Efforts to vaccinate Americans against COVID-19 have been stymied by a series of winter storms and outages in parts of the country not used to extreme cold weather. @AP explains the logjam and how officials are trying to break it. https://t.co/6YQO8NxH1Z
— The Associated Press (@AP) February 20, 2021
when we work together there is nothing we cannot accomplish https://t.co/GjeXqrpOU2
— Peloton InfoSec Analyst (Incident Response) (@CalmSporting) February 19, 2021
The US administered 1.4 million vaccine shots today, bringing the total to 60.5 million, or 18.2 doses per 100 people. The 7-day moving average declined to 1.53 million shots per day. 12.7% of Americans have received at least one shot; 5.3% are fully vaccinated. pic.twitter.com/E6LJQWZe1p
— Patrick Chovanec (@prchovanec) February 20, 2021
The US had +78,640 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 today, bringing the total to over 28.6 million. The 7-day moving average declined to below 71,000 new cases per day, its lowest level since October 25. pic.twitter.com/5BXhbcse7E
— Patrick Chovanec (@prchovanec) February 20, 2021
The @CDCgov is tracking #COVID19 #vaccine use across America, watching for adverse events. So far, so good.https://t.co/1YK1q9kid7
— Laurie Garrett (@Laurie_Garrett) February 19, 2021
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World's richest democracies say vaccine access global issue, but can’t agree how best to share https://t.co/vDLIOLfzhQ
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) February 19, 2021
Britain has circulated a draft resolution to the U.N. Security Council demanding that all warring parties immediately institute a sustained humanitarian pause to enable people in conflict areas to be vaccinated for COVID-19. https://t.co/2GHbkXLSbN
— The Associated Press (@AP) February 20, 2021
China is second only to America in terms of the absolute number of shots it has administered. But per head, the country is dawdling https://t.co/w6vj4uTgpT
— The Economist (@TheEconomist) February 19, 2021
Taiwan grants emergency authorisation for AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine https://t.co/2v5IYbxAgH pic.twitter.com/BOphgmVmg2
— Reuters (@Reuters) February 20, 2021
It's very hard to see how the #TokyoOlympics can happen: "Overnight Japan announced discovery of 91 infections in the Greater Tokyo Area of a new #COVID19 variant which carries problematic E484K mutation….may negatively impact vaccine effectiveness.."https://t.co/fPdK3Wyz3I pic.twitter.com/ZwEgyiwokQ
— Laurie Garrett (@Laurie_Garrett) February 19, 2021
Russia confirmed 13,433 new coronavirus cases Friday, bringing the total caseload to 4,139,031https://t.co/JCZYWyDoPE
— The Moscow Times (@MoscowTimes) February 19, 2021
Russia to produce 88 million COVID-19 vaccine doses in first half: deputy PM https://t.co/FYTiZu0Z6n pic.twitter.com/bHYGNrGZhy
— Reuters (@Reuters) February 20, 2021
Poland considering COVID-19 restrictions at Czech, Slovak borders: minister https://t.co/eQLe0fNP4o pic.twitter.com/B7Tw0Elv48
— Reuters (@Reuters) February 20, 2021
First, a 38-year-old man tested positive for COVID-19. By evening a 77-year-old had died. A year ago, northern Italy became the epicenter of the outbreak in the West. One town, Vo, acted quickly and stopped the spread, but others waited too long. https://t.co/8OYFlMru0n
— AP Europe (@AP_Europe) February 19, 2021
1 in 2 South Africans has been infected by SARSCoV2, far more than the documented tally, a study and analysis of death figures now suggest. Samples taken from almost 5k blood donors across 4 provinces in January showed ~32% to 63% had SARSCoV2 antibodies https://t.co/HD9SAi22MZ pic.twitter.com/Nb2h1jdHE1
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) February 19, 2021
New Zealand begins COVID-19 vaccinations programme, Australia starts Monday https://t.co/7q8dWDghCl pic.twitter.com/DrrcXTtd7E
— Reuters (@Reuters) February 20, 2021
The coronavirus canceled Carnival, but Brazilians won’t stop partying https://t.co/wl3o94CVwi
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) February 18, 2021
Mexico posts 857 more coronavirus deaths, 7,829 new cases https://t.co/74PiGaav5u pic.twitter.com/vYLF5bIsyy
— Reuters (@Reuters) February 20, 2021
Why Canada is falling behind in Covid vaccinationshttps://t.co/XcOeEXORjK
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) February 19, 2021
U.S. extends travel restrictions at land borders with Canada, Mexico through March 21 https://t.co/7IgHZL8Rc0 pic.twitter.com/o2ogyCbhQp
— Reuters (@Reuters) February 19, 2021
Major U.S. airlines said they would adopt a voluntary international contact tracing program for U.S.-bound international passengers https://t.co/Hnd93RcLM2 pic.twitter.com/gCzIwf0fFz
— Reuters (@Reuters) February 20, 2021
Covid-19 passports aim to streamline travel requirements. But there’s no one-size-fits-all fix. https://t.co/8ezhdhg1KS
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) February 19, 2021
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Damage to the heart found in more than half of #COVID19 patients discharged from hospital. Damage includes inflammation of the heart muscle, scarring or death of heart tissue, restricted blood supply to the heart & combinations of all three https://t.co/DOZUQd1tFV
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) February 19, 2021
Mink farmers are skipping to the front of the vaccine line — for an important reason https://t.co/khCAgCRkYY
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) February 19, 2021
The EU calls for regular coronavirus tests on mink farms. The animals are highly susceptible to SARSCoV2 infection. New variants – that have not spread to humans – have emerged in these facilities. Fur farms are in multiple EU countries https://t.co/dF2TZYa0je
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) February 20, 2021
Russia approves its third COVID-19 vaccine, CoviVac https://t.co/vz3p13CIFe pic.twitter.com/137m845rw8
— Reuters (@Reuters) February 20, 2021
Bill Gates, recovery rates and altering DNA
Vaccine rumours fact checked#BBCRealityCheckhttps://t.co/c9bPABe12I— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) February 20, 2021
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The latest map from https://t.co/6kWMww3KUq shows where the spread of COVID-19 has cooled down, and where it remains an issue. https://t.co/yKEwCLtZBJ pic.twitter.com/FKTgsckIiy
— Patrick Chovanec (@prchovanec) February 20, 2021
California Republicans are less likely to seek COVID vaccination than Democrats, according to a new poll. UC Berkeley's Institute of Governmental Studies polled state residents as Calif continues to struggle to bring infections under control https://t.co/sFx0SXTsDC
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) February 19, 2021
Winston & several fellow gorillas are healthy again after battling COVID19. 8 western lowland gorillas at the San Diego Zoo caught the Calif variant of the virus – the B.1.429 coronavirus lineage. Winston, 48, was given monoclonal antibodies & heart meds https://t.co/Ktzbt4p4T5
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) February 19, 2021
Amir Khalid
Malaysia’s daily Covid-19 numbers. Director-General of Health Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah reports 2,461 new cases today in his media statement, for a cumulative reported total of 280,272 cases. He also reports eight new deaths today, for a cumulative total of 1,051 deaths — 0.37% of the cumulative reported total, 0.43% of resolved cases.
There are currently 34,468 active and contagious cases; 207 are in ICU, 91 of them intubated. Meanwhile, 4,782 patients recovered and were discharged, for a cumulative total of 244,753 patients recovered – 87.3% of the cumulative reported total.
10 new clusters were reported today: Jalan Tanjung Enam, Jalan Wawasan 14, Batu Dua Setengah, and Jalan Lapangan Terbang in Johor; Perdana Tiga and Jalan Perusahaan Satu in Selangor; Batu Sebelas and Jalan Pelabuhan in Perak; Jalan Pasar in Sabah; and Kasia building site in Negeri Sembilan. All are workplace clusters.
All 2,461 new cases today are local infections. Selangor reports 1,001 cases: 359 in older clusters, 50 in Perdana Tiga and Jalan Perusahaan Satu clusters, 348 close-contact screenings, and 244 other screenings. Kelantan reports 257 cases: 196 in existing clusters, 58 close-contact screenings, and 244 other screenings. Johor reports 233 cases: 50 in older clusters; 56 in Jalan Tanjung Enam, Jalan Wawasan 14, Batu Dua Setengah, and Jalan Lapangan Terbang clusters; 73 close-contact screenings, and 54 other screenings. Kuala Lmpur reports 230 cases: 89 in existing clusters, 76 close-contact screenings, and 65 other screenings.
Sarawak reports 134 cases: 43 in existing clusters, 26 close-contact screenings, and 65 other screenings. Sabah reports 109 cases: 47 in older clusters, two in Jalan Pasar cluster, 40 close-contact screenings, and 20 other screenings. Perak reports 108 cases: 47 in older clusters, two in Batu Sebelas and Jalan Pelabuhan clusters, seven close-contact screenings, and six other screenings. Kedah reports 101 cases: 10 in existing clusters, nine close-contact screenings, and 82 other screenings.
Negeri Sembilan reports 89 cases: two in older clusters, 19 in Kasia building site cluster, 21 close-contact screenings, and 47 other screenings. Penang reports 87 cases: 35 in existing clusters, 15 close-contact screenings, and 37 other screenings. Pahang reports 42 cases: 34 in existing clusters, seven close-contact screenings, and one other screening.
Melaka reports 32 cases: 15 in existing clusters, four close-contact screenings, and 13 other screenings. Terengganu reports 22 cases: 14 in existing clusters, six close-contact screenings, and two other screenings. Putrajaya reports 13 cases: nine in existing clusters, three close-contact screenings, and one other screening. And Perlis reports three cases, all close-contact screenings.
Labuan reports no new cases today.
The deaths reported today are a 78-year-old woman in Sarawak with hypertension and dyslipidaemia; a 49-year-old man in Sarawak with diabetes, hypertension, chronic kidney disease, and critical limb ischaemia; a 46-year-old man in Sarawak with hypertension and chronic kidney disease; a 67-year-old man in Perak with laryngeal cancer; a 58-year-old man in Sarawak with diabetes, hypertension, and chronic kidney disease; a 70-year-old woman in Kelantan with hypertension; an 81-year-old woman in Selangor with diabetes, hypertension, and chronic kidney disease; and an 81-year-old man in Sabh, DOA with hypertension.
Mary G
I’m still in awe of how you do these Anne Laurie, day in and day out, missing only one day? Won’t it be nice some day when there won’t be enough news to do them every day?
That heart damage in half of hospitalized patients makes me glad to have been so paranoid. We only have a year’s worth of data on this bugger bug, and there is so much research left to do.
NeenerNeener
Monroe County, NY yesterday:
New cases = 129. Reported deaths at 1108. Positivity at 2.2%
237 in the hospital, 65 in the ICU
40% hospital beds available, 37% ICU beds available.
Amir Khalid
I can see why the Japanese Olympic Committee is so loath to admit that the ’21 Olympics are not happening: money. Broadcasters and sponsors will want their billions back, hotels will not refund any deposits already paid, all that spend on souvenirs and mascot dolls and advertising and promotions will go poof. There will be no loss of face, since no one could blame them for the scale of the pandemic. There will just be huge and not necessarily survivable financial losses.
YY_Sima Qian
On 2/19 China reported 0 new domestic confirmed & 0 new domestic asymptomatic cases.
Hebei Province
Hebei Provincial Health Commission reported that 1 domestic confirmed case recovered. There are currently 148 domestic confirmed cases (129 moderate and 19 mild) & 9 domestic asymptomatic cases in the province:
Heilongjiang Province
Heilongjiang Provincial Health Commission reported that 9 domestic confirmed cases recovered & 7 domestic asymptomatic cases were released from isolation. There are currently 20 domestic confirmed (15 moderate and 5 mild) & 31 domestic asymptomatic cases in the province.:
Jilin Province
Jilin Provincial Heath Commission reported that 11 domestic confirmed cases recovered. There are currently 54 domestic confirmed (1 critical, 3 serious, 37 moderate and 13 mild) & 5 domestic asymptomatic cases:
At Shanghai Municipality, 1 domestic confirmed case recovered. There are 16 domestic confirmed cases remaining.
Imported Cases
On 2/19 China reported 8 new imported confirmed cases, 13 imported asymptomatic cases:
Overall in China, 38 confirmed cases recovered, 18 asymptomatic cases were released from isolation and 2 were reclassified as confirmed cases, and 515 individuals were released from quarantine. Currently, there are 454 active confirmed cases in the country (198 imported), 5 are in critical/serious condition (1 imported), 331 asymptomatic cases (282 imported), 4 suspect cases (all imported). 8,233 traced contacts are currently under centralized quarantine.
On 2/20 Hong Kong reported 15 new cases, 5 imported (from India, Pakistan & the Philippines) & 10 domestic (4 of whom do not yet have source of infection identified).
NotMax
U.S. reported deaths pass 500,000.
Brazil becomes the third country to report total cumulative cases in eight digits, exceeding 10,000,000.
OzarkHillbilly
Florida’s Republican governor accused of ‘playing politics’ with Covid vaccine
Say whaaaaat? Why I never would have expected that!
OK, that is exactly what I would have expected.
PaulB
@OzarkHillbilly: It gets even better when you see the follow-up:
“A Manatee County, Florida, commissioner broke protocol for equitable vaccine distribution, which she had previously voted in favor of, when planning a vaccine drive initiated by Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Ohio Mom
Article in today’s Cincinnati Enquirer (originating in the sister Gannett paper, USA Today) on all the ways the Ohio vaccine approach differs from CDC guidelines.
We are prioritizing in part people who have certain medical conditions since childhood whether or not those conditions put them more at risk, e.g., epilepsy.
And autism, which is why Ohio Son will be getting his second shot on Thursday. I’m happy he’s getting vaccinated but it hard to argue he deserves to be a priority.
That there are wildly different approaches across the country, which may or may not follow any medical and ethical best practices is of course, our inheritance from the “former guy.”
Sloane Ranger
The UK figures.
Yesterday we had 12,027 new cases. This is a decrease of 30 from the day before and a reduction of 20.3% in the rolling 7-day average. Additionally, the R number, as of 19 February, is now 0.6 – 0.9. So, overall – good news. New cases by nation,
England – 10,296 (down @440)
Northern Ireland – 313 (down 29)
Scotland – 885 (up 200)
Wales – 533 (up 243).
I can’t see any evidence of a developing trend so, hopefully, the jumps for Scotland and Wales are anomalous.
Deaths – There were 533 deaths within 28 days of a positive test yesterday. This is a decrease of 27.7% in the rolling 7-day average. Deaths by nation, England – 481, Northern Ireland – 5, Scotland – 31 and Wales – 16. On 5 February, 521 people had COVID mentioned on their Death Certificate as a cause of death. This number is also showing a steady downward trend.
Testing – On Thursday, 18 February, 560,400 tests were conducted out of a capacity of 788,913. This is a decrease of 20.1% in the rolling 7-day average.
Hospitalisations – On Wednesday, 17 February, 19,392 people were in hospital and 2535 people were on ventilators on Thursday, 18th. The rolling 7-day average for hospital admissions has decreased by 24.3%.
Vaccinations – By 18 February, 16,875,536 people had received their 1st dose of a vaccine and 589,591 had received both doses. We are currently averaging about 400,000 initial vaccinations a day and about 15,000 2nd shots.
General – Despite the nationwide news being positive, where I live is currently bucking the national trend and undergoing a surge. The 7-day average for positive tests in my town having increased by 10%. The cases seem to be linked to care homes and specific businesses (our Royal Mail Sorting Office had a major outbreak recently). Our MP has asked the Health Secretary to organise a mass testing event for the entire North Northamptonshire area recently, as nearby Corby is even worse than us and Kettering (only a few miles away) not much better. Mr Hancock is reportedly thinking about it. In the meantime, I am re-doubling my precautions.
Suzanne
@Ohio Mom:
I was able to get the vaccine yesterday in PA because I have a history of epileptic seizures. Again, happy to be vaccinated, but I don’t know if it puts me at any higher risk. Though, I will note, sometimes it’s not the condition itself, but the medication used to treat the condition that probably creates more risk. One anti-seizure med that I was on for years had a side effect of potential liver damage, which obviously is an immune system problem. So some of this is not straightforward. Also will note that seizures can produce injuries that may require significant medical care, so maybe the thought is that it is good to keep epileptics out of the hospital altogether.
But I also am resisting the framing that people who qualify for it under their state guidelines should consider passing it up in favor of someone else more at risk. I think that needs to stop. If there is anything I have learned from my interactions with the healthcare system, it is that you have to be a good advocate for yourself and for those around you, and we also elect policymakers and pay taxes to make good choices on our behalf. Also, I think this is often a gendered thing; all the working women I know routinely neglect their own illness and medical care to save limited sick days to take care of their kids.
I want minority and low-income communities to have at least equal and possibly priority access to the vaccine, but passing up my own individual shot doesn’t make that happen.
Sorry. I have been thinking about this because my in-laws still can’t access it in their state. My FIL has basically gone nowhere for the last year, because he has epilepsy and almost died last year after surgery to correct some scarring on his (already-replaced) heart valve. He is a very gregarious guy. He keeps saying, “Well, I can stay home, let an essential person get it before me,” but he is really suffering. He is so lonely and it’s having some significant effects on him, he hasn’t gone to the dentist, hasn’t been going to the gym, which he really needs to do. I hate that he is feeling like he needs to pass it up in order to get it to someone else.
Ruckus
@Suzanne:
I took the vaccine as soon as I could get it because I have comorbidities that could easily kill me if I caught it. Also me being inoculated protects others, which is part of the entire point of being vaccinated. I remember taking that sugar cube with the blue dot, the polio vaccine, when I was 5. I remember seeing and knowing people who had polio, what it does to you. On of my neighbors had polio as a very young child and while she said the effects pretty much went away in her early 20s, they have come back and she now lives in a wheelchair. She’s lucky, a girl I went to school with had it in both legs and I wonder what happened to her. Haven’t seen nor heard about her since our 10 yr HS reunion.
Deadly and debilitating disease has been with us for ever, and being in more confined populations always makes disease worse. We have knocked down so many of them that I think we often forget what it was like in the world when effectively we had no vaccines for easily transmitted diseases. Because it is still that way in many parts of the world, like the counties in Africa.
Nedicks
@PaulB: A number of nations and areas appear to be exhibiting signs of decreasing cases, including but not limited to the U.S. The articles (the Atlantic, Vox, USA Today, NYT) I’ve read about these decreases all deny any knowledge of just why this appears to be happening but describe a variety of explanations that could possibly be correct. What I haven’t seen is any global evaluation of these alleged trends that takes into account what’s happening in more than one country. Does anyone know of any online sources that look at the world picture? Is this thing really starting to fade? Are the variants (the ones we know about) still such wild cards that no generalizations can be made? With (apparently) hundreds of thousands of the most highly trained scientists world-wide focused on the pandemic there ought to be some interesting guesses, at the very least, about what is really going on. (No, conspiracy theorists need not apply.)
Zelma
I think that a major problem with vaccine distribution in some states is the seeming randomness of the process. New Jersey seems particularly bad and Cape May County seems even more problematic. Why did the patients of one health system get easier access to the vaccine than others? Why is one local supermarket chain a vaccine site and not others? Why does one CVS in the county have vaccine and not others? And why CVS and not Walgreen’s? Actually, these questions are moot since none of these sites are accepting appointments anyway. Why isn’t the county health department receiving vaccine? Who is getting the prized local appointments and why them and not others?
Basically, these are all problems of supply and demand and the state made a mistake when they opened the age range too fast with little discrimination. A friend tried to sign into the mass site in Atlantic City today. There were 30,000 people vying for 1200 spots. She’s 78 with underlying conditions. At this rate, she’ll be lucky to get an appointment by April. I signed up ten days ago and will get my first shot in a month. It’s a mess.