the associated risks of death and hospitalization, outweigh the potential risks. The committee also concluded that the vaccine was not associated with an increase in the overall risk of thromboembolic events or blood clots. … We still cannot rule out a definitive link between these cases and the vaccine. “

The regulator said it will continue to investigate possible links between rare blood clots and the vaccine. It will also update its guidelines for the vaccine to clarify the potential risks.

Suspensions

The suspensions were not uniform across the 27 member states of the European Union and a number of nations continued to use the AstraZeneca shot in their vaccination campaigns.

Austria became the first country to stop using a certain batch of AstraZeneca shots last week after a 49-year-old woman who received the vaccine died.

Reports of blood clots elsewhere followed, albeit in a very small number of people, causing other leaders to suspend use and await a reassessment by the region’s health authority.

The EMA said in its review that the vaccine may be associated with very rare cases of thrombocytopenia-related blood clots, which are low platelet levels, including rare cases of blood clots in the vessels that drain blood from the brain known as CVST.

“These are rare cases – around 20 million people in the UK and EEA (European Economic Area) had received the vaccine by March 16, and the EMA had only looked at 7 cases of multiple blood clots and 18 cases of CVST. One cause A link to the vaccine has not been established but it is possible and deserves further analysis, “added the EMA in a statement.

AstraZeneca’s vaccine is widely used in the UK but has not yet been approved by the US authorities.

The benefits outweigh the risks.

The World Health Organization said Wednesday that “vaccination against Covid-19 will not reduce disease or death for other reasons. Thromboembolic events are known to be common.”

In addition, WHO said the response from some EU countries had shown that “the surveillance system is working and that there are effective controls in place”. Nonetheless, the institution reiterated its belief that “the benefits of the AstraZeneca vaccine outweigh the risks and recommends that vaccinations be continued”.

The UK Medicines Agency also said Thursday that people should continue to receive the AstraZeneca shot.

Some health professionals have raised major concerns about discontinuing use of this vaccine. Earlier this week, Cooke, of the EMA, said the institution was concerned the suspensions could affect people’s confidence in vaccines.

Recent concerns about the side effects stem from the uncertainty of some EU countries about an alleged lack of data on the effectiveness of the AstraZeneca vaccine in the elderly. However, these countries later decided to use the shot for vaccination.

Situation in Europe “worsening”

The distribution of vaccines is vital in Europe from both a health and an economic perspective.

The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, said on Wednesday: “The epidemiological situation is deteriorating.”

“We are seeing a third wave forming in Member States and we know we need to speed up vaccination rates,” she added.

The EU aims to vaccinate 70% of its adult population by the end of summer.

The data presented on Wednesday suggests that the bloc is on track to achieve this goal, provided that drug companies honor their supply contracts over the next three months and member states use them successfully.

– CNBC’s Sara Salinas contributed to this report.

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Moderna Begins Testing Its Covid Vaccine in Infants and Younger Kids

Moderna Starts Testing Its Covid Vaccine in Babies and Young Children

The pharmaceutical company Moderna has started a study testing its Covid vaccine in children under the age of 12, including babies as young as six months, the company said Tuesday.

The study is expected to enroll 6,750 healthy children in the United States and Canada. According to a spokeswoman, Colleen Hussey, Moderna declined to say how many had signed up or received their first recordings.

“There is a great demand for information about vaccination in children and how it works,” said Dr. David Wohl, the medical director of the University of North Carolina Vaccination Clinic, who is not involved in the study.

In a separate study, Moderna is testing its vaccine in 3,000 children ages 12-17 and could have results for that age group by summer. The vaccine would then have to be approved for use in children so that it would not be immediately available.

Many parents want protection for their children, and vaccinating children should help create the herd immunity that is believed to be critical to ending the pandemic. The American Academy of Pediatrics has called for vaccine studies to be expanded to include children.

Vaccine side effects like fever, sore arms, fatigue, and sore joints and muscles can be more intense in children than adults, and doctors say it’s important that parents know what to expect after their children are vaccinated.

Every child in Moderna’s study receives two recordings 28 days apart. The study will consist of two parts. In the first case, children aged 2 to under 12 can receive two doses of 50 or 100 micrograms each. People under the age of 2 may receive two exposures of 25, 50, or 100 micrograms.

Updated

March 21, 2021, 2:25 p.m. ET

In each group, the first children to be vaccinated are given the lowest doses and monitored for reactions before later participants are given higher doses.

Researchers then do an interim analysis to determine which dose is safest and most likely protective for each age group.

Children in Part 2 of the study receive the doses or placebo shots selected by the analysis, which consist of salt water.

Moderna developed its vaccine in collaboration with the National Institute for Allergies and Infectious Diseases. The company and the institute are working together with the Federal Agency for Biomedical Research and Development on the study.

The children will be followed for a year to look for side effects and measure antibody levels, which will allow researchers to determine whether the vaccine appears to offer protection. Antibody levels will be the main indicator, but researchers will also look for coronavirus infections with or without symptoms.

Dr. Wohl said the study was well designed and likely efficient, but asked why the children should only be observed for one year when adults in Moderna’s study were observed for two years. He also said he was a bit surprised that the vaccine was being tested in children so young so soon.

“Should we first learn what happens to the older children before we go to the really young children?” Asked Dr. Well. Most young children don’t get very sick from Covid, although some develop severe inflammatory syndrome that can be life-threatening.

Johnson & Johnson has also announced that it will test its coronavirus vaccine in babies and toddlers after first testing it in older children.

Pfizer-BioNTech is testing its vaccine in children ages 12-15 and plans to switch to younger groups. The product is already approved for use in the USA from the age of 16.

Last month, AstraZeneca began testing its vaccine in the UK in children 6 years and older.

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Covid instances are rising in 21 states as well being officers warn in opposition to reopening too rapidly

Dentists, veterinarians and med students authorized to administer shots in U.S.

A U.S. Army soldier with the 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division immunizes Jacklina Mendez with the COVID-19 vaccine on March 9, 2021 on the north campus of Miami Dade College in North Miami, Florida.

Joe Raedle | Getty Images

Even if the pace of vaccination accelerates in the US, cases of Covid-19 are increasing in 21 states and highly infectious variants spread as governors relax restrictions on businesses like restaurants, bars and gyms.

Public health officials warn that while about 2.5 million people receive shots daily across the country, infection rates have risen this month and some states have not reduced the number of daily cases.

According to a CNBC analysis of data from Johns Hopkins University, the 7-day moving average of new infections on Friday was 54,666 after falling for weeks.

More than 541,000 people in the United States have died from the disease.

The Chief Medical Officer of the White House, Dr. Anthony Fauci, warned during a briefing on Friday that the country should not declare victory until the infection level is “much, much lower”. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Rochelle Walensky has also urged states not to reopen too quickly and undermine the country’s progress against the pandemic.

Knyckolas Davis (L) and Matthew Bettencourt celebrate Davis ’35. Birthday with friends at Rizzo’s Bar & Inn in Wrigleyville as coronavirus disease (COVID-19) restrictions ease on March 6, 2021 in Chicago, Illinois, USA.

Eileen T. Meslar | Reuters

“The concern is that there are a number of states, cities, and regions across the country that are withdrawing some of the mitigation methods we talked about: withdrawing mask mandates, withdrawing to essentially non-mandate measures in the area of public health are implemented, “said Fauci at the briefing.

“So it’s unfortunate but not surprising to me that the number of cases per day is increasing in areas – cities, states or regions – even though vaccines are being distributed at a pretty good amount of 2 to 3 million per day,” Fauci added added. “That could be overcome if certain areas prematurely withdraw the containment and public health measures we are all talking about.”

Infections are increasing in the following states: Alabama; Connecticut; Hawaii; Idaho; Illinois; Maine; Maryland; Massachusetts; Michigan; Minnesota; Missouri; Montana; New Hampshire; New Jersey; New York; North Dakota; Pennsylvania; Rhode Island; Virginia; Washington; and West Virginia.

The highly contagious variant, first identified in the UK, is likely to account for up to 30% of Covid infections among US health officials. The variant could become dominant by the end of this month or early April.

The variant is seen as the cause of the third coronavirus wave in Europe. Several countries, including France and Italy, have put in place new lockdown measures to reduce the spread of viruses when cases increase.

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Brazil Covid variant detected in New York resident for the primary time, Cuomo says

Brazil Covid variant detected in New York resident for the first time, Cuomo says

On January 14, 2021, nurses chatting outside 28 de Agosto Hospital in Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil amid the novel coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic.

MICHAEL DANTAS | AFP | Getty Images

Governor Andrew Cuomo said Saturday that a more contagious variant of Covid-19, originally identified in Brazilian travelers, has now reached New York.

The strain was discovered by scientists at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City and verified by the Department of Health’s Wadsworth Center Laboratories. The center collects approximately 90 random samples for genome sequencing every day and has sequenced more than 8,200 samples nationwide.

The patient with the Brazil variant is a Brooklyn resident in their nineties with no travel history, according to a press release.

“The discovery of the Brazilian variant here in New York further underscores the importance of taking all appropriate measures to continue protecting your health,” said Cuomo. The governor urged New Yorkers to continue wearing masks, avoid the crowds and get vaccinated if necessary.

The Brazilian strain, designated P.1, was first identified in four travelers from Brazil who were tested during a screening in Tokyo, Japan, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The P.1 variant was discovered in the USA at the end of January. The CDC has since reported 48 cases nationwide. The strain has a number of additional mutations that could affect its ability to be recognized by antibodies.

There is evidence that the variant is more contagious and may make the vaccine less effective. Oxford University researchers recently released data that was not peer-reviewed, suggesting they may be less resistant to vaccines. However, additional research is needed.

Cuomo’s announcement comes when daily cases increase in New York and 20 other states. In New York, mortality and hospitalization rates are falling as vaccine distribution accelerates.

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John Magufuli, Tanzania Chief Who Performed Down Covid, Dies at 61

John Magufuli, Tanzania Leader Who Played Down Covid, Dies at 61

NAIROBI, Kenya – President John Magufuli of Tanzania, a populist leader who downplayed the severity of the coronavirus pandemic and diverted his country from democratic ideals, died on Wednesday in the port city of Dar es Salaam. He was 61 years old.

Vice President Samia Suluhu Hassan said in a short televised address that Mr Magufuli died of heart complications while being treated at Mzena Hospital. The announcement followed more than a week of intense speculation that Mr Magufuli was seriously ill with Covid-19 – reports that senior government officials had repeatedly denied.

Ms. Hassan did not disclose Mr. Magufuli’s underlying condition, but said he had suffered from chronic atrial fibrillation for more than a decade. She announced 14 days of national mourning and said flags would be flown nationwide on half employees.

Under the Tanzanian Constitution, Ms. Hassan will be sworn in as President to serve the remainder of the five-year term that Mr. Magufuli began when he won re-election last October. The move will make her the first female leader in Tanzania.

Mr. Magufuli, a trained chemist, was first elected on an anti-corruption platform in October 2015. He was initially praised for his efforts to strengthen the economy, curb wasteful spending, and improve Tanzania’s infrastructure.

But the Führer, popularly known as “the Bulldozer”, was soon accused of silencing dissent, suppressing freedom of expression and association, and enforcing laws that strengthened his Party of Revolution’s influence in power.

This was a sharp departure from the policies of its two immediate predecessors, who had promoted their East African nation as a peaceful, business-friendly democracy.

During his first term in office, Mr Magufuli’s government banned opposition rallies, revoked licenses from non-governmental organizations, and introduced laws that critics said suppressed independent reporting. He also said that pregnant girls are not allowed to go to school.

Right-wing groups accused his government of failing to conduct a credible investigation into the murders, kidnappings and persecution of journalists criticizing the government and opposition officials.

When Mr Magufuli was seeking a second term last fall, the authorities made it difficult for the opposition parties to campaign, froze the bank accounts of civil society groups, refused accreditation to election observers and journalists and refused to allow opposition representatives to polling stations.

Updated

March 19, 2021, 8:12 p.m. ET

At least 10 people were killed on election day when violence broke out in the semi-autonomous archipelago of Zanzibar after citizens said they saw soldiers casting marked ballots.

Mr Magufuli won this election with 84 percent of the vote on charges of widespread fraud and irregularities. Tundu Lissu, the main opposition candidate who ran against him, was accused of trying to overthrow the government and had to leave the country. He remains in exile in Belgium.

Last year, Mr Magufuli was heavily criticized at home and abroad for his handling of the coronavirus pandemic. He railed against masks and social distancing, promoted unproven remedies as cures, and said God helped the country eradicate the virus.

Tanzania has not disclosed any data on the coronavirus to the World Health Organization since April, reporting only 509 cases and 21 deaths, numbers that have been widely viewed with skepticism.

When the global introduction of vaccines began, Mr Magufuli stopped the Ministry of Health from securing doses for Tanzania.

“Vaccines don’t work,” he said in a speech to a maskless crowd in late January. “If the white man could develop vaccinations, vaccines against AIDS would have been brought. Vaccines against tuberculosis would have made it a thing of the past. Vaccines against malaria would have been found. Cancer vaccines would have been found. “

Such statements have been condemned by both the World Health Organization and the Roman Catholic Church in Tanzania. Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, WHO Regional Director for Africa, urged the Tanzanian government to prepare the infrastructure for the distribution of the cans, and wrote on Twitter: “Science shows that #VaccinesWork.”

In February, the US Embassy in Tanzania warned of a “significant increase in the number of Covid-19 cases”, saying that “limited hospital capacity across Tanzania could lead to life-threatening delays in emergency medical care”.

Mr Magufuli’s death came just days after speculation that he was sick with the virus. Rumors began to swirl after the opposition person in exile, Mr Lissu, said the president had Covid-19 and was being treated at a hospital in neighboring Kenya.

Mr Lissu asked the authorities to reveal the whereabouts of the president, who had not been seen publicly for almost two weeks. Mr. Magufuli did not attend a virtual summit for leaders of the East African regional bloc on February 27.

Tanzanian officials rejected the speculation, saying that Mr. Magufuli was working as usual.

After the death of Mr Magufuli was announced on Wednesday, the leader of the opposition party, Act Wazalendo, urged Tanzanians to show “patience and understanding” as the country undergoes a critical transition period.

“This is an unprecedented moment,” said opposition party leader Zitto Kabwe in a statement, “one that will undoubtedly move us all in a very personal way.”

John Pombe Joseph Magufuli was born on October 29, 1959 in the Chato district in what is now northwestern Tanzania and was then known as Tanganyika. He earned a bachelor’s degree in education from the University of Dar es Salaam and a PhD in chemistry from the same university in 2009, as stated on the website of the President’s Office.

Before he became president, he was a member of the Tanzanian parliament and held a number of cabinet positions. He developed a reputation for fighting corruption while serving in cabinet positions including Minister for Land, Fisheries and Public Works.

Mr. Magufuli is survived by his wife, Janet, an elementary school teacher; and two children.