COVID-19 Updates: Concern About Delta Variant and Children

NEW YORK (WABC) – The main concern with the Delta variant is how it affects children.

Mississippi health officials report that seven children with COVID are currently being treated in intensive care. Two of them are on ventilators.

“We are seeing more symptomatic children, and children seem to be able to pass the disease much more easily,” said Dr. Alan Jones, of the University of Mississippi Medical Center.

Concern is growing for children who are not yet eligible for a COVID vaccine.

“I suspect it’s probably because this Delta variant causes somewhat more severe disease in the pediatric population,” Dr. Jones said.

Here are some other headlines from today:

Woman goes viral after being kicked off cruise ship after positive COVID test
A Bronx woman has gone viral for the video she took as she was started from a cruise on a positive COVID-19 test.

Laura Angelo says it was all a mistake, but cruise lines have strict measures in place to protect passengers.

New LA County Health Order Requires Face Coverings Indoors As COVID Cases Rise
Citing the continued increase in transmission of COVID-19, the Los Angeles County Public Health Department is implementing a mandate requiring residents to wear masks indoors, regardless of their immunization status.

The county previously only recommended wearing the mask indoors. The new mandate will take effect at 11:59 p.m. Saturday night, officials said Thursday.

Clinical study testing the COVID vaccine on children under 12
There is growing concern about protecting children and adolescents from COVID-19 as cases increase in the country. With young people still not eligible to receive the vaccine, studies are underway to determine how safe the vaccine is for them.

Yankees-Red Sox game postponed
The Yankees-Red Sox game that was scheduled for Thursday night has been postponed following positive tests for COVID-19 within the Yankees organization. Major League Baseball said the game was postponed to allow further testing and contact tracing. The team says there have been three confirmed positives and the results of three more tests are pending. The team had canceled batting training as members of the organization underwent testing. Earlier today, left-handed pitchers Nestor Cortes and Wandy Peralta were placed on the COVID-19 injured list. The match has not yet been rescheduled.

Comedian Gabriel Iglesias says he has COVID-19 despite being vaccinated
Comedian Gabriel Iglesias announced on Wednesday that he had been diagnosed with COVID-19, despite having previously been vaccinated against the disease.

In a video posted to his social media accounts, Iglesias said the diagnosis prompted him to cancel his scheduled shows in San Antonio, Texas. The 90-second clip was captioned: “Announcement I didn’t want to make on my birthday.”

Reopening of the marriage office
Mayor Bill de Blasio announced the reopening of the New York City Marriage Bureau this month. Appointments can start to be scheduled on Monday July 19. Marriage licenses will begin to be issued on Friday July 23.

COVID cases on the rise in the United States
Months of progress now appear to be reversing as COVID cases increase steadily, especially in parts of the country with low vaccination rates. COVID cases across the country have doubled in the past three weeks alone.

Officials in 28 states are now reporting an increase of at least 10% in infections in recent days, fueled by the more contagious Delta variant. In Tennessee, the state’s top vaccine official said she was fired for trying to disseminate information about the vaccine. The state would now stop all adolescent vaccination programs.

Highly Effective Vaccines Against COVID Hospitalizations and Deaths in New York, Study Finds
Mayor Bill de Blasio has released some compelling numbers as to why he says people might consider getting vaccinated if they haven’t. Officials say the study illustrates how well vaccines work in preventing hospitalizations and deaths. The research was compiled by epidemiologists at Yale University, with support from the Commonwealth Fund. Between January 1, 2021 and June 15, 2021, 98.4% of hospitalizations (36,628 out of 37,211) and 98.8% of deaths (8,069 out of 8,163) due to COVID-19 infection were in people who were not fully vaccinated. Those fully vaccinated accounted for 1.6% (583) of hospitalizations and 1.2% (94) of deaths. Epidemiologists have estimated that New York City’s vaccination campaign has prevented an estimated 250,000 cases of COVID-19, 44,000 hospitalizations and 8,300 deaths from COVID-19 infection since vaccination began. until July 1, 2021.

Vaccination rate in New York by zip code

There are about a dozen communities in the New York City area where three in four people have yet to be vaccinated. 7 On Your Side Investigates created a map where the darkest zip codes have New Yorkers the most vaccinated and the lightest, the least.

MORE CORONAVIRUS COVID-19 COVERAGE

New York City COVID-19 Vaccine Tracking
New Jersey COVID-19 Vaccine Tracking

Coronavirus Disease Control and Prevention Centers

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