Because we haven't shaved for 12 months and can't remember how to walk upright.
— Paul Bronks (@SlenderSherbet) March 23, 2021
VACCINATION UPDATE: 3.3 million vaccinations reported today.
-More than 10 million over the last 3 days
-7 day average: 2.7 million
-48 states will be open to all over age 16 on or before May 1— Andy Slavitt (@aslavitt46) March 28, 2021
The US administered 3.3 million vaccine shots today, its 3rd day in a row over 3 million, bringing the total to 143 million. That equates to 43.2 doses per 100 people, covering 22.1% of the population. The 7-day moving average rose to 2.71 million shots per day. pic.twitter.com/imjcCLjT7h
— Patrick Chovanec (@prchovanec) March 29, 2021
âWhat we know right now is if you are exposed after full vaccination, you're very, very, very unlikely to get sick, and you're pretty unlikely to transmit it to others.â
Dr. Ashish K. Jha speaks to @jonkarl about COVID-19 vaccine rollout. https://t.co/UxzLP7HNS2 pic.twitter.com/UIXLRepbOF
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) March 28, 2021
The US had +44,096 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 today, bringing the total closer to 31.0 million. The 7-day moving average declined back below 61,000 new cases per day. pic.twitter.com/v6grUvnfrS
— Patrick Chovanec (@prchovanec) March 29, 2021
We know its a race between vaccinations & variants
Well, despite phenomenal vaccination rates, variants pulled ahead this week
Infections up in 34 states
Test positivity up in 38
Hospitalizations up in 20
Holding tight until more folks vaccinated key to winning this race pic.twitter.com/15SbgPx5JU
— Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH (@ashishkjha) March 28, 2021
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Vaccines and travel: What you need to know. The CDCâs director is warning that traveling could increase the risk of spreading the virus, particularly new variants, and urged against travel https://t.co/1GV9yR81a6
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) March 28, 2021
Paris doctors warn of catastrophic overload of #coronavirus cases. The warning arrived Sunday in a newspaper commentary signed by 41 doctors. French President Emmanuel Macron has vigorously defended his decision not to completely lockdown France again https://t.co/uOfuRuZbt4
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) March 28, 2021
The vaccine misinformation battle raging in France https://t.co/a0MlSSfAyi
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) March 29, 2021
Spain to require negative PCR test results for French travelers arriving at the France/Spain border. Anyone crossing the land border will have to present a negative PCR taken in the last 72 hours, according to an official bulletin from the Spanish govt https://t.co/scahbCQOJm pic.twitter.com/SVfRULdsUc
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) March 28, 2021
Outdoor meetings and sport to resume in England https://t.co/XlZXNBUy09
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) March 29, 2021
"A vaccine is the only way to get rid of this virusâ: A 104-year-old Romanian great-grandmother is urging her fellow citizens to get vaccinated. https://t.co/cuFc8ML3qk
— AP Europe (@AP_Europe) March 28, 2021
Albania is ramping up its coronavirus inoculation drive after receiving nearly 200,000 doses of Chinese vaccine Sinovac. The Balkan country is aiming to welcome tourists this summer to give a boost to its ailing economy. https://t.co/F06IpLx9Ky
— AP Europe (@AP_Europe) March 28, 2021
From the Moscow Times, Sunday:
Russia has confirmed 4,519,832 cases of coronavirus and 97,740 deaths, according to the national coronavirus information center.
According to figures published by state statistics agency Rosstat, Russia’s real coronavirus death toll stands at 131,118, with the virus present in another 69,314 deaths…
Domestically, Russians aren't fans of the Sputnik #COVID19 #vaccine — they trust imported vaxes more. But Russia is exporting #Sputnik like crazy, as a diplomatic tool to desperate nations. https://t.co/jKzf37PSXH
— Laurie Garrett (@Laurie_Garrett) March 28, 2021
India's coronavirus cases peak over 12 million for first time https://t.co/Fpx7bG2Iib pic.twitter.com/ekkW82qVPf
— Reuters (@Reuters) March 29, 2021
India's first wave peaked in September and was followed by a dramatic 5-month decline. But in February, cases started soaring again. https://t.co/xqPs8ehzZc pic.twitter.com/Q1P9oZGNud
— Martin Enserink (@martinenserink) March 28, 2021
Indiaâs Maharashtra state considers total lockdown as #COVID19 cases jump 40,414 on Sunday /via @globeandmail https://t.co/omDI6LdLFv
— Crawford Kilian (@Crof) March 29, 2021
The surge now unfolding in India could swiftly swamp every hospital in Maharashtra, even nationwide. And if testing in the 2020 epidemic was accurate, there must be 100s of 1000s of reinfections happening.https://t.co/OELGiNuZ1n
— Laurie Garrett (@Laurie_Garrett) March 29, 2021
Australian city of Brisbane to shut down over seven Covid cases https://t.co/TVYy6LVfax
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) March 29, 2021
This is a powerful, anger-provoking piece explaining how & why #COVID19 is skyrocketing in southern #Brazil now, who is responsible. I had to read twice because the 1st read made me so mad. https://t.co/J6vLqeu1Zz
— Laurie Garrett (@Laurie_Garrett) March 29, 2021
Brazil's recorded covid-19 death toll is a quarter of the worldâs total. The country has less than 3% of the global population. https://t.co/yYbhGRlycL
— Oliver Stuenkel ?? (@OliverStuenkel) March 28, 2021
Covid-19: Mexico revises coronavirus death toll up by 60% https://t.co/47AxkMBVD4
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) March 28, 2021
Mexico's government has released a new report that shows nearly 120,000 victims of Covid-19 may have gone uncounted until now — a finding that would raise the country's death toll from the virus by nearly 60% https://t.co/EpYH24baAC
— CNN International (@cnni) March 29, 2021
Like it or not, experts feel it's inevitable that proof of #Covid19 vaccination is going to be needed to do some things going forward. It is going to be a very thorny issue to work out, as @ddiamond, @bylenasun & @isaacstanbecker report. https://t.co/Cvy7zE6OyR
— Helen Branswell (@HelenBranswell) March 28, 2021
======
COVID-19: 5,000 music fans attend Barcelona gig after passing same-day coronavirus screening https://t.co/beOWnwCbX6
— Sky News (@SkyNews) March 28, 2021
More of TFG’s maladministration:
Consumers filed 106 injury claims from COVID-19 vaccines, ventilators and hydroxychloroquine. Here's why none have been paid. https://t.co/7B2zpSUIpS via @usatoday
— Baronian Consulting (@BaronianConsult) March 28, 2021
======
Readership capture:
Spring has arrived, and many older adults in the U.S. who have been vaccinated are emerging from a hibernation imposed by the coronavirus pandemic. They are relishing little things like shopping and going to the gym, along with visiting relatives. https://t.co/7q8AzG0gzn
— The Associated Press (@AP) March 27, 2021
A year after becoming a global epicenter of the pandemic, New York and New Jersey are back atop the list of U.S. states with the highest rates of infection. Case numbers have been inching up nationwide, raising concerns that states are opening too quickly. https://t.co/xhTM7swWRP
— The Associated Press (@AP) March 28, 2021
Six of the ten U.S. metro areas with the worst #COVID19 outbreaks right now are in Michigan.https://t.co/HPycVNPnXS pic.twitter.com/EZXFN8msXF
— Laurie Garrett (@Laurie_Garrett) March 29, 2021
(Possibly related: Jackson, MI is the main state correctional facility. Which I remember because back in the 1980s, Jackson changed the motto on its green highway signs from Welcome to Jackson – You May Never Leave! to Welcome to Jackson – We Like It Here.)
NeenerNeener
Monroe County, NY stats:
New cases = 180
Still at 1200 deaths
2% positivity – this was down at 1.5% 2 or 3 weeks ago
32.9% vaccinated with at least 1 dose
131,339 people fully vaccinated
243,907 people with at least 1 dose
rikyrah
Those Brazil stories?????
THAT picture from Barcelona????
YY_Sima Qian
On 3/28 China reported 0 new domestic confirmed & 0 new domestic asymptomatic cases.
Imported Cases
On 3/28 China reported 15 new imported confirmed cases, 18 imported asymptomatic cases:
Overall in China, 10 confirmed cases recovered, 8 asymptomatic cases were released from isolation & 4 were reclassified as confirmed cases, and 226 individuals were released from quarantine. Currently, there are 172 active confirmed cases in the country (169 imported), 1 in critical/serious condition (imported), 273 asymptomatic cases (all imported), 2 suspect cases (all imported). 4,574 traced contacts are currently under centralized quarantine.
As of 3/28, 106.613M vaccine doses have been injected in Mainland China, nearly 5M per day in the past two days.
On 3/29 Hong Kong reported 8 new cases, 7 imported & 1 domestic (source of infection not identified).
WereBear
Considering our location and health status, we’ve signed up at a local pharmacy and will accomplish vaccination when they make it easy. DH can’t stand in long lines or handle a two hour round trip.
We don’t seem to have the “just go to a red area” problem, so there’s that :) It’s freakin’ Elise Stefanik’s district!
YY_Sima Qian
The P.1 variant first discovered in Brazil, and the B.1.351 variant first discovered in South Africa, as well as other variants sharing similar mutations in the spike protein, are scary. The news out of Brazil, India and Michigan are really concerning, as they suggest significant re-infection, and I do not believe these places are mass testing and contract tracing at sufficient levels to catch the vast majority of asymptomatic and very mild infections. The hope was that past infection, as well as immunization, would at least greatly reduce the symptoms of re-infection.
I suppose Israel will once again generate the data that assesses how well the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine does against these variants. We have to expect other vaccines (whether the Chinese deactivated live virus ones, the Chinese/Russian/British viral vector ones, or the the molecular protein ones) will do even worse than Moderna or Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines against the variants.
Amir Khalid
Malaysiaâs daily Covid-19 numbers. Director-General of Heath Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah reports 941 new cases today in his media statement â below 1,000 new cases for the first time since 9th December — for a cumulative reported total of 342,285 cases. He also reports five new deaths today, for a cumulative total of 1,260 deaths — 0.37% of the cumulative reported total, 0.38% of resolved cases.
There are currently 14,219 active and contagious cases; 166 are in ICU, 73 of them intubated. Meanwhile, 1,097 patients recovered and were discharged, for a cumulative total of 327,406 patients recovered â 95.48% of the cumulative reported total.
Three new clusters were reported today: Section 16 in Selangor, Jalan Azlan in Kuala Lumpur, and Taman Vistagro in Sarawak. Taman Vistagro is a community cluster; the other two are workplace clusters.
933 new cases today are local infections. Selangor reports 217 local cases: 18 in older clusters, four in Section 16 cluster, 153 close-contact screenings, and 42 other screenings.
Sarawak reports 192 cases: 16 in older clusters, six in Taman Vistagro cluster, 112 close-contact screenings, and 58 other screenings. Johor reports 171 cases: 121 in existing clusters, 34 close-contact screenings, and 16 other screenings. Penang reports 164 cases: 64 in existing clusters, 26 close-contact screenings, and 74 other screenings.
Kuala Lumpur reports 51 local cases: one in an older cluster, one in Jalan Azlan cluster, 29 close-contact screenings, and 20 other screenings. Kelantan reports 49 cases: 16 in existing clusters, 24 close-contact screenings, and nine other screenings. Sabah reports 34 cases: seven in existing clusters, 19 close-contact screenings, and eight other screenings.
Negeri Sembilan reports 18 cases: two in existing clusters, 11 close-contact screenings, and five other screenings. Kedah reports 13 cases: three in existing clusters, eight close-contact screenings, and two other screenings.
Melaka reports eight cases: three in existing clusters, four close-contact screenings, and one other screening. Perak reports five cases: one in an existing cluster, three close-contact screenings, and one other screening. Pahang also reports five cases: one in an existing cluster, three close-contact screenings, and one other screening. Terengganu reports four cases: three close-contact screenings, and one other screening. Labuan reports one case, in an existing cluster. And Putrajaya also reports one case, a close-contact screening.
Perlis reports no new cases today.
Eight new cases today are imported: six in Kuala Lumpur, and two in Selangor.
The deaths reported today are a 63-year-old woman in Sarawak with diabetes, hypertension, and dyslipidaemia; a 52-year-old man in Sarawak with diabetes, hypertension, and asthma; an 82-year-old man in Selangor with diabetes, hypertension, stroke, dyslipidaemia, and chronic kidney disease; a 42-year-old man in Sabah with obesity and gout; and a 64-year-old non-Malaysian man in Sabah with no co-morbidities listed.
debbie
@YY_Sima Qian:
Yep, those in Michigan who could get the state back on course are instead being called “witches who should be burned at the stake.” ??ââïž
Starfish
@rikyrah: I asked my spouse if we can go to a concert like the one in Barcelona and explain to his parents how it was totally safe and fine.
They have been doing nonsense this whole pandemic, and they keep going on monologues how it is all perfectly safe for reasons. They went to Mexico with some other people for spring break, and they will be fine because they are vaccinated; but they took some unvaccinated people with them, and I am so tired of their nonsense.
WereBear
@Starfish: Which I why I don’t see the end in sight the way so many others do.
Mousebumples
In happier news, I have Moderna #2 tomorrow morning! ???
lowtechcyclist
@Mousebumples:
Yay! I had my Moderna #2 yesterday morning, and I’m feeling a little tired, but fine aside from that. I hope it goes as well for you as it has for me!
Mousebumples
@lowtechcyclist: thanks! And congrats to you on getting both shots! ???
@WereBear: might also be worth being on a notification list for your doctor’s office? Though I know that new york doesn’t have an estimated “anyone over 16 is eligible” date yet, that I’ve heard.
rikyrah
The Federal Government needs to step up and handle this
rikyrah
@Mousebumples:
Yesss ??
rikyrah
@WereBear:
Sign up with every pharmacy in your area
Zzyzx
Today is 2 weeks after Pfizer 2 for me. Admittedly it was a day early, but I did go to the gym yesterday for the first time in over a year. I don’t think I’m going to make too many other changes in the short term. I want to see our numbers recede before I get over confident. Israel looks good but Chile is more worrisome.
OK fine, we are going to go to Utah in 2 weeks but it’s going to be a trip where we stay in cabins and go to obscure parks and stay away from other people.
Mousebumples
@rikyrah: I hope these are the populations that the US Government is going to focus on helping. I’m not a public health expert but similar to going door to door inside an apartment complex, I hope they can figure out a good way to get shots into these arms!
matt
I don’t understand this “it’s a race between vacation and variants.” Aren’t the variants on their own track?
guachi
I’ve been fully vaccinated for over five weeks now and it feels like freedom. Though my life is still limited it’s just nice knowing my chance of getting COVID and spreading it have dropped dramatically.
Mousebumples
Mousebumples
@matt: potentially. Most of the vaccines have decent activity against current variants. But unvaccinated people are breeding grounds for infection and new variants. Also, the mrna vaccine manufacturers are making booster doses based on the variants, since their methodology makes such changes easier to do.
matt
@Mousebumples:Â Do you know what the approval process looks like for these boosters?
Starfish
@WereBear: I just got my first shot by going to a red area. Though there are rules, there really aren’t rules. I am not sure if my best friend is going to forgive me for “jumping” line. The state qualifications include asthma as a condition, but the rules for the shot center did not seem to. They did not care and gave me a shot anyway. My spouse is of age for our state.
The reason that I went now was that we just found out my younger sister has cancer, and I am trying not to be in NYC until two weeks after my second shot.
Sloane Ranger
On Sunday, the UK recorded 3862 new cases but this is probably an undercount for the usual weekend reasons. This number means that the 7-day moving average is now decreasing again. In this case, by 1.7%. Cases by nation,
England – 3153 (down 660)
Northern Ireland – 116 (down 22)
Scotland – 422 (down 141)
Wales – 171 (down 30).
Deaths – There were 19 deaths recorded yesterday but same warning about undercounting. The 7-day moving average now shows a decrease of 31.7%. Deaths by nation, England – 17, Northern Ireland – 2 and none in Scotland and Wales.
Testing – Not updated at weekends.
Hospitalisations – not updated at weekends.
Vaccinations – As of 27 March, a total of 30,151,287 people have received one shot of a vaccine and 3,527,481 were fully vaccinated. This means that 57.2% of people aged 18 and over have received 1 jab and 6.7%, both.
WereBear
@rikyrah: Thanks, but when it started turning into a second job I just disengaged. I’m unemployed, content with social online outlets, and we’re in mud season, so I’m not going to stress over it. Still taking all precautions and that’s less onerous than the constant get-to-the-end-and-nothing that has become the new normal.
terben
Australia got a mention in the post above, with the state of Queensland going into a 3 day lockdown just before Easter.
Some statistics of note:
Days since last fatality in Aus – 91. This was in New South Wales.
Only 2 of the 8 States/Territories have recorded Covid deaths in the last 330 days. These are Victoria and NSW, with 820 and 54 deaths out of the national total of 909. The remaining deaths (35) are shared between 5 of the remaining 6 juristictions.
In Queensland, the last Covid death was 345 days ago. Qld has had 6 deaths in total.
Vaccinations are underway after a late start due to a cautious approval process and currently the numbers are ca. 540,000 doses administered. The rate is about 2 per 100.
Ball sports are continuing in front of reduced crowds (limited to 75% capacity) with the summer sports ending and the winter sports starting up.
Mousebumples
@matt: I know the CDC and FDA are working out the details but I’m not sure if anything has been formalized yet. As far as I’m aware, the plan is to use currently approved vaccines (and others, e.g. AstraZeneca) to vaccinate everyone to get herd immunity. This fall, boosters (like the annual flu shot) may be recommended for some or all of the population, depending on future pandemic assessments.
I’ll see if I can find more details with a link and update on this thread.
Eta – link about the vaccine makers plans – https://www.cnbc.com/2021/03/05/how-the-different-covid-vaccines-will-handle-variants.html
Mousebumples
https://www.fda.gov/regulatory-information/search-fda-guidance-documents/emergency-use-authorization-vaccines-prevent-covid-19
That seems to be the update to EUA guidelines for edits to already approved vaccines (eg Moderna, Pfizer), so they won’t need to do another huge efficacy trial. I’m starting work shortly so I didn’t read the details.
The Moar You Know
@matt: to an extent. The media is really misrepresenting what the variants really mean – SO FAR. Right now, none of the variants is sending vaccinated people to the hospital, ICU, or grave. They are more infectious, but immunization seems to stop that spread.
If we get a “variant” that is unaffected by current vaccines, it will have mutated so much that it can’t even be considered COVID anymore. And so far we are not seeing mutations in that direction. If anything, what we should be seeing sooner or later, are variants that are more infectious but less lethal (like the current form of H1N1, the “spanish flu” virus. Not happening yet though.
The Moar You Know
@matt: there won’t be one, same as the seasonal flu shots. It’s the same vaccine, fundamentally. Just some changes/additions to the RNA payload, which is not significant from the standpoint of safety.
ETA: Mousebumples reply is better and has more detail. Forget I even posted this.
Betsy
@Starfish: Iâm not sure if youâll see this, since Iâm posting so late, but your friend should relent. Â Many areas are starting to struggle to fill the slots. Â More vaccinated people is better … PERIOD. Â The rules are not being strictly enforced i most places and for good reason: Â it complicates things and makes vaccine delivery significantly slower, hurting *everyone*. You had a risk assessment based on your family memberâs risk and what you can deal with. It was as reasonable as any of the formal rules. You went to a low-demand area and helped them deliver more of their vaccines by +1. (You know what happens if a provider doesnât inject a certain target proportion of the vaccines they receive? The next week, their allocation is reduced.) You didnât shove *anyone* out of line, you went where vaccines were in low demand and helped improve the demand. Â Good for you!