New infections increase by almost 50% in the United States; FDA issues new J&J vaccine warning: live COVID-19 updates



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The United States has recorded an average of 19,455 new cases of COVID-19 per day over the past seven days, an increase of 47.5% from the previous week, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. And 43 states saw an increase in cases last week compared to the previous week, a sign that the pandemic is continuing in the United States.

Hospitalizations are on the rise again. Deaths, a lagging indicator, also seem poised to start climbing. More than 99% of deaths now involve unvaccinated people, reports the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

Dr Jennifer Nuzzo, of the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, said two-thirds of counties with sustained increases in new infections are in states with low immunization coverage.

“But the fact that we are seeing an increase in cases in counties even in the most vaccinated states is concerning,” she tweeted. “Anywhere there are pockets of low vax coverage is in danger!”

Also in the news:

►Vice President Kamala Harris promoted COVID-19 vaccines and tried to dispel myths about them during a trip to Michigan on Monday, telling an audience in Detroit: “We bring the facts, not disinformation – the facts. “

►The governments of France and Greece have ordered all healthcare workers to be vaccinated against COVID, with suspensions threatened for those in Greece who refuse. “The country will not close again due to the attitude adopted by some people,” Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said.

►Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga on Monday ordered a COVID-19 state of emergency for Tokyo. The plan aims to contain a resurgence of coronavirus infections and curb the flow of people during the Olympics, which run from July 23 to August 8.

►The Miami-Dade County Commission chairman tested positive for the coronavirus, about four months after being fully immunized. Jose Diaz was frequently present at the site of the Surfside condo collapse, raising questions about the exhibition at the site, the Miami Herald reported.

The numbers of the day: The United States has recorded more than 33.8 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 and more than 607,400 deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. Global totals: over 187.1 million cases and over 4 million deaths. Nearly 159.2 million Americans – 48% of the population – have been fully immunized, according to the CDC.

What we read: As many teens and young adults prepare to return to school in the fall term amid the spread of the delta variant, lagging vaccination rates among Gen Z are causing concern among experts.

Keep refreshing this page for the latest news. Want more? Sign up for USA TODAY’s Coronavirus Watch newsletter to receive updates straight to your inbox and join our Facebook group.

FDA warns of possible link between J&J vaccine and autoimmune disease

The Johnson & Johnson coronavirus vaccine is again raising concerns.

The Food and Drug Administration warned on Monday of a possible link between this vaccine and the autoimmune disease known as Guillain-Barré syndrome. In a statement, the agency said the data “suggests an association” between the vaccine and a higher risk of disease, but not enough “to establish a causal relationship.”

The Washington Post reported that there have been around 100 cases of the possible connection, mostly in men and in many cases in people 50 and older. Some 12.8 million doses of J&J shot have been administered.

The CDC says on its website that people who have had Guillain-Barré syndrome can be vaccinated against COVID, and that no cases of the disorder have been reported in clinical trials for the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. One case was reported in the J&J trials.

Use of the J&J vaccine, hailed for its convenience in a single injection, was suspended for 10 days in April as federal health agencies investigated reports of six women developing rare but serious blood clots within two weeks. receiving the vaccine. The agencies then determined that the vaccine’s benefits outweighed its risks.

No booster currently needed, health officials say after Pfizer meeting

Federal health officials have maintained their position that Americans fully vaccinated against COVID-19 do not need a booster after meeting with representatives of vaccine maker Pfizer on Monday.

A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services told The Hill that after reviewing Pfizer’s data regarding the possible need for a recall, nothing has changed from the administration’s stance Biden.

“The vaccines available now offer a very high degree of protection,” the spokesperson said. “The administration is ready to receive booster doses if and when science demonstrates they are necessary, and any recommendation from the CDC and FDA would come after their thorough review process.”

Last week, Pfizer and its partner BioNTech said they would seek US and EU regulatory approval for a third dose of their COVID-19 vaccine, given the spread of variants and data they said showed a decrease vaccine activity six months after the first injections. U.S. officials, however, say they want to see the data before recommending booster shots.

The problem is compounded by the reluctance to vaccinate in the United States – and the fact that much of the world did not have access to the first injections of the vaccine.

“Right now, given the data the CDC and the FDA have, they don’t think we need to tell people that you need to be strengthened,” Dr.Anthony Fauci, one of the senior advisers at the company, said on Sunday. Biden administration, on CNN. in response to the news.

England sticks to July 19 reopening date

While warning that the pandemic is not over and will not be over in a week, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson confirmed on Monday that England will lift most of the remaining lockdown restrictions on July 19 as planned, despite a strong increase in coronavirus cases.

Johnson said that while the risks from COVID-19 remain, the warrants will be replaced with a recommendation that people wear masks in crowded places and on public transport. Nightclubs and other frequented places must use vaccine passports to enter.

“This disease, the coronavirus, continues to pose risks to you and your family,” Johnson said. “We cannot just instantly return from Monday July 19 to life as it was before COVID.”

As of Monday, 87% of the UK’s adult population had received a first dose of the vaccine and 66% had received both doses. But infections have increased in recent weeks because of the delta variant. They have recorded more than 30,000 new cases a day and could reach 100,000 later in the summer, Health Secretary Sajid Javid told the House of Commons.

A rash of summer camp outbreaks could be a harbinger for the school year

Recent outbreaks of COVID-19 in summer camps in Texas, Illinois, Florida, Missouri and Kansas, some spreading through communities, have made some wonder if this could be a glimpse of what could happen over the next school year as the United States grapples with another wave in coronavirus infections.

In the Houston area, more than 130 youth and adults have tested positive for the virus at a church camp. “In some cases, entire families are sick,” Pastor Bruce Wesley of Clear Creek Community Church said on Facebook.

In Illinois, health officials said 85 teens and adults at a Christian youth camp in mid-June had tested positive. In Kansas, about 50 people were infected in an outbreak linked to a religious summer camp last month not far from Wichita.

JoAnn Martin, administrator of the Pettis County, Missouri, public health agency near where another summer camp outbreak occurred, lamented the difficulty in getting people to take the virus seriously and get vaccinated.

“It’s been a challenge since the first case,” she said. “You have people who still say it’s not real. You have people who say it’s a cold. You have people who say what’s wrong. You have people who say this is all. a government conspiracy.

Battles against urban Missouri hospitals sweep over rural communities

Mercy Hospital in Springfield, Missouri, has opened its sixth COVID-19 ward as the delta variant rages in the southwestern region of the state. Administrative Director Erik Frederick tweeted that the hospital needed no more than five COVID-19 services last year, when the coronavirus was at its peak across the country. The hospital was treating 133 patients infected with the virus on Sunday.

“Many local rural communities do not have high vaccination rates,” Frederick wrote. “They don’t have a hospital either. Get sick, come to Springfield. I think this is left out in the narrative.

Premiums paid to essential workers vary widely from state to state

For putting their health on the line during the coronavirus pandemic, Missouri prison guards were given an additional $ 250 by paycheck. Teachers in Georgia received bonuses of $ 1,000. And in Vermont, nurses, janitors, shopkeepers and many others have received up to $ 2,000.

In the past year, about a third of U.S. states have used federal COVID-19 relief assistance to reward workers deemed essential who duly report to work during the pandemic. But who qualified for those bonuses – and how much they received – varied widely, according to an Associated Press review. While some were paid thousands of dollars, others with similar jobs elsewhere received nothing.

As the company reopens, the momentum to provide a pandemic risk premium appears to be waning – even as the federal government has expanded the ability of state and local governments to provide retroactive pay as part of a program to $ 350 billion aid promulgated by President Joe Biden in March.

So far, only a few states have pledged to pay workers extra with US bailout money.

Contributor: Mike Stucka, USA TODAY; The Associated Press.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: New COVID Infections Rise Nearly 50% in the United States; J&J vaccine warning

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