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Deborah Birx: Most COVID-19 deaths in US were preventable
The former White House coronavirus response coordinator said subsequent deaths could have been reduced with more social distancing and closures.
USA TODAY
Relatives and friends of Britons who have lost their lives to the coronavirus draw thousands of hearts to a wall opposite Parliament in London in remembrance of the 145,000 victims.
“Each heart represents someone who was loved. Someone who was lost too soon to Covid-19,” organizers, Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice UK, said on their crowdfunder page. “As grieving family and friends, this is how we choose to remember.”
Each heart is hand-drawn and the National Covid #MemorialWall will have drawn over 145,000. The palm-sized hearts will cover a 6-foot-high wall on more than five football fields. Hearts will continue to be added until the pandemic ends and deaths stop, according to the group.
“Like the magnitude of our collective loss, this memorial is enormous,” he said. “We hope everyone in the country will be a part of this effort and together we can share our grief through this immense show of love.”
Also in the news:
►Meanwhile, all 50 states have announced their intention to open up coronavirus vaccination to all adults. More than a dozen have already lifted the restrictions.
Chicago announced the opening of a new vaccination site for union workers eligible for the vaccine under current restrictions.
►The United States has reported that half of all seniors have now been vaccinated. “Vaccination milestone,” tweeted Andy Slavitt, White House Senior COVID Advisor. “50% of all seniors have now been fully immunized.”
►MGM Resorts International brings coronavirus vaccine to employees of its Las Vegas Strip casinos.
►A coronavirus variant first identified in Britain has been found in the Navajo nation.
📈 The numbers of the day: The United States has more than 30.39 million confirmed cases of the coronavirus and more than 550,900 deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. Global totals: 128.15 million cases and 2.8 million deaths. More than 189.45 million doses of the vaccine have been distributed in the United States and 147.6 million have been administered, according to the CDC.
📘 What we read: Those who experimented with gender identity behind masks and screens during the pandemic may soon return to the workplace as vaccine rollout accelerates and businesses reopen. But will workplaces be prepared to provide a tolerant and safe environment for employees who now identify themselves differently? Read the full story.
USA TODAY follows COVID-19 news. Keep refreshing this page for the latest updates. Want more? Sign up for our Coronavirus Watch newsletter for updates to your inbox and join our Facebook group.
The COVID-19 vaccine from pharmaceutical company Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech is safe and extremely effective in adolescents, according to a study sponsored by the company published Wednesday morning. In adolescents 12 to 15 years of age, vaccination led to a higher protective antibody response than in adults and was 100% effective against symptomatic disease, according to the study of 2,260 adolescents. The two-dose Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine had been approved for use in those 16 years and older based on previous trials, but not in younger adolescents.
Last week, companies started testing their vaccine in children aged 5 to 11; next week they will start testing in children aged 2 to 5, and later they will focus on children aged 6 months to 2 years.
– Karen Weintraub
The United States reported more known coronavirus variants last week – nearly 4,300 – than it reported in mid-March, according to an analysis of CDC data by USA TODAY.
Tuesday night’s tally reflected more than 1,000 new cases just since Sunday’s report. The United States now has 12,053 known cases of variants that can more easily spread COVID-19, avoid certain treatments and immunities, or both.
California alone reported 289 new cases of variants on Tuesday, bringing it to 865 known cases. Most of them are B.1.1.7, a variant first seen in the UK. But the number of P.1 cases in California has also exploded, from seven known cases on Sunday to 33 known cases on Tuesday. P.1 was first seen in Brazil.
Massachusetts reported 266 new cases, bringing its total to 732.
Several states that haven’t had many known variant issues suddenly have much bigger issues. West Virginia went from just three known variant cases on Sunday to 53 cases on Tuesday, while Nevada went from 11 cases on Sunday to 63 cases on Tuesday. Idaho went from 18 to 32.
Ohio has reported its first two cases of the B.1.351 variant first seen in South Africa.
– Mike Stucka
The majority of American adults say they have been vaccinated against COVID-19 or intend to do so as soon as possible, and the number continues to rise. That’s according to a new survey from the non-partisan health care foundation Kaiser Family Foundation, which puts that number at 61% of respondents, while the share of respondents saying they are taking a ‘wait-and-see’ approach has declined to 17. %.
The new developments come as the daily average of reported cases is up 10% from a week earlier, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And as COVID-19 cases reappear across the country, federal officials and epidemiologists say they are worried we may reach another tipping point, leading to a fourth significant increase in infections, hospitalizations and deaths . Find out more here.
Nations challenge WHO report on origins of coronaviruses
The United States and a dozen other countries on Tuesday released a rare joint statement questioning the validity of a World Health Organization study into the origins of the coronavirus, which was first detected in Wuhan, China, which has now killed 2.8 million people around the world.
“We support a transparent and independent analysis and assessment, free from interference and undue influence, of the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic. In this regard, we join together to express our common concerns regarding the recent study organized by WHO in China, ”read the statement, which was released by the US State Department in coordination with a series of other governments, including Australia, Canada and the United States. Kingdom.
The statement included strong support for the WHO and did not directly blame China for interfering with the science probe. But he said health experts were slow to study the origins of the virus and even when they had access to it they were denied “full and original data and samples.”
“WHO’s mission is essential to advancing global health and health security,” the statement said. “Science missions like these should be able to do their job under conditions that produce independent and objective recommendations and conclusions.”
WHO director Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus also highlighted China’s lack of cooperation.
“I don’t think this assessment has been thorough enough,” he said. “More data and studies will be needed to reach more solid conclusions.”
– Deirdre Shesgreen
Contribute: The Associated Press
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