US Coronavirus: Some US governors say Covid hospitalizations are down but warn of what could happen if more people don’t get vaccinated

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Covid-19 hospitalizations and intensive care use have declined over the past week in Kentucky, Governor Andy Beshear announced at a press conference Thursday.

“We are in decline and we hope this will continue for people hospitalized due to Covid,” the governor said.

“More people are getting vaccinated. There are more people wearing their masks. Keep it up,” Beshear added, warning that the number of hospitalizations and intensive care for Covid-19 in the state is still very high and could increase.

Also on Thursday, Maryland Governor Larry Hogan announced that the state’s Covid-19 positivity rate had fallen 20% over the past month and that hospitalizations were down 60% from their peak. On the same day, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp said that although the state has seen a “significant drop in cases, hospitalizations and the percentage of positive tests” in recent weeks, there could be another increase soon. .

“Today I want to stress the importance of not waiting for the next wave of Covid cases to get vaccinated,” Kemp said. “Given that our increase in cases and hospitalizations in 2021 was similar in timing to increases seen in 2020, we can only assume that a winter increase is also possible.”

In the United States, the rate of new deaths from Covid-19 is expected to decline over the next four weeks, according to an overall forecast from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And for the third week in a row, the CDC forecast on Wednesday predicted hospitalizations would decline as well – some hope as the more transmissible Delta variant continues to spread.

But currently, nearly 2,000 people on average die and around 114,000 people are infected with Covid-19 every day, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

“We’re going to lose even more people,” West Virginia Governor Jim Justice said at a press conference Wednesday. “All I can do, with a clear conscience, is continue to urge you, by all means, to get vaccinated.”

"We're gonna lose a bunch of more people"," GOP governor says while imploring residents to get vaccinated
About 55.5% of the U.S. population is fully vaccinated, according to the CDC. Health experts cannot say for sure what proportion of the population should be vaccinated to control the spread, but Dr Anthony Fauci believes it should be the “vast majority”.

Authorities and experts employ multiple strategies to try to increase vaccine protection.

Schools, businesses and employers have mandates in place for students and employees to get vaccinated against the virus. And the FDA has authorized booster doses to increase vaccine protection for vulnerable populations.

A Houston Fire Department EMS nurse transports a Covid-19 patient on August 24.

About a third of parents say they would vaccinate children aged 5 to 11, according to survey

Meanwhile, a slightly increasing proportion of parents may be open to children aged 5 to 11 receiving a Covid-19 vaccine as soon as they have one available, according to a new survey from the Kaiser Family Foundation.

No vaccine against Covid-19 is yet authorized for children under 12 in the United States. But Pfizer and Moderna have both tested various doses of their Covid-19 vaccines in children under 12, and health experts have said that one could be cleared for 5 to 11 years later this fall if several federal agencies approve it.
In a Kaiser poll released Thursday, around 34% of parents of children aged 5 to 11 said they would vaccinate their child as soon as a Covid-19 vaccine was available for that age group.

That’s up from 26% who said the same thing in a July poll, the foundation said. About 32% of those polled in September said they would wait to see how the vaccine worked, compared to 40% who said the same in July.

However, the percentage of parents saying they would definitely not seek the vaccine for their child in this age group barely budged. About 24% of those polled said this in September, up from 25% in July, Kaiser said.

About 7% in September said they would allow their child to be vaccinated only if needed, compared with 9% who said the same in July.

Kaiser noted that most interviews for the September poll took place before Pfizer announced on September 20 that its Covid-19 vaccine was safe and generated a “robust” antibody response in children aged 5 to 11. . Pfizer is now submitting this data to the FDA ahead of the anticipated attempt to seek agency approval to vaccinate this age group.

The last Kaiser poll was conducted September 13-22.

Thursday is the vaccine deadline for California healthcare workers

At the local and federal levels, authorities are implementing immunization mandates to increase protection.

In California, Thursday is the deadline for workers in healthcare facilities to perform a series of Covid-19 vaccinations – unless they receive an exemption – to continue working.
Mandates increase immunization rates, but not without compromise
This includes anyone who works in a healthcare facility, including hospitals, long-term and intermediate care facilities, doctor’s offices, and clinics.

Under an order issued Aug. 5, the state’s health department said these workers must have a second dose of a two-dose Covid-19 mRNA vaccine, or a single injection of the vaccine. a Johnson & Johnson dose, by Thursday.

The order allows workers to seek exemptions based on religious beliefs or qualifying medical reasons. Anyone granted an exemption must undergo regular Covid-19 testing: twice a week for workers in acute health and long-term care facilities, and once a week for workers in acute care and long-term care facilities. ‘other health care facilities.
Earlier this month, President Joe Biden announced tough new vaccine rules for federal workers, large employers and healthcare workers in a sweeping attempt to contain Covid-19.

He ordered the Ministry of Labor to require all companies with 100 or more employees to ensure that their workers are vaccinated or tested once a week. Companies could face thousands of dollars in fines per employee if they don’t comply.

Want to help prevent further variants in the future? Get vaccinated, says CDC director
Biden also said he would demand that all 17 million healthcare workers in facilities receiving Medicare and Medicaid funds be fully immunized, expanding the mandate to hospitals, home care facilities and dialysis centers across the country. country.

The requirements are still weeks away from being implemented, but employers should expect them to be implemented this year, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said on Wednesday.

New York State ordered staff in hospitals and long-term care facilities to receive at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine by last Monday, unless they were given exemptions for medical or religious reasons. Some employees are already facing the consequences of non-compliance.

The health system at St. Barnabas Hospital had 58 employees who failed to show proof of vaccination on Wednesday, spokesman Steve Clark said. Employees have been suspended and have until Monday morning to present proof of vaccination. If they don’t, they will be fired, Clark said.

“Patient care has not been compromised at all,” Clark said. “The schedules have been created accordingly. People will work overtime, or part-time or agency staff will be recruited as necessary.”

No health facility in the state has closed due to a staff shortage resulting from failure to meet vaccine requirements, Governor Kathy Hochul said Thursday.

As of Monday evening, 92% of nursing home staff, 89% of adult care facility staff and 92% of hospital staff had received at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine, the governor’s office said.

New York officials are considering extending the vaccine requirement to healthcare workers in facilities that are not regulated by the state’s health department, such as prisons, Hochul said.

CNN’s Jason Hanna, Naomi Thomas, Lauren Mascarenhas, Deidre McPhillips, Holly Yan, Melissa Alonso, Kiely Westhoff, Andy Rose, Nikki Carvajal and Mirna Alsharif contributed to this report.

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