Thursday just in: +1.02M doses reported administered, including 562K newly vaccinated. First 1M day reported in nearly seven weeks! 31% week-over week increase in the daily average of people completing their vaccine series, maximizing their protection against Delta. ????
— Cyrus Shahpar (@cyrusshahpar46) August 19, 2021
The Cost Of Being Unvaccinated Just Went Up — Most Insurers Are Passing Costs Back To Patients As Covid Hospitalizations Soar – Forbes https://t.co/3Yd2FLGaOR
— Michael F Ozaki MD (@brontyman) August 20, 2021
… While Covid-19 vaccines and most coronavirus tests are supposed to be free, Americans hospitalized with coronavirus can still be billed for care. Even with comprehensive coverage, the usual suite of deductibles, copayments and coinsurance apply, and many of those admitted to a hospital have received surprise bills of astronomical sizes upon leaving. With Covid-19 cases and hospital admissions surging—primarily among unvaccinated people across the country—and waivers coming to an end, it is likely that many people will be receiving bills for treatment. New waivers are possible—some due to expire in October are pegged to the ending of the federal Public Health Emergency—though perhaps unlikely given the availability of free vaccines that are highly effective at preventing serious illness and hospitalization. Many believe vaccine holdouts should have to pay more for their health insurance and employers are reportedly considering raising premiums to try and employees to get the shot. Polling suggests Americans are neatly divided on the issue, with around half (49%) in favor of employers charging unvaccinated people more for insurance. Of those opposing, 73% were not vaccinated…
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What is being done to distribute COVID-19 vaccines globally? Groups are working to get shots to poor countries, but they’re falling short of what's needed to curb outbreaks. https://t.co/Wk4cDe61TD
— The Associated Press (@AP) August 19, 2021
Indian drug regulator panel recommends Cadila's COVID-19 vaccine – CNBC-TV18 https://t.co/nDVuTyEWme pic.twitter.com/CylZsGD5qT
— Reuters (@Reuters) August 20, 2021
Japan plans to dramatically ramp up daily COVID-19 tests, borrowing from anti-contagion measures used in the recent Tokyo Olympics, as it battles its worst wave of infections, driven by the Delta variant https://t.co/NWLccx2Wnd pic.twitter.com/9Bcq8tA9oH
— Reuters (@Reuters) August 20, 2021
S.Korea extends social distancing, allows fully vaccinated some leeway https://t.co/Fy2vpwDekt pic.twitter.com/BYTF3D0nNF
— Reuters (@Reuters) August 20, 2021
Vietnam's biggest city issues stay-home order as COVID-19 deaths soar https://t.co/ZXTC8V5VPl pic.twitter.com/emAYrzBtJK
— Reuters (@Reuters) August 20, 2021
Sri Lankans seek full COVID lockdown ahead of president's address https://t.co/dVhViuV017 pic.twitter.com/k3hsPt41er
— Reuters (@Reuters) August 20, 2021
Covid: Sydney extends lockdown and puts two million under curfew https://t.co/BTHX2hs8RK
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) August 20, 2021
New Zealand’s #COVID19 cluster now has 10 confirmed patients and has now been linked to the Delta variant outbreak in Sydney; the country entered a “snap lockdown” this week after a single case was confirmed. https://t.co/QMFhcpILqO
— Global Health NOW (@ghn_news) August 19, 2021
Despite the NYTimes headlines, it’s too soon to panic about the news out of Israel:
Israeli doctors find severe COVID-19 breakthrough cases mostly in older, sicker patients https://t.co/YvFL2QFesS pic.twitter.com/skdYKZasuh
— Reuters (@Reuters) August 20, 2021
… Around half of the country’s 600 patients presently hospitalized with severe illness have received two doses of the Pfizer Inc shot, a rare occurrence out of 5.4 million fully vaccinated people.
The majority of these patients received two vaccine doses at least five months ago, are over the age of 60 and also have chronic illnesses known to exacerbate a coronavirus infection. They range from diabetes to heart disease and lung ailments, as well as cancers and inflammatory diseases that are treated with immune-system suppressing drugs, according to Reuters interviews with 11 doctors, health specialists and officials…
“The vaccinated patients are older, unhealthy, often they were bedridden before infection, immobile and already requiring nursing care,” said Noa Eliakim-Raz, head of the coronavirus ward at Rabin Medical Centre in Petach Tikva.
In contrast, “the unvaccinated COVID patients we see are young, healthy, working people and their condition deteriorates rapidly,” she said. “Suddenly they’re being put on oxygen or on a respirator.”…
In Israel, daily new cases have increased from the single digits in June to around 8,000 since the arrival of Delta. Approximately half of the cases – the majority of them mild to moderate – are in vaccinated people.
Those vaccinated first in Israel were at high-risk, including people age 60 and up. The immune response of some may have weakened by the time Delta hit Israel. But for others with underlying health conditions, the vaccine may have not kicked in at all.
“For some of them the vaccine did not trigger an immune response, they had no antibodies, because of the illness itself or because they are treated with medication that suppresses the immune system,” said Dror Mevorach, who heads the coronavirus ward at Hadassah hospital in Jerusalem. He cited examples such as chronic lymphocytic leukemia and lymphoma.
Among 3 million vaccinated Israelis covered by Clalit, the country’s largest healthcare provider, 600 have suffered severe breakthrough cases since June. Around 75% of them were above the age of 70 and were at least 5 months after their second dose, according to Ran Balicer, Clalit’s chief innovation officer. Nearly all of them have chronic illnesses…
Even without boosters, Israeli doctors say that vaccinated patients tend to recover more quickly.
“The vaccinated patients I’ve treated usually left the ICU in about three days. The unvaccinated patients took a week or two until they stabilized,” said Yael Haviv-Yadid, head of the critical care ward at Sheba Medical Centre near Tel Aviv…
If you’re immunocompromised, go get your booster shot. If you’re over 65 and/or have comorbidities, IMO, stay masked up & wait for further details. And I say that as someone who’s very much in those categories!
Covid is just one of Afghanistan's many health concerns https://t.co/1iaj48pR0N
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) August 19, 2021
… Gauging the spread of the coronavirus in Afghanistan has always been difficult because of a lack of testing. The average daily number of reported new cases peaked in late June at more than 2,000 and has since fallen sharply, according to the Our World in Data project at the University of Oxford. But it is likely that the figures do not reflect the actual spread of the virus.
Afghanistan’s vaccination efforts have struggled since they began in the spring, harassed by corruption, limited public health resources and widespread public skepticism. According to Our World in Data, less than 2 percent of Afghanistan’s population has been vaccinated…
The developers of Russia’s Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine said they have developed a modified version of the jab for the highly contagious Delta varianthttps://t.co/tHliAKbDfz
— The Moscow Times (@MoscowTimes) August 19, 2021
… Health Minister Mikhail Murashko has said that the original Sputnik V vaccine is 83% effective against the Delta variant.
The Russian Direct Investment Fund that funds Sputnik V has said that Gamaleya would publish a peer-reviewed study on the jab’s efficacy against Covid-19 mutations by May, but the institute has not yet done so.
Russia continues to see record-setting coronavirus deaths as the Delta variant, first identified in India, sweeps across the nation. The country’s excess fatality toll is one of the highest in the world, both in absolute terms and adjusted for population size.
Russia has grappled with a stuttering vaccination campaign despite offering four domestically made vaccines at no cost and several regions introducing mandatory vaccinations for public-facing workers.
Just 22.9% of the country’s population has received two vaccine doses as of Thursday, according to independent monitors.
The Africa director for the World Health Organization says the decisions by rich countries like the U.S. to roll out COVID-19 booster shots while few in Africa have received any jabs 'make a mockery of vaccine equity.' https://t.co/TbeIWVNsib
— AP Africa (@AP_Africa) August 19, 2021
Mexico battles surge in COVID-19 cases as deaths top 250,000 https://t.co/hUTEYigAMH pic.twitter.com/BQ0A3hi7Df
— Reuters (@Reuters) August 20, 2021
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#Covid is a pain in the butt; no doubt about it.
But wow! How far we've come with vaccines in such a short time! (Need to go further & faster!)
At this point in 2020, Phase 3 trials were just starting. A year later, 4.85B (B!) doses have been given.
(Source: Bloomberg tracker) pic.twitter.com/Qcvv2o4qwN— Helen Branswell (@HelenBranswell) August 19, 2021
Want to get free monoclonal antibodies????
Get your vaccine! You will make them yourself! #VaccinesWork #covid19
— Agnieszka Solberg MD (@AgnesSolberg) August 19, 2021
PS. I'm aware vaccination causes polyclonal antibodies which target many portions of the antigen, not just one. Monoclonal ab are produced ex vivo. The tweet was intended to be humorous. Don't get your unders in a bunch now…
Still #VaccinesWork #GetYourJab #GetYourShot
— Agnieszka Solberg MD (@AgnesSolberg) August 19, 2021
Be the monoclonal factories you want to see in the world
— Brandon Mizroch, MD (@Branmiz25) August 19, 2021
A+ idea: When there's an outbreak connected to a gathering, workplace, church, etc, there should be a strong, targeted vaccination campaign all around it.
Depressing to learn that vaccination campaigns peaked in April in the US.
By @cmyeaton @kj_seung https://t.co/mabg67otMo— Amy Maxmen, PhD (@amymaxmen) August 19, 2021
Interferons are potent natural antivirals the immune system uses to fight viruses. Clinical tests of IFs for Covid had mixed results. But IFs play different roles in upper & lower resp'tory tract & now scientists say specific IFs are needed to fight Covid https://t.co/a7R1NsrOmx pic.twitter.com/B18IeBLRw5
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) August 20, 2021
Mix-n-match: Small study suggests that mixing different vaccine brands for Covid shots & booster produces robust antibody levels https://t.co/Io7VjZWpgx
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) August 19, 2021
In a sidebar to the article's sidebar, these are numbers I've wondered about.
Infection requires fewer than 10 viral particles. Wear your mask. pic.twitter.com/7fUXKUMQA6
— Cheryl Rofer (@CherylRofer) August 19, 2021
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? Breaking news – California to require vaccine verification for all indoor events with 1000+ people, and will no longer allow self-attestation effective Sept 20
?? https://t.co/2EDXVIbOjD pic.twitter.com/ouFbbImOZs— Christopher A. Longhurst (@calonghurst) August 18, 2021
Coronavirus cases are surging in the U.S. Gulf Coast. Health officials believe the spike is due to low vaccination rates, unabated tourism and a disregard for health precautions at a time when the mutated virus is more contagious than ever. https://t.co/UigOe80CVw
— The Associated Press (@AP) August 19, 2021
An Alabama doctor says he will no longer see general practice patients who aren’t vaccinated against COVID.
On the first day he posted the notice, “all 3 unvaccinated patients on my schedule asked where they could get their vaccine.”https://t.co/v5aEoz61vE
— Frank Luntz (@FrankLuntz) August 19, 2021
Hospitals are overflowing with COVID patients in northeast Florida, the hot zone in the state's latest surge. But the patients rapidly filling wards in Jacksonville are younger than last summer’s peak outbreak. https://t.co/CHFzVBbBoL
— The Associated Press (@AP) August 20, 2021
Mississippi quarantines 20,000 pupils at start of new school year https://t.co/UzOFSwHP56
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) August 19, 2021
Anyone who wants to eat, drink or exercise indoors in San Francisco must show they are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 as one of the nation’s most stringent restrictions on unvaccinated people takes effect. https://t.co/9VDBn6VRcv
— The Associated Press (@AP) August 20, 2021
San Francisco has clearly turned the corner (not that it can't un-turn if we get careless). Cases/d in city now 192, down from peak of 289 last month (Fig L). Hospitalizations stable (# lags). @UCSFHospitals, asymptomatic test + rate, which peaked at 3%, now 1.3% (R). Keep it up! pic.twitter.com/ACuaQKIjMQ
— Bob Wachter (@Bob_Wachter) August 19, 2021
Another GOP Death Cultist scrambling to catch up…
Georgia Gov. Kemp signs executive order preventing local officials from requiring businesses to enact Covid-related mandates and other restrictions aimed at limiting the virus' spread. https://t.co/MNpFeFhbxd
— NBC News (@NBCNews) August 20, 2021
Per the Census Bureau, 50% of unvaccinated adults in Texas are White (non-Hispanic)
There are 3 unvaccinated White adults for every 1 unvaccinated Black adult in Texas
1 in 3 #COVID19 cases in Texas have been among White individuals
Oh yeah, and Dan Patrick is a racist. https://t.co/CoLmAM3G9d
— Jorge A. Caballero, MD (@DataDrivenMD) August 20, 2021
YY_Sima Qian
On 8/19 China reported 4 new domestic confirmed cases (0 previously asymptomatic) & 0 new domestic asymptomatic cases.
Yunnan Province reported 2 new domestic confirmed cases (both mild, both Burmese nationals), at Ruili in Dehong Prefecture. Both have already been under centralized quarantine. 2 domestic confirmed cases recovered. There currently are 44 active domestic confirmed cases there. 1 community at Ruili remains at High Risk. 2 villages at Ruili remain at Medium Risk.
Jiangsu Province reported 2 new domestic confirmed cases. 29 domestic confirmed cases recovered. There are currently 657 active domestic confirmed & 1 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the province.
Hunan Province did not reported any new domestic positive cases. 2 domestic confirmed cases recovered & 1 domestic asymptomatic case was released from isolation. There are currently are 101 active domestic confirmed (including 3 serious) & 15 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the province.
Henan Province did not reported any new domestic positive cases. 4 domestic confirmed cases recovered. There are currently 144 active domestic confirmed & 1 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the province.
Hubei Province did not reported any new domestic positive cases. There currently are 86 active domestic confirmed (38 mild, 47 moderate & 1 serious) & 67 active domestic asymptomatic cases in the province.
Shanghai Municipality did not report any new domestic positive cases. There currently are 2 active domestic confirmed cases in the city, an airport worker & a medical staff at a hospital. 1 residential compound remains at Medium Risk.
At Hulun Buir in Inner Mongolia “Autonomous” Region there currently is 1 active domestic confirmed case (at Hailar). The Medium Risk residential compound has been re-designated as Medium Risk.
Alashankou border crossing in Xinjiang “Autonomous” Region did not report any new domestic positive cases. There currently are 3 domestic asymptomatic cases in the city.
Imported Cases
On 8/19, China reported 29 new imported confirmed cases (2 previously asymptomatic), 30 imported asymptomatic cases, 2 imported suspect cases:
Overall in China, 82 confirmed cases recovered (44 imported), 19 asymptomatic cases were released from isolation (18 imported) & 2 were reclassified as confirmed cases (both imported), & 1,871 individuals were released from quarantine. Currently, there are 1,817 active confirmed cases in the country (744 imported), 54 in serious condition (12 imported), 517 active asymptomatic cases (418 imported), 2 suspect cases (both imported). 40,859 traced contacts are currently under centralized quarantine.
As of 8/19, 1,912.419M vaccine doses have been injected in Mainland China, an increase of 12.292M doses in the past 24 hrs.
On 8/20, Hong Kong reported 2 new positive cases, both imported (from Germany & Russia, doubled vaccinated w/ the BioNTech & the Sputnik-V, respectively).
NeenerNeener
Monroe County, NY:
197 new cases.
Doesn’t look like we’re anywhere near a plateau yet.
mrmoshpotato
Well, he did steal the governorship, so not that surprising that he’d put Georgians at risk too.
rikyrah
Never forget
Dan Patrick was the original
OLD PEOPLE SHOULD BE READY TO DIE FOR THE ECONOMY???
Person. Heard that shyt first from him.
mrmoshpotato
@rikyrah: Yup. And he should throw himself into the Sun – for the economy.
topclimber
Re: Dan Patrick. I remember a bio of Bush the Lesser that said the Lt. Governor is actually the power in Texas, with the governor more of a figurehead. Did I get that right?
Abbott sucks but he was not the one basically telling older folks they should be willing to die for the sake of a robust economy for their grandchildren. That was ex-radio host Patrick.
I see other great minds got there before I did.
Mary G
Oregon is in dire shape with full hospitals and a patient died in the ER while waiting for an ICU bed.
OC numbers depressing but still have 21.4% ICU beds empty and 74% of our ventilator stock is not in use. Vaccines are rising very slowly.
the pollyanna from hell
Observation of unmasking: at our bj meet-up wed in lodo denver drinking establishment masking was at five per cent, and I was most of that five per cent. I felt a little braver because air currents on the second floor veranda were made visible by the misters that were cooling things off.
Robert Sneddon
@Mary G: Anecdotal, friend of a friend of a friend so take that into account but — someone’s nephew works in a sawmill in Oregon. Lots of unvaccinated Young Immortals work in that sort of a place of course, the virus hits and the sawmill had to close temporarily since many of the workers were off sick. From the nephew’s report, three of his co-workers are in an ICU in an Idaho hospital because there was nowhere closer with beds available.
Amir Khalid
I went to the University of Malaya Medical Centre today for a blood test ahead of a follow-up appointment scheduled for next week. There, I learned that they could not take the blood sample: my appointment at the clinic, already postponed from May to August, had been postponed again — this time to March 2022 — because of Covid-19. Not the first time I’ve had an appointment posrponed because of the pandemic. Sigh.
debbie
@rikyrah:
Quite the trio: Abbott, Patrick, Paxton. My mind’s eye sees that Durer etching about the Horseman of the Apocalypse. Numbers may not match, but the intent’s certainly there.
debbie
High school football starts this weekend, each one a potential superspreader event. I can’t even.
New Deal democrat
Today’s data dump from Florida is probably going to put average US deaths close to 1000/day for the past week. What will be of more interest for the immediate future is if the growth in new cases has slowed or possibly even plateaued (as there is some evidence of).
Seven States now show a plateau or an outright decline w/w in cases. Seven more show only slow growth. So increasing signs the Delta wave is nearing peak (yes that may be mainly due to behavioral changes).
Of even more interest, the Red Cross has been testing donated blood for COVID antibodies since June 2020. Positive rates were 1.4% in July 2020, 4% in October, 12% in January, and 21% by March.
But here’s the real kicker: according to Dr. Michael Busch, 60% to 70% of current blood donors are vaccinated, but *more than 90%* of all donations have antibodies to COVID. Meaning 2/3’s to 3/4’s of the *unvaccinated* show signs of past infection.
If this is true, we are much closer to herd immunity than we think.
Suzanne
@rikyrah:
Oh, never fear: I remember that shit.
Still waiting for Dan Patrick to take his own advice.
Amir Khalid
Malaysia’s Director-General of Health Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah reports a record 23,564 new Covid-19 cases today in his media statement, for a cumulative reported total of 1,513,024 cases. He also reports 233 new deaths today, for a cumulative total of 13,713 deaths — 0.91% of the cumulative reported total, 1.09% of resolved cases.
There are currently 257,417 active and contagious cases; 1,062 are in ICU, 518 of them on ventilators. Meanwhile, 21,448 more patients have recovered, for a cumulative total of 1,241,874 patients recovered – 82.08% of the cumulative reported total.
38 new clusters were reported today, for a cumulative total of 4,386 clusters. 1,422 clusters are currently active; 2,964 clusters are now inactive.
23,541 new cases today are local infections. Selangor reports 6,972 local cases: 577 in clusters, 3,356 close-contact screenings, and 3,039 other screenings.
Sabah reports 2,738 cases: 172 in clusters, 1,616 close-contact screenings, and 950 other screenings. Sarawak reports 2,545 local cases: 407 in clusters, 1,569 close-contact screenings, and 569 other screenings.
Kedah reports 1,932 cases: 29 in clusters, 1,175 close-contact screenings, and 728 other screenings. Kuala Lumpur reports 1,634 local cases: 192 in clusters, 782 close-contact screenings, and 660 other screenings. Penang reports 1,523 cases: 268 in clusters, 433 close-contact screenings, and 822 other screenings.
Johor reports 1,323 cases: 212 in clusters, 658 close-contact screenings, and 453 other screenings. Kelantan reports 1,281 cases: 171 in clusters, 792 close-contact screenings, and 318 other screenings. Perak reports 1,248 cases: 92 in clusters, 569 close-contact screenings, and 587 other screenings.
Melaka reports 610 cases: 146 in clusters, 255 close-contact screenings, and 209 other screenings. Negeri Sembilan reports 608 cases: 39 in clusters, 343 close-contact screenings, and 226 other screenings.
Terengganu reports 521 cases: 50 in clusters, 391 close-contact screenings, and 80 other screenings. Pahang reports 517 cases: 99 in clusters, 334 close-contact screenings, and 84 other screenings.
Perlis reports 64 cases: six in clusters, 13 close-contact screenings, and 45 other screenings. Putrajaya reports 24 cases: 15 close-contact screenings and nine other screenings. Labuan reports one case, found in other screening.
23 new cases today are imported: 18 in Kuala Lumpur, three in Sarawak, and two in Selangor.
The National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme (PICK) administered 518,912 doses of vaccine on 19th August: 180,810 first doses and 336,882 second doses. As of midnight yesterday, the cumulative total is 29,886,548 doses administered: 17,806,570 first doses and 12,079,978 second doses. 54.5% of the population have received their first dose, while 37.0% are now fully vaccinated.
Ken
A couple of comments in one of yesterday’s threads said that Texas has decided not to fight schools that impose mask mandates. Any more news about that?
burnspbesq
@Ken:
The Texas Supreme Court allowed the existing TROs to remain in effect for now, without ruling on the merits, because Paxton made a fundamental, dumbass procedural error that any first-year law student would know not to make.
marklar
@debbie: Just add Cruz as the 4th.
burnspbesq
Meanwhile, Florida school boards are increasingly giving DeSantis the finger.
https://www.vox.com/22632283/ron-desantis-school-board-revolt-masks-joe-biden-miami-dade-broward-palm-beach-hillsborough
MontyTheClipArtMongoose
@Mary G: antivaxxxia blues!
my name is wakefield
& i’m carrying the will
MontyTheClipArtMongoose
@debbie: you down with a.p.p.?
Scout211
And also in Florida . . .
https://abcnews.go.com/Health/sick-covid-patients-lie-floor-antibody-treatment-site/story?id=79551329
DeSantis’ great monoclonal antibodies clinics are attracting very sick patients who are avoiding going to the hospitals. Waiting for treatment, they lie on the floor because they are too sick to stand in line. Some of the clinics are now bringing in wheelchairs. But these patients really should be in the hospital. We’ll done, Floriduh man!
Ken
@Scout211: So will we be seeing a new version of that nurse’s “Honey, it’s too late for the vaccine”? “Honey, it’s too late for the antibody treatment”?
Robert Sneddon
Scotland — 3,613 new cases of COVID-19 reported with nine new reported deaths of someone who had tested positive. Test positivity rate is 10.6%. Hospitalisations and ICU bed occupancy numbers remain stable(ish).
Just under 17,000 vaccinations were administered in Scotland yesterday (Thursday) with about 15% of those vaccinations being first doses. 79.2% of the 18+ adult population are now fully vaccinated with another 11.6% having received their initial dose of vaccine. 16 and 17 year olds are now at 34.5% first dose and 8.1% second dose. The second dose vaccinations are nearly all attributable to vulnerable teens under the age of 18 who were vaccinated earlier as part of the initial effort to vaccinate immunocompromised and special-needs children and others seen to be at elevated risk.
Ohio Mom
Cheryl Rofer’s text says than less than ten virus particles is all it takes?!!!
If I am reading this correctly, that is extremely discouraging even for a vaccinated and masked person (me).
Sloane Ranger
On a personal note, I have been pinged by the COVID app again as having been in contact with a COVID positive person, but the government has changed the rules so, unlike last time, as a fully vaccinated person I no longer have to self isolate (unless I have symptoms, which I don’t) but am advised to get a PCR test. I sent off for the home test kit this morning and will be self isolating anyway until I get the results back. I hope it’s negative as I have organised a get together for a few friends for Sunday week, which I will probably have to cancel otherwise.
Anyway, Thursday in the UK we had 36,572 new cases. This is an increase of 7.8% in the rolling 7-day average. New cases by nation,
England – 29,762 (up 1114)
Northern Ireland – 1963 (up 618)
Scotland – 3367 (up 829)
Wales – 1480 (up 107).
Deaths – There were 113 deaths within 28 days of a positive test yesterday. This is an increase of 9.6% in the rolling 7-day average. 95 deaths were in England, 9 in Northern Ireland, 7 in Scotland and 2 in Wales.
Testing – 808,235 tests took place on Wednesday, 18 August. This is a decrease of 1.6% in the rolling 7-day average. The PCR testing capacity reported by labs on that date was 723,889.
Hospitalisations – On Wednesday, 18 August there were 6379 people in hospital and 909 on ventilators. The rolling 7-day average for hospital admissions was up by 5.6% as of 15 August.
Vaccinations – As of Wednesday, 18 August, 47,460,526 people had received 1 jab and 41,157,069 had had both. Vaccination data now includes 16 and 17 year olds so the percentage vaccinated shows a decrease which reflects this. So 87.3% of all people aged 16 and over had had 1 shot as of that date and 75.7% were fully vaccinated
Oh, plus the government health people have now passed the monoclonal antibody treatment for UK residents.
Miss Bianca
@debbie: Yeah, our school superintendent has been blithely urging everyone to come out for Friday! Night! Lights! tonight under the school’s brand new football lights, and I am all like, “AS IF, MF”. (Not that I would go to a HS football game voluntarily anyway, but I wouldn’t want to bet against this event being the kick-off event for a Delta outbreak at the school.)
Ken
@Miss Bianca: “28 teams in the district ended the season with a 1-0 record, and 28 with a 0-1 record. Officials are examining playoff options….”
smith
@burnspbesq: Other than the obvious gain in safety for kids, another good thing about a bunch of school boards defying Abbott and DeSantis and getting away with it is that it makes the governors look weak, an unforgivable sin among the Goobers.
laura
@MontyTheClipArtMongoose: Ya, you know me!
J R in WV
@Amir Khalid:
Annoying, but on the other hand, glad you hear you are mobile and active. Take care!
Why couldn’t they set a low level clerical staffer down with the appointment book and a phone? Duh~!!~ Would protect the health of everyone out and about to no end…
J R in WV
@burnspbesq:
But how does a person under multiple indictments continue to serve as AG in any state? I guess they need a trial to see if he can continue in that position from inside a jail?
Sister Golden Bear
About San Francisco, it’s worth noting that 2-3 weeks ago, 300+ bars jointly announced they were voluntarily began requiring proof of vax for customers to enter.
Also, local medical experts think the Delta wave is already peaking. Which I’m sure is totally unrelated to the Bay Area’s high vaccination rate — don’t know about SF, but San Mateo County is 85%+ — and generally high rates of mask-wearing.
TKH
@New Deal democrat: This is a biased sample because of the people who donate blood. Same data taken at random on a parking lot at a supermarket where, miraculously, everybody were to agree to give a sample, I might be willing to buy in.
There is no benefit to lying to ourselves about where we are in the pandemic. Rona, like the honey badger, don’t care.