Help spread the word: From May 24 until July 4, Uber and Lyft will offer everyone in America free rides to and from COVID-19 vaccination sites.
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) May 18, 2021
6 out of 10 American adults have received at least one vaccine shot; 47.6% are now fully vaccinated.
84.6% of Americans age 65 or older have received at least one shot; 72.8% are now fully vaccinated. pic.twitter.com/acGy9JBUtg
— Patrick Chovanec (@prchovanec) May 19, 2021
White House coronavirus response senior adviser Andy Slavitt urged young Americans to get vaccinated after revealing that his son is battling long-haul COVID-19 symptoms. "…Six months later, he stills suffers…" https://t.co/oqGRMOtJMw pic.twitter.com/4nLs9ABFhv
— NBC10 Philadelphia (@NBCPhiladelphia) May 18, 2021
The US had +27,506 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 today, bringing the total closer to 33.8 million. The 7-day moving average declined to just over 31,000 new cases per day, its lowest level since last June 22. pic.twitter.com/x8gHVxO65l
— Patrick Chovanec (@prchovanec) May 19, 2021
Dr. Anthony Fauci says it’s “reasonable and understandable” some businesses and localities are maintaining mask requirements because they can’t be sure who is vaccinated. Fauci says masks protect the unvaccinated from each other. https://t.co/ZNAYtvUy4P
— The Associated Press (@AP) May 18, 2021
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Pandemic to be deadlier this year, WHO warns. "We're on track for the 2nd year…to be far more deadly than the 1st," said the agency's director-general Dr. Tedros. A Covid state of emergency in Japan has led to a petition to cancel the Olympics https://t.co/A6B5EFSD1q pic.twitter.com/KLLgNxZVyo
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) May 18, 2021
Estimated excess mortality during the pandemic far outstripped officially reported Covid deaths in most countries. However, many countries, and in particular low- and middle- income countries, don’t estimate excess deaths https://t.co/v5ox3RyDjL 1/
— Dr. Tom Frieden (@DrTomFrieden) May 18, 2021
Most uncounted Covid deaths occurred in LMICs. In OECD countries, the true death toll was estimated to be 1.2 times the official number; in parts of Africa, it was estimated to be 14 times the official number. 3/
— Dr. Tom Frieden (@DrTomFrieden) May 18, 2021
Though @JoeBiden called for renouncing patent protections on #COVID19 #vaccines, the rest of the G20 has, predictably, said NOPE, not gonna happen. https://t.co/87OJYqkraj
— Laurie Garrett (@Laurie_Garrett) May 18, 2021
The Serum Institute of India says it hopes to start delivering coronavirus vaccine doses to the U.N.-backed effort known as COVAX and other countries by the end of the year. That will significantly delay global efforts to immunize people against COVID-19. https://t.co/rhX44GWcOo
— The Associated Press (@AP) May 18, 2021
India reports 267,334 new coronavirus infections https://t.co/yg7FfD3ppW pic.twitter.com/YumfdMTp0a
— Reuters (@Reuters) May 19, 2021
India's holiest river is swollen with Covid victims https://t.co/SYoDMemKvx
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) May 19, 2021
Serum Institute of India was going to vaccinate the world. Then #Covid19 took on India. @sciencecohen examines the fallout. https://t.co/n3sJfeYbdW
— Helen Branswell (@HelenBranswell) May 18, 2021
Misinformation is surging amid India's Covid calamity that is killing thousands of people. What are some of the lies that people are being told? A few drops of lemon juice in the nose will cure Covid19. https://t.co/40agQ45vXK via @medical_xpress https://t.co/40agQ45vXK .
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) May 18, 2021
The Chinese vaccination program is really getting underway now. pic.twitter.com/KQ4DsYmP6h
— Mike Bird (@Birdyword) May 19, 2021
Across much of Asia, taxi drivers are starved for customers, weddings are suddenly canceled, schools are closed and restaurant service is restricted as the coronavirus comes surging back in countries where it had once seemed to be well under control. https://t.co/xGlSGb6Cf7
— The Associated Press (@AP) May 19, 2021
Experts cast doubt on claims by top Indian official that new Covid variant has been detected in Singapore https://t.co/7kJYnqAH9m
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) May 19, 2021
Most Japanese medical workers still not fully vaccinated as Olympics loom https://t.co/L34uyFz3xN pic.twitter.com/3pKzaHeXuO
— Reuters (@Reuters) May 19, 2021
Taiwan raises COVID alert islandwide, but gets vaccine boost https://t.co/MiXTicrdHL pic.twitter.com/gTBMt2Hl91
— Reuters (@Reuters) May 19, 2021
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said it was still not safe to allow residents fully vaccinated for COVID-19 to travel overseas https://t.co/5fdonALzdP pic.twitter.com/0Z7TEniPUI
— Reuters (@Reuters) May 19, 2021
The UAE plans to offer a third Sinopharm shot to people who’ve already got two doses, amid concerns over the efficacy of the vaccine https://t.co/S4JInxEjKW
— Bloomberg (@business) May 18, 2021
Russia on Wednesday confirmed 7,920 new coronavirus cases, bringing the total number of reported infections to 4,965,676 https://t.co/ElMGpo5DjS
— The Moscow Times (@MoscowTimes) May 19, 2021
The COVID-19 variant first identified in India could threaten Britain's plans to ease pandemic restrictions. An @AP explainer on what we know and don't know about the variant. https://t.co/agxjk5bWvB
— AP Europe (@AP_Europe) May 18, 2021
As Greece welcomes tourists, the country is counting on salvaging this summer season to head off a wave of insolvencies among tourism businesses https://t.co/NzvhQnrCHm pic.twitter.com/fNjK21SYk5
— Reuters (@Reuters) May 19, 2021
China cuts COVID-19 vaccine ingredient shipment to Brazil https://t.co/aKiGB2yp1e pic.twitter.com/EF4gRUDqvd
— Reuters (@Reuters) May 19, 2021
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"No single vaccine manufacturer can produce enough vaccines to cover the globe, and demand has far outstripped supply," writes @Anthony_So888. https://t.co/52eULx7epx
— Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health (@JohnsHopkinsSPH) May 18, 2021
How long does #COVID19 #vaccine-induced immunity last? Well, so far there's no sign mRNA vaccine antibodies are waning, after 6 months. We won't know the durability of response until it wanes — and with luck, that could be years from now.https://t.co/kgJKnvzatF
— Laurie Garrett (@Laurie_Garrett) May 18, 2021
An estimated 1 in 1000 youngsters experience multi-system inflammatory response in children—MIS-C— about 4 to 6 wks after infection w/ SARSCoV2. Now scientists at Yale have an explanation why children are stricken w/ this rare & sometimes deadly condition https://t.co/I4MAkf6vw0
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) May 18, 2021
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Vaccinated New Yorkers can shed their masks in most situations, and businesses can go back to full occupancy if all patrons are inoculated. But residents have mixed views about whether the city is getting back to normal or whether normal is even possible. https://t.co/BJUvIRIoqU
— The Associated Press (@AP) May 19, 2021
Most government entities in Texas — including counties, cities and public health authorities — will soon be prohibited from requiring people to wear masks, Gov. Greg Abbott announced on Tuesday. https://t.co/35hAosk0Iv
— The New York Times (@nytimes) May 19, 2021
rikyrah
Thank you for the information. I read this post every morning.
YY_Sima Qian
On 5/18 China reported 0 new domestic confirmed & 1 new domestic asymptomatic cases.
Anhui Province report 1 domestic asymptomatic case. There are 7 domestic confirmed & 10 domestic asymptomatic cases in the province.
Liaoning Province did not reported any new domestic positive cases. There are 13 domestic confirmed & 5 domestic asymptomatic cases in the province.
In Yunnan Province, there currently are 15 domestic confirmed & 3 domestic asymptomatic cases.
Imported Cases
On 5/18 China reported 14 new imported confirmed cases, 12 imported asymptomatic cases:
Overall in China, 13 confirmed cases recovered, 14 asymptomatic cases were released from isolation & 3 were reclassified as confirmed cases, and 483 individuals were released from quarantine. Currently, there are 296 active confirmed cases in the country (261 imported), 3 in serious condition (2 imported), 345 asymptomatic cases (327 imported), 1 suspect case (imported). 7,293 traced contacts are currently under centralized quarantine.
As of 5/18, 435.689M vaccine doses have been injected in Mainland China, an increase of 13.698M doses in the past 24 hrs.
On 5/19, Hong Kong reported 1 new case, imported (from India).
mrmoshpotato
Woo boy! ?♂️ FreeDUMB!
NeenerNeener
Monroe County, NY stats:
128 new cases – 62.5% were people under 40, including 32 children between 0 and 19
1267 COVID deaths since March 2020
3% test positivity
193 people hospitalized, 47 in the ICU
53.9% with at least 1 jab
47.2% fully vaccinated
Our total new cases have started going down again but that’s happened before and it didn’t last.
Baud
@rikyrah:
I’ll know Covid is behind us when AL stops doing these posts.
Rusty
AL, thank you for continuing these daily posts. A particular thanks for the article on pediatric inflammatory syndrome. Our youngest ended up hospitalized last year with this. It’s good to see they are starting to understand why these kids react so severely. Saturday he got his first vaccine shot. We aren’t going to be really over the pandemic until we can vaccinate all the kids.
Suzanne
@rikyrah: Agreed. These posts are an integral part of my morning doomscrolling routine.
Cermet
Still waiting for the death rate to fall – understand the time lag but it is depressing. Interesting, a plane crash generates vast news yet we have two wide body jet crashes of death every day and it is just ho-hum, not hardly news.
Suzanne
Balloon Juice: an essential part of your morning doomscroll.
Rotating tag!
Amir Khalid
Malaysia’s Director-General of Heath Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah reports 6,075 new Covid-19 cases today in his media statement, beating the record set on 30th January, for a cumulative reported total of 485,496 cases. He also reports 46 new deaths today, for a cumulative total of 2,040 deaths — 0.42% of the cumulative reported total, 0.47% of resolved cases.
There are currently 47,340 active and contagious cases; 559 are in ICU, 303 of them intubated. Meanwhile, 3,516 patients recovered and were discharged, for a cumulative total of 436,116 patients recovered – 89.83% of the cumulative reported total.
22 new clusters were reported today: Industri Bukit Raja, Jalan 223 PJ, Jalan Kenanga Pertama, and Jalan Pusara in Selangor; Jalan Endap Sawit and Stunggang in Sarawak; Jalan Tanjung Kupang, Jalan Timah Empat, and Jalan Senduduk Satu in Johor; Jalan Tuan Hitam in Terengganu; Paya Rumput Utama and Jalan Inang in Melaka; Victoria Merdeka in Labuan; Jalan Kampung Bakau in Perlis; Kampung Tanjung Jejulok and Kampung Keranji in Kelantan; Kampung Limau and Taman Sri Rampai in Kuala Lumpur; Pagar Sungai Imam, Muhibbah Dua, and Kolopis in Sabah; and Kampung Batu Tiga in Perak.
Stunggang, Kampung Tanjung Jejulok, Kampung Limau, Pagar Sungai Imam, Muhibbah Dua, Kolopis, and Jalan Inang are community clusters. Jalan Kenanga Pertama, Jalan Pusara, Jalan Timah Empat, Taman Sri Rampai, Kampung Keranji, and Kampung Batu Tiga are religious clusters. Jalan Senduduk Satu is an education cluster at a Ministry of Education school. The rest are workplace clusters.
6,072 new cases today are local infections. Selangor reports 2,250 local cases: 302 in clusters, 1,481 close-contact screenings, and 467 other screenings. Johor reports 699 cases: 257 in clusters, 254 close-contact screenings, and 88 other screenings. Kuala Lumpur reports 659 local cases: 95 in clusters, 348 close-contact screenings, and 216 other screenings.
Kedah reports 445 cases: 32 in clusters, 296 close-contact screenings, and 117 other screenings. Kelantan reports 441 cases: 66 in clusters, 276 close-contact screenings, and 99 other screenings.
Sarawak reports 323 cases: 32 in clusters, 207 close-contact screenings, and 84 other screenings. Perak reports 220 cases: 57 in clusters, 119 close-contact screenings, and 44 other screenings. Terengganu reports 203 cases: 134 in clusters, 57 close-contact screenings, and 12 other screenings.
Negeri Sembilan reports 189 cases: 18 in clusters, 112 close-contact screenings, and 59 other screenings. Penang reports 183 cases: 30 in clusters, 52 close-contact screenings, and 101 other screenings. Sabah reports 160 cases: 65 in clusters, 67 close-contact screenings, and 28 other screenings. Pahang reports 150 cases: 25 in clusters, 92 close-contact screenings, and 33 other screenings. Melaka reports 122 cases: 27 in clusters, 59 close-contact screenings, and 36 other screenings.
Labuan reports 14 cases: 13 in clusters, and one other screening. Putrajaya reports nine cases: eight close-contact screenings, and one other screening. Perlis reports six cases: two in clusters, and four close-contact screenings.
Three new cases today are imported: one in Selangor, one in Kuala Lumpur, one in Labuan.
Sloane Ranger
Tuesday in the UK we had 2412 new cases. After seeing a rise in the rolling 7-day average over the last week or so, this number has actually led to a DECREASE in the rolling 7-day average of 2.6%. But, according to a note in the stats, this is because, as far as England is concerned, “The introduction of a new system disrupted the removal of cases where a positive rapid lateral flow test (LFD) was followed by all negative laboratory (PCR) tests taken within 3 days. Therefore 4,776 additional cases have been removed today.” The cynical among us might be thinking, how convenient. New cases by nation,
England – 2008 (up 363)
Northern Ireland – 104 (up 22)
Scotland – 268 (up 107)
Wales – 32 (down 59).
Deaths – There were 7 deaths within 28 days of a positive test yesterday. This is a decrease of 27.9% in the rolling 7-day average. New deaths by nation, England – 5, Northern Ireland – 2, none in Scotland or Wales.
Testing – On Monday, 17 May, 967,126 tests were administered. This is a decrease of 8.3% in the rolling 7-day average. The PCR testing capacity estimated by labs on that date was 645,838.
Hospitalisations – As of Sunday, 16 May, 932 people were in hospital. 125 people were on ventilators on Monday, 17 May. The rolling 7-day average for hospital admissions on 12 May was down 2.1%.
Vaccinations – On 17 May, 36,811,405 people had received 1 shot of a vaccine and 20,546,452 were fully vaccinated. In percentage terms, this means that 69.9% of adults in the UK have had 1 shot and 39%, both.
General – Confusion reigns in England due to various government Ministers giving conflicting advice about travelling abroad to so called “amber” list countries, as well as unhappiness from elements of the general public about the low number of “green” list nations. Green list nations are those which you can travel to for holidays. The problem is that Australia and New Zealand won’t let you in when you get there, the Falkland Islands and South Georgia are thousands of miles away, not exactly tourist hotspots and can only be reached by travelling via “red” list countries. As for Israel, not exactly at the top of most peoples holiday destinations at the moment for obvious reasons. In fact, currently, the only country on the list that is really practical as a holiday destination is Portugal.
As far as amber list nations are concerned. It is legal to go there but you must isolate for 10 days after returning and undertake a testing regime during your isolation, but Boris is saying don’t go unless there’s a reason, like serious illness of a family member or for business that has to be conducted in person, while the Environment Minister is saying it’s fine to go providing you follow government advice on your return. This is ticking off everyone.
Catherine D.
I’m having trouble my vaccination recognized by the Excelsior pass. This is apparently not uncommon for people who were vaccinated at pharmacies and not the state or county run clinics. I did call the pharmacy yesterday to make sure they had my name and birth date uploaded correctly, so I guess I just have to wait for the Excelsior system to catch up.
Robert Sneddon
@Sloane Ranger:
That’s actually reasonable, a LFD test is a lot less accurate than a PCR test so if the second test says “no COVID-19 detected” then the first positive LFD test result can be safely ignored.
I’m taking some dark comfort from the way our lords and masters here in the UK are continuing to hammer on about how dangerous this disease is and we shouldn’t let up on precautions or start to think it’s all over. The Grand Re-opening originally scheduled for June is looking to be in doubt due to the outbreaks of the Indian variant and Boris and co. are saying that upfront rather than letting it happen willy-nilly or waiting until the last moment and only then announcing “Christmas is cancelled!”
The science advisors also warning about a forthcoming uptick in case numbers in the autumn so the government is planning for a booster vaccination program after we hopefully get most adults vaccinated by July and they’re ordering even more vaccines and building out more vaccine production in-country.
Matt McIrvin
My second Moderna shot is TOMORROW. Looking forward to moving this a little further along.
O. Felix Culpa
My sister-in-law’s 16-year-old was diagnosed positive for COVID yesterday. She hadn’t had the vaccination yet. So it’s not over, not by a long shot.
Her dad is a Republican wannabe MOTU (shorter: an asshole), but I feel sorry for the kid.
Robert Sneddon
Scotland — 394 new cases of COVID-19 reported, zero deaths. Test positivity rate is at 1.6%.
This is a big bump upwards in case numbers which have been comfortably below 300 for a few weeks now. I am presuming part of this is due to increased testing in the hotspots like central Glasgow but it’s worrying nevertheless. If there is any good news it’s that hospitalisations and ICU bed occupancy remain relatively low compared to the January period.
Vaccinations continue at a steady rate of about 41,000 a day in Scotland, with most of them being second doses as usual. Nearly everyone over the age of 50 has now received at least their first vaccination and pretty much everyone over the age of 65 is fully vaccinated with both doses. Based on the reported numbers vaccine hesitancy in older people isn’t noticeable.
Sloane Ranger
@Robert Sneddon:
Yes, this is giving me some reassurance as well. Boris seems to be taking this more seriously this time. Of course, he’s had plenty of opportunity to learn from his mistakes!
Jay
Thank you Anne and everyone else for maintaining my morning doomscroll.
it’s coming on to a year and a half, 7.8 to 12 million dead, SSDD, “we” should have been able to handle this, so much better.
Stay safe,
Stay healthy,
Wear a mask,
6 feet,
Wash your hands,
you dirty f’n animals.
Matt McIrvin
@Cermet: Massachusetts already had a big drop in the death rate at a time when, going by the case rate, it should have been rising–probably because the older demographics at high risk were so well-covered and the rise in cases was among young people. (We had relatively little vaccine hesitancy among the elderly and reserved vaccination for them longer than a lot of other states.) I’m expecting it to come down some more as the late-spring drop in case rate becomes relevant.
Matt McIrvin
@O. Felix Culpa: Right now, at least for my part of the country, the age distributions are pretty remarkable–most of the deaths and hospitalizations are old people, but the new infections are overwhelmingly happening among kids, teenagers and young adults. I’m wondering if transmission among teens will go up or down once school is out (I’m guessing down, personally).
Just getting people in their teens and twenties vaccinated will do a lot of good. Today, they already have access to vaccination, but they’re overwhelmingly not vaccinated. I know a lot of schools will be under political pressure from idiots to not mandate COVID shots, but it’ll be a big help if they can do so in the fall.
frosty
@Suzanne: My doomscrolling routine too. It’s been better since I don’t have to ask myself “What’s TFG up to today?” Small gains. Baby steps.
mrmoshpotato
@O. Felix Culpa: Sorry to hear that. I hope her case is mild with a full recovery (and vaccine).
Robert Sneddon
Interesting news here in the UK — the Government is pushing forward with clinical trials for a booster vaccination campaign based at the University of Southampton. They’re looking for about 3000 volunteers but with specific requirements in terms of age, date of original vaccination etc. who will get double-blinded supplementary vaccinations (the placebo is a meningococcus vaccine). Interestingly the booster vaccines included in the trial will include a wide range of vaccines which are in separate clinical trials or close to being approved, not just the three vaccines currently approved for use here in the UK.
The booster vaccination trial will monitor participants for about a year but any decision to roll out a booster program by the government might well take place before the trial is completed.
O. Felix Culpa
@mrmoshpotato: Thank you. I hope so too. It’s not the kid’s fault that her father is a TFG-loving asshole.
@Matt McIrvin: Hopefully they’ll be able to roll out vaccinations to the teens and twenties swiftly. I agree that mandates should be imposed, just as they are for other vaccinations in order to attend school/college.