*BIG* news month coming:
NEW: The FDA's independent advisory committee has announced 3 upcoming meetings for vaccine discussions:
– October 14: Moderna booster
– October 15: J&J booster
– October 15: Mix-and-match boosters
– October 26: Pfizer vaccine for kids 5-11https://t.co/UzEICgkRut— Benjy Renton (@bhrenton) October 1, 2021
Our first 1m+ day for vaccinations in several weeks. Vaccine requirements are helping, and those eligible are getting boosters at a rapid rate. https://t.co/5ltxGvpo2T
— Ronald Klain (@WHCOS) October 3, 2021
With the U.S. government setting COVID-19 vaccine requirements and states like New York and California imposing mandates among workers and students, some local leaders are resisting the efforts https://t.co/CbANqCrR0c pic.twitter.com/nUDbDmtlKH
— Reuters (@Reuters) October 4, 2021
Dr. Anthony Fauci says people should still get vaccinated even if Merck's Covid pill cuts deaths by a significant percentage https://t.co/ItmdyTspY9
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) October 3, 2021
Where it was to where it is.https://t.co/Cze8bZxwXr pic.twitter.com/huQHkpD4Tf
— Eric Topol (@EricTopol) October 3, 2021
This is where the last one hundred thousand Americans who died of COVID took their last breaths… Overwhelmingly in the South… Overwhelmingly in red states… Overwhelmingly in places where Fox News occupies a lot of screen time: pic.twitter.com/m5XMzJgw9F
— Jim Acosta (@Acosta) October 2, 2021
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Covid vaccination: Evidence of waning immunity is overstated, according to a report in BMJ, the British Medical Journal. The analysis uses that argument to call for greater vaccine distribution to resource-poor nations https://t.co/INbUVst0Dx
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) October 3, 2021
Reuters hasn’t been tweeting China’s numbers for a while…
China reports 27 new COVID-19 cases, down from 28 a day earlier https://t.co/HVAP5tqhUt pic.twitter.com/AP04kewgKu
— Reuters (@Reuters) October 4, 2021
'We are tired': Workers flee Vietnam's largest city as long lockdown eases https://t.co/s0B3ugW5QI pic.twitter.com/ENoE1HIDc3
— Reuters (@Reuters) October 4, 2021
Singapore hits record number of Covid cases —2,909 new infections reported on Friday—the largest number of daily cases since the pandemic began. Singapore has vaccinated the majority of its population yet in recent days has still experienced a record surge https://t.co/MHxjpi6bUx
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) October 3, 2021
was really hoping this nonsense would not make it to singapore
— Gerry Doyle (@mgerrydoyle) October 4, 2021
New Zealand has acknowledged what most other countries did long ago: It can no longer completely get rid of the coronavirus. Since early in the pandemic, New Zealand had pursued an unusual zero-tolerance approach to the virus that worked until recently. https://t.co/eDmcfL0lO8
— The Associated Press (@AP) October 4, 2021
Israel has restricted its COVID Green Pass to allow only those who have received a vaccine booster dose or recently recuperated from coronavirus to enter indoor events. https://t.co/iBQDQCSdoQ
— The Associated Press (@AP) October 3, 2021
Russia hits record number of daily COVID-19 deaths for the fifth time this week. Only 32.5% of its people have gotten at least one vaccine shot and only 28% are fully vaccinated. #GetVaccinatedNow https://t.co/MUf2gs116o
— Ian Weissman, DO (@DrIanWeissman) October 4, 2021
Amid COVID-19 booster data dilemma, EU nations' plans diverge https://t.co/Egvc8n58iI pic.twitter.com/AXmJmFnLgd
— Reuters (@Reuters) October 4, 2021
… Italy, France, Germany and Ireland have already started to administer booster shots and the Netherlands plans to do so soon but only to people who are immuno-suppressed.
But several EU countries are waiting for the European Medicines Agency (EMA) to give its opinion this week.
The fragmented picture mirrors the different approaches seen in the roll-out of shots across one of the world’s wealthiest regions at the turn of the year.
They also highlight the lack of consensus among scientists about how broadly they are needed, while governments seek to revive their ailing economies, fight the more infectious Delta variant, and avoid further lockdowns in the winter…
Underscoring what is at stake, the EU’s infectious diseases centre said on Thursday the region’s coverage of vaccines was still too low and there was a risk of a significant surge in cases, hospitalisations and deaths over the next six weeks.
Only 61% of the total population have been fully vaccinated, and only three countries – Malta, Portugal, Iceland – have vaccinated more than 75% of their total population, it said.
That compares with less than a quarter of the population in Bulgaria, one of the big laggards in EU vaccinations.
Still, the bloc’s push towards boosters will stir the debate over rich nations’ use of vaccines while poorer countries struggle to access supplies and inoculate their citizens…
El Gobierno de los Estados Unidos realiza una nueva donación de dosis de vacunas Pfizer en beneficio del pueblo hondureño. Hoy llegaron 81,900 dosis de vacunas. #JuntosContraCOVID19 pic.twitter.com/b8AFnXn0Bv
— U.S. Embassy Honduras (@usembassyhn) October 1, 2021
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Nat'l Institute of Allergy & Infectious Diseases awards $36M to 3 academic research institutions to develop a 'pan-coronavirus vaccine,' the type of universal vax that would be effective against any coronavirus now—or in the future https://t.co/qcc5HSrdQ4
— delthia ricks ?? (@DelthiaRicks) October 1, 2021
Two important #COVID19 treatment studies were released this week. One, from @Merck got a lot of attn and soared on the stock markets. The other, with better results, from @Regeneron got little notice.
Key point with both: Best results come from treatment before symptoms.
3 MORE pic.twitter.com/F0yIhtPyUg— Laurie Garrett (@Laurie_Garrett) October 3, 2021
4/ The @Merck drug is a pill. The @Regeneron is an infusion. Pills are easier to take, so the 50% risk reduction drew more enthusiasm on Wall St than the 71% with infusion.
But again, both are best given like #tamiflu for #flu — before the person is sick.
Game shifts to testing. pic.twitter.com/Z3Ir9NEAGf— Laurie Garrett (@Laurie_Garrett) October 3, 2021
Coronaviruses probably spill over from bats to people all the time. SARS-related coronaviruses probably jump to people ~400k times a year in undetected spillovers. Estimate based on where people live in southeast Asia & maps of habitats for 23 bat species https://t.co/lyHYHOm5pI pic.twitter.com/OxskPsww7v
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) October 3, 2021
Is it a cold, or coronavirus?https://t.co/DMTIU85cy0
— BBC News (UK) (@BBCNews) October 3, 2021
Most parents (58%) say K-12 schools should mandate masks for students & staff, regardless of #COVID vaccination status. 35% oppose such a requirement.
Mothers are much more likely than fathers to support a mask requirement (70% vs. 42%). https://t.co/fttnHHWBrj
— KFF (Kaiser Family Foundation) (@KFF) October 3, 2021
For years, the wellness world has been entangled with vaccine hesitancy.
Amid covid-19, the consequences are starker than ever. https://t.co/ulPk7YtD6b
— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) October 2, 2021
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Despite having some of the highest vaccination rates in the U.S., the six New England states are still grappling with a surge of cases due to the delta variant. In some areas, hospitalizations are approaching the pandemic peak and ICUs are filling up. https://t.co/dE3hXsTrRF
— The Associated Press (@AP) October 3, 2021
… Even though parts of New England are seeing record case counts, hospitalizations and deaths that rival pre-vaccine peaks, largely among the unvaccinated, the region hasn’t seen the impact the delta variant wave has wrought on other parts of the country.
According to statistics from The Associated Press, the five states with the highest percentage of a fully vaccinated population are all in New England, with Vermont leading, followed by Connecticut, Maine, Rhode Island and Massachusetts. New Hampshire is 10th.
According to the AP data, full vaccination rates across the six New England states range from a high of 69.4% in Vermont to 61.5% in New Hampshire.
Despite the relatively high vaccination rates — the U.S. as a whole is averaging 55.5% — there are still hundreds of thousands of people across the region who, for one reason or another, remain unvaccinated and vulnerable to infection.
Now, a Rhode Island official said he didn’t think the 70% vaccination goal, once touted as the level that would help end the pandemic in the state, is enough.
“What we’ve learned with delta and looking beyond delta, is because that’s where our focus is as well, to really reach those levels of vaccination, to give you that true population level protection, you need to be in excess of 90%,” said Tom McCarthy, the executive director of the Rhode Island Department of Health COVID Response Unit…
Dr. Tim Lahey, an infectious disease specialist at the University of Vermont Medical Center in Burlington, said he felt it was important to look at the situation more optimistically.
Unlike some others in the region his Vermont hospital is busy, not overwhelmed. People still need to be cautious, but they are not locked down and outside life has a semblance of normality.
“We all hate the word ‘delta’ now, but has vaccination made it so we can withstand the brunt of delta with losing fewer of our neighbors while still having the quality of life that we enjoy in Vermont?” he said. “Yeah.”
#Delta variant has caused a spike in deaths among nursing home residents. Although nursing home deaths from Covid-19 remain dramatically down from their peak at the end of 2020, a Kaiser Family Foundation analysis shows a significant uptick https://t.co/rN7akSFtQV
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) October 3, 2021
"Do you use ivermectin?' someone in the crowd shouted"
The crowd later taunted the doctors and called them liars and sell outs.https://t.co/W1cccaYKzA
— Jim Swift (@JimSwiftDC) October 3, 2021
Ochsner Health, Louisiana's largest healthcare provider, will raise health insurance premiums for employees whose spouses or domestic partners covered under its benefits plan are not vaccinated against COVID. https://t.co/yN528DwbpZ
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) October 2, 2021
"Bridges was among about 150 employees who were fired or resigned rather than comply…About 25,000 other employees at the hospital system complied."
Alternative headline: "99.4% of hospital workers vaccinated following mandate". But sure, a whole article on one of the 0.6% ??
— Al (@albertjschulman) October 4, 2021
A Connecticut doctor just surrendered her medical license after an investigation following an anonymous tip found that she was giving her patients blank, signed COVID-19 exemption forms to avoid wearing masks or getting vaccinated.https://t.co/2V0M2WJEGL
— Caroline Orr Bueno, Ph.D (@RVAwonk) October 3, 2021
Working the (all-too-compliant) refs:
Two (2) students are cited for this piece. One dropped out in his senior year and abandoned his professional goals, for reasons that don’t really track. The other one preemptively withdrew from a college that doesn’t require vaccinations https://t.co/F030FNnPOK
— messy scarelord (@jesseltaylor) October 3, 2021
Mishler, the first student, was previously interviewed as an anti-mask protester by the New Yorker last year pic.twitter.com/yNtboTPQwg
— messy scarelord (@jesseltaylor) October 3, 2021
COVID-19 Coronavirus Updates: Sunday / Monday, Oct. 3-4Post + Comments (19)