Ten states, mostly in the Northeast, have now achieved President Joe Biden’s goal of vaccinating at least 70% of adults with at least one dose by July 4th, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Wednesday.
And multiple studies show that immunity can last for months – or even years.
Most people infected with COVID-19 still have antibodies to the virus 10 months later, according to a study released Monday. Two other studies published on Monday studied people who were exposed to the virus a year ago and found that cells retain the memory of a coronavirus that only gets stronger over time (although the result may not be derived from vaccines alone).
Director of the National Institutes of Health Anthony Fauci said Wednesday at a hearing on the allocation of funds that people who are vaccinated will likely need to get an extra injection to maintain immunity, but when that injection may be unknown.
Also in the news:
►A woman from southwestern Ohio won the first state award to encourage vaccination with Vax-a-Million of a million dollars, while a teenager from Dayton received the first scholarship for full-time colleges offered by the program, the state announced on Wednesday night. The number of first doses given to Ohio residents aged 16 and over increased by 40% in the week after Governor Mike DeWine announced the vaccine distribution, according to an analysis by USA Today Network Ohio data on state vaccines.
►Disneyland fans will not need an address in California to enter the park after June 14th. Disneyland and Disney California Adventure will welcome visitors outside the state in early June 15, park officials said on Wednesday. Park was reopened in late April after a 412-day pandemic shutdown – but only to California residents.
►43% of Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders between the ages of 18 and 44 feel hesitant against the COVID-19 vaccine, according to a study by the Pacific Island Center for Excellence in Primary Health Care and the American Psychological Association, Yappie.
►Suicide deaths fell by 9% to the height of the pandemic exclusion compared to previous years, the surprise increased the reported levels of stress, anxiety, and depression.
►Pestrian advocates want to keep some of San Francisco’s most prominent streets, like the main road to Golden Gate Park, prohibited for cars. Others retaliate, saying they have to drive to work, leave the kids and get around. The debate was marked by two-color rallies and fierce arguments about security and climate change in a crowded city.
📈 Today’s issues: The United States has more than 33.1 million confirmed cases of coronavirus and 591,900 deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. In total, there are more than 168 million cases and 3.49 million deaths. More than 359.8 million doses of vaccine have been distributed in the United States, and more than 289.2 million have been administered, According to the CDC. More than 131.8 million Americans have been fully vaccinated – 39.7% of the population.
📘 What we read: Millions of school-age children spent the last academic year trying to learn at home while the COVID-19 pandemic raged around them. It wasn’t easy for many, and when they return to the buildings in the fall, they will need extra support, experts say.
Please refresh this page for the latest updates. They want more? Sign up for our Coronavirus Watch newsletter to update your inbox and join our Facebook group.
Facebook has lifted a ban on posting claims that COVID-19 was artificial
Facebook will no longer remove posts claiming that COVID-19 was manufactured or man-made, a move that could spur more speculation and conspiracy theories about how the deadly virus began.
A Facebook spokesman said Wednesday in a statement via email that the company regularly updates the list of claims removed from the platform during the pandemic on the advice of health experts.
The spokesman also added that the original language was removed from the list due to a major debate about where the virus originated.
“In light of ongoing investigations into the origin of COVID-19 and in consultation with public health experts, we will no longer remove the claim that COVID-19 was created from our applications,” a Facebook spokesman said. “Continuing to work with health professionals to keep pace with the evolutionary nature of the pandemic and to regularly update our policies as new facts and trends emerge.
– Terry Collins
The FDA approves the drug for the third antibody
U.S. health officials have issued an emergency license for a third-antibody drug to help reduce the number of hospitalizations and deaths due to COVID-19.
The FDA announced Wednesday that it has approved GlaxoSmithKline and Vir Biotechnology for people with mild to moderate cases of COVID-19 who face additional risks of serious illness, including the elderly and those with underlying health problems.
There is little demand for two similar drugs that are already available, mainly due to logistical barriers to their delivery and confusion over their availability. U.S. health officials are trying to raise awareness about treatments by linking people who test positive for COVID-19 to information about nearby providers.
The drugs are given in the form of a single intravenous infusion in a hospital or clinic and should be given within 10 days of the onset of symptoms.
The WHO reports that cases and deaths have declined globally
The The World Health Organization reported On Tuesday, coronavirus cases fell by 14% worldwide last week and deaths by 2%. Over 4.1 million new cases were reported, as well as 84,000 deaths.
Although encouraging, the WHO continues to warn that cases are still on the rise in many regions, such as India and Central America.
“There will come a time when we can all take off our masks, we will no longer have to keep our distance from each other, we can safely go to concerts, sporting events, rallies and restaurants – as people in some countries can now because they don’t have COVID-19 transmission,” he said. was WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus at a briefing on COVID on Monday. “But for most of the world’s population that hasn’t been vaccinated yet, we’re not there yet.”
Biden tells agencies to step up investigations into the origin of the coronavirus
A few days after a U.S. intelligence report revived concerns about the origins of COVID-19, President Joe Biden said Wednesday that he had asked the intelligence community to “redouble” its investigative efforts on how and where the coronavirus appeared.
“I have now asked the intelligence community to redouble its efforts to gather and analyze information that could bring us closer to a final conclusion and to report to me in 90 days,” Biden said in a statement.
The order comes after reports that three researchers at a laboratory in Wuhan, China, the city where the coronavirus pandemic is believed to have originated, fell ill in the fall of 2019.
0 Comments