Anti-vaccine sentiments have been simmering in the U.S. since at least 1998, when the Lancet, a prestigious medical journal, publishedand later retracteda fraudulent paper falsely linking childhood vaccines to autism. Theyve grown even stronger in the past two years, thanks to disinformation about the COVID-19 vaccines. Though the development of the COVID-19 vaccines happened at an unprecedented pace, theyve been rigorously tested, and have proven both safe and effective. Nevertheless, falsehoods about themthat the vaccines contained microchips, that they would alter the DNA of recipients or cause them to become magnetichave spread.
Public-health experts feared that those groundless claims would exacerbate mistrust among people who already doubted vaccines or serve as a gateway into vaccine skepticism among people who previously had no such concerns. Now it appears those fears might have been well-placed. In April, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published a study showing that during the 2020-2021 school year, rates of routine vaccinations among the nations 3.52 million enrolled kindergarteners fell below the 95% level necessary to ensure herd immunity. The average drop from the rates during the 2019-2020 school year was small, just over 1% for each of three vaccines. But CDC researchers say that is enough to allow viruses to gain a foothold in the overall community of kids, many of whom may be unable to be vaccinated for medical reasons.
The researchers cited multiple variables that might have contributed to reduced vaccination rates, including skipped well-child visits during the height of the pandemic and the shuttering of schools, most of which require vaccinations for students to attend. But anti-COVID-19 vaccine beliefs most likely played a part, many experts say.
I think that segment of the community whos already mistrusting of the medical community has been re-energized for sure, says Dr. Gary Kirkilas, a Phoenix-area pediatrician and spokesman for the American Academy of Pediatrics. Weve had this politicization of the [COVID-19] vaccine that just leads to more mistrust.
So far, the U.S. has been lucky that subpar vaccination rates havent yet triggered a rise in routine childhood illnesses. We havent seen outbreaks, and thats probably representative of the fact that families were staying home during the pandemic, said Dr. Georgina Peacock, acting director of the CDCs immunization services, and an author of the recent CDC study, at a press briefing when the findings were released. But now that most kids are back in classrooms, experts worry that epidemics like the national measles outbreak of 2019 are increasingly likely.
California had long been a national leader in enforcing vaccine requirements to attend schools; in 2015, lawmakers there eliminated personal-belief exemptions for parents who did not want to get their children vaccinated. But recently, additional proposed bills to require all businesses to mandate COVID-19 vaccines for their employees, and to add COVID-19 to the list of vaccines for which personal belief exemptions for students are applicable, have not advanced in the state legislature.
Christina Hildebrand has a theory why. For years, she has been lobbying against California state legislation that mandates vaccination as a condition for attending public schools. Before the pandemic, she says, lawmakers were resistant to her arguments, and weary of her lobbying. But since the COVID-19 vaccines were released, Hildebrand says, they seem to be more receptive in the California State Assembly, in Sacramento. I think its because prior to this, legislators didnt have personal experience with the vaccine issue. Whereas now, every single legislator has had some experience. She believes that the doubts people are feeling over the COVID-19 vaccine for kids (which studies have shown to be safe and effective) have spurred more people to rethink routine vaccinations in this age group.
Thats exactly what concerns experts like Dr. Gerald Harmon, president of the American Medical Association (AMA). Weve had three different pandemics, he says. The COVID-19 pandemic, the disinformation pandemic, and now the pandemic of distrust. So there is a substantial risk of giving more oxygen to the anti-vaxxer population.
The recent CDC study looked at the change in vaccination rates from 2019-2020 to 2020-2021 for three routine childhood shots:
Those seemingly small drops below the 95% threshold are troubling, especially when it comes to measles, which is so transmissible that even a point below the 95% herd immunity rate is enough to get the disease spreading widely among the unvaccinated. Measles is an incredibly contagious childhood, which carries a serious risk of lifetime injury, says Harmon. In some cases, kids who get measles can develop damage to the central nervous system as late as 10 years after the initial infection. Troubling as the national vaccine numbers are, they are far worse in some states. Maryland saw its vaccination rate plummet from an average of 95% for all three vaccines in the 2019-2020 school year to 87.6%, 89.7%, and 87.3% respectively for the MMR, DTaP, and varicella vaccines the following year. Wisconsin saw a 5% drop to about 87.2% for all three shots. The least-vaccinated state in the nation for this age group is Idaho, at just over 86% for all three jabs. That represents a 3% drop from 2019-2020.
Since the CDC last tallied childhood vaccination rates in 2021, schools have reopenedwith mandates for vaccinations in placeand visits to pediatricians have increased after a sharp decline. In theory, those two factors mean that the vaccination numbers could recover, but Harmon and Kirkilas are not alone in worrying that the damage done by mistrust and misinformation regarding COVID-19 vaccines could have a lasting impact on the uptake of other vaccines. Indeed, routine immunization rates have been slow to rebound, said the American Academy of Pediatrics in January 2022.
Francesco Pierri, a postdoctoral student at the Polytechnic University of Milan and lead author of an April study published in Nature Scientific Reports that correlated COVID-19 vaccine misinformation posted on Twitter and negative attitudes in surveys about the shots, believes that the low childhood vaccination rates may well be tied to unfounded COVID-19 vaccine rumors.
You can assume some spillover effect, he says. The activity around this kind of malicious content has increased, [leading to] an increase in the prevalence of misinformation of vaccines in general.
Says Harmon, the AMA president, and a former Major General in the Air Force Reserve and the Air National Guard: One of the things I learned in the military was that the way to overcome resistance is to maintain overwhelming competence. I take these vaccine-hesitant individuals and address them one on one. I try to answer their questions, to stay on the side of the science, and to not get emotional. The most effective antidote for misinformation, he says, is more informationthe genuine, scientific variety.
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Write to Jeffrey Kluger at jeffrey.kluger@time.com.
SHEBOYGAN- Afterthe omicron surge peaked in mid-January, COVID-19 cases in Sheboygan County dropped to the lowest levels the county has seen in a long time, Health Officer Starrlene Grossman said.
Since then, case numbers have been slightly increasing but hospitalizations remain low. Health officials are cautiously optimistic that case numbers will remain low this summer, Grossman said.
Were hoping thats the trend we see this summer, but COVID continually surprises us, she said. Weve seen a lot of ups and downs over the last few years, and as new variants emerge, its difficult to predict sometimes how the variants will impact our community and what their severity will be.
Sheboygan County has been at a Low COVID-19 community level since the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention introduced the classification in late February.
The community levels classification mainly focuses on the burden of COVID-19 on hospital systems.
Thats because nationwide, with high levels of population immunity from both vaccination and infections, the risk of medically significant disease, hospitalization and death from COVID-19 is greatly reduced for most people, Grossman said.
More: Why Dr. Fauci is saying the US is 'out of the pandemic phase' of COVID-19
In late April and early May, thecounty has been averaging about 20 confirmed new COVID-19 cases per day, down from a peak of about 360 cases per day in January but up from a low of about two cases per day in mid to late March, Grossman said.
The seven-day average number of daily positive confirmed cases was lower at this point last year, remaining less than 8.5 average daily cases for the month of May 2021.
Hospitalizations, which were very high in January, have remained low even as the number of people testing positive for COVID-19 has started to increase, Grossman said.
Throughout April, an average of slightly more than one person has been hospitalized with COVID-19 per day within Sheboygan County hospital systems, down from a peak of 49 people hospitalized per day in January, Grossman said.
Since the start of the pandemic, more than 32,000 cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in Sheboygan Countyand more than 1,200 people with confirmed cases of COVID-19 have been hospitalized about 4.1% of cases.
267 people have died with confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the county, all age 30 or older, according to the Sheboygan County COVID-19 dashboard.
41 of those deaths occurred in 2022, according to the dashboardmostly in January and February. Five people have died with confirmed cases of COVID-19 since the beginning of March,according to data from the Wisconsin Department of Health Services.
At a Low community level, people should stay up to date with COVID-19 vaccines and boosters, which offer the best protection against severe illness and hospitalization, Grossman said.
One of the most positive things weve seen over the last yearis that having access to the vaccine has really provided a path out of this pandemic for our community, Grossman said.
63% of Sheboygan County residents have received at least one dose of the vaccine, and about one-third have received the full series with an additional dose or booster.
Its also still important to stay home if youre ill, get tested if youve been exposed to COVID-19 or are displaying symptoms, and follow CDC recommendations for isolation and quarantine.
Masking indoors is not a community-wide recommendation at a Low or Medium community level, but some people continue to wear masks.
That may include people at higher risk, who are immunocompromised or living with someone who is immunocompromised, who have kids at home unable to be vaccinated yet, or many different things, Grossman said.
More: Not everyone can ditch masks and get back to normal. One woman's struggle to stay COVID-free is a story of immune deficiencies.
We want to encourage people to think through things they can do to protect themselves and their family, she said. Masking continues to be a tool in our toolbox to prevent spread and protect, particularly, our most vulnerable community members.
Health officials stress that medically vulnerable people should have a plan if they do become ill, such as a plan for rapid testing.
People who are immunocompromised or at high risk for severe disease should also talk to their doctor to see if they should wear a mask and if they would be eligible for COVID-19 treatments.
Reach Maya Hilty at 920-400-7485 or MHilty@sheboygan.gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at @maya_hilty.
Rutgers Global Health Institute is helping underserved communities in Essex, Mercer and Middlesex counties hard-hit by the COVID-19 pandemic offer residents accessible vaccination and testing.
The effort, funded by a New Jersey Department of Health grant, is breaking down many barriers low-income and minority populations can face in getting vaccinated and tested, including inaccessible locations, employment conflicts, immigration status, language barriers and cultural norms.
Our program coordinators live in the communities we serve and speak the languages households primarily speak, Richard Marlink, director of Rutgers Global Health Institute, said. We are also going where the need is, providing pop-up clinics people can travel to without a car, and offering evening and weekend hours for people who cannot miss work to get vaccinated and tested.
The grant has enabled significant expansion of the institutes Equitable Recovery for New Jerseys Small Businesses program, which originally launched in New Brunswick, followed closely by Newark.
The program offers a wide range of services to help small businesses in low-income and minority communities that have faced economic and operational challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Services include education and training to help businesses navigate evolving guidance, on-site consultations to assess and address individual business needs and many additional areas of support for employers, employees and their families, such as food assistance, housing support and medical and mental health services.
The Equitable Recovery program has expanded to the city of Trenton. The programs COVID-19 vaccination and testing services have expanded beyond the city and now include all of Mercer County, as well as Middlesex and Essex counties. In these three counties, vaccination and testing services are being offered in the communities that need the most support.
In Middlesex County, the city of Perth Amboy where only 33% of the eligible population has received a booster shot, as opposed to 58% countywide has emerged as a significant area of need. Only 75% of children ages 5 to 11 have completed their COVID-19 vaccine series, compared with 97% of children in Middlesex County.
Rutgers Global Health Institute has partnered with local organizations to host two vaccination events and one COVID-related health and awareness event in Perth Amboy. The institute is also working with these local partners to roll out Equitable Recovery program services in Perth Amboy.
The program offers vaccination and testing clinics in nontraditional locations that are deeply embedded in communities, such as places of worship, schools and restaurants. One weekly clinic in New Brunswick, which is open to the public, is on the stage and in the lobby of the New Brunswick Performing Arts Center.
Each location has program coordinators who are fluent in both English and Spanish. In Essex County, language support is also available in Haitian Creole, due to the significant Haitian immigrant community in greater Newark.
Program officials plan to continue expanding support to underserved communities in New Jersey, even after the pandemic ends.
Though global COVID-19 cases overall continue to fall, illness levels rose in Africa and the Americas for the second week in a row, led by a trio of Omicron subvariants, the World Health Organization (WHO) said today in its weekly pandemic update.
Cases declined for a sixth week in a row, and deaths are at the lowest level since March 2020. Though the trends are welcome, they don't tell the whole story, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, PhD, director-general of the WHO, said today at a briefing. He said Omicron subvariants are driving increases in Africa and the Americas.
In Africa, cases were up 31% compared to the week before, and in the Americas, case rose 13%.
In Africa, 12 countries last week saw cases rise by more than 20%, but most of the new infections were reported by South Africa, which saw a 67% increase compared with the previous week. Last week, the country's health officials said the country was experiencing rising proportions of BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants, and they warned that a fifth surge could be under way.
Meanwhile, in the Americas, 22 countries reported weekly rises of 20% or more last week. At a WHO Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) briefing today, officials said cases are increasing in the Caribbean region, Central America, and the United States.
They also warned of rising hospitalizations across the broader region, with 11 countries or territories reporting rises in hospitalization and intensive care unit admissions.
The WHO singled out three subvariants that have mutations that affect their behavior. They include BA.4 and BA.5, both of which were first identified by South African scientists, and BA.2.12.1, which was first identified in New York.
The agency added that the number of cases involving the subvariants, as well as the number of countries reporting them, is increasing.
Early signals from South Africa don't show an increased risk of hospitalization from BA.4 and BA.5 when compared to the original Omicron virus, but because of short follow-up of cases, it's too soon tell if infections involving them are more severe, the WHO said.
At today's briefing, Tedros said early data suggest current vaccines protect against severe disease and death. "The best way to protect people remains vaccination, alongside tried and tested public health and social measures," he said, urging countries to vaccinate at least 70% of their populations and to continue sequencing and testing.
In a preprint study this week, Chinese researchers suggest that BA.2.12.1, BA.4, and BA.5 escape antibodies produced by earlier infection with the original Omicron variant (BA.1).
"The BA.4 and BA.5 sub-variants were identified because South Africa is still doing the vital genetic sequencing that many other countries have stopped doing," Tedros said. He also said he is troubled that effective antivirals aren't accessible to low- and middle-income countries, although efforts are under way to negotiate prices and increase availability.
Overall, deaths declined by 3% last week compared to the week before, but the Southeast Asia region's level was up 69%, mainly due to a delay in reporting from India, the WHO said.
The WHO is preparing to release its estimates for excess COVID-19 deaths tomorrow. Reuters yesterday reported that India has objected to the WHO's methodology and that the country yesterday released its excess death data for 2020.
India experienced a devastating Delta variant surge in the spring of 2021, and some experts estimate the country's death toll could be as high as 4 million, which is eight times more than India has officially reported.
Meanwhile, of the 15,000 deaths reported to the WHO last week, the four countries that reported the most were the United States, Russia, France, and Italy.
NEW DELHIThe World Health Organization estimated that nearly 15 million people had died from causes related to the coronavirus pandemic by the end of 2021, putting the toll from Covid-19 at nearly three times the number that had been officially recorded by countries.
India suffered the highest toll of any country in the world, according to the report released Thursday, but most of the deaths have gone unrecorded. The 4.7 million people who had died in India by the end of last year, according to WHO estimates, was nearly 10 times the official tally at that time of 481,000 deaths. Indias count has risen to about 524,000 since then.
Covid-19 in China: University Games set to be postponed for second time South China Morning Post
The vaccine deployment in December 2020 signaled a turning point in the COVID-19 pandemic. By the end of May 2021, 40% of the U.S. population was fully vaccinated. But as vaccination rates lagged over the summer, new surges of COVID-19 came, including Delta in the summer of 2021, and now the Omicron variant, which comprises the majority of cases in the U.S.
Researchers around the world have reported that Omicron is more transmissible than Delta, making breakthrough and repeat infections more likely.
The United States as of May 4 reached 996,145 COVID-19-related deaths and 81.5 million COVID-19 cases, according to Johns Hopkins University. Currently, 66.2% of the population is fully vaccinated, and 45.9% of vaccinated people have received booster doses.
Stacker compiled a list of the counties with highest COVID-19 infection rates in California using data from the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services and vaccination data from Covid Act Now. Counties are ranked by the highest infection rate per 100,000 residents within the week leading up to May 3, 2022. Cumulative cases per 100,000 served as a tiebreaker.
Keep reading to see whether your county ranks among the highest COVID-19 infection rates in your state.
New cases per 100k in the past week: 28 (50 new cases, +194% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 20,450 (36,826 total cases) 12.4% less cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 308 (554 total deaths) 35.7% more deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 46.5% (83,651 fully vaccinated)
New cases per 100k in the past week: 29 (19 new cases, +217% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 22,609 (14,715 total cases) 3.1% less cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 310 (202 total deaths) 36.6% more deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 43.0% (27,974 fully vaccinated)
New cases per 100k in the past week: 30 (13 new cases, -13% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 16,613 (7,233 total cases) 28.8% less cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 186 (81 total deaths) 18.1% less deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 49.0% (21,337 fully vaccinated)
New cases per 100k in the past week: 35 (22 new cases, -46% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 21,510 (13,510 total cases) 7.8% less cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 156 (98 total deaths) 31.3% less deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 72.3% (45,432 fully vaccinated)
New cases per 100k in the past week: 36 (23 new cases, +10% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 18,092 (11,649 total cases) 22.5% less cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 213 (137 total deaths) 6.2% less deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 54.9% (35,377 fully vaccinated)
New cases per 100k in the past week: 37 (57 new cases, +16% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 36,143 (55,277 total cases) 54.9% more cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 292 (447 total deaths) 28.6% more deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 45.1% (68,964 fully vaccinated)
New cases per 100k in the past week: 38 (60 new cases, +329% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 27,643 (43,490 total cases) 18.5% more cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 232 (365 total deaths) 2.2% more deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 54.5% (85,703 fully vaccinated)
New cases per 100k in the past week: 39 (7 new cases, -53% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 25,450 (4,591 total cases) 9.1% more cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 310 (56 total deaths) 36.6% more deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 62.5% (11,280 fully vaccinated)
New cases per 100k in the past week: 39 (351 new cases, +92% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 26,522 (238,749 total cases) 13.6% more cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 252 (2,265 total deaths) 11.0% more deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 53.6% (482,790 fully vaccinated)
New cases per 100k in the past week: 41 (32 new cases, -16% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 21,795 (17,146 total cases) 6.6% less cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 154 (121 total deaths) 32.2% less deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 49.2% (38,732 fully vaccinated)
New cases per 100k in the past week: 41 (40 new cases, +135% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 23,524 (22,811 total cases) 0.8% more cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 231 (224 total deaths) 1.8% more deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 60.5% (58,669 fully vaccinated)
New cases per 100k in the past week: 45 (99 new cases, +36% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 18,207 (39,908 total cases) 22.0% less cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 191 (418 total deaths) 15.9% less deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 53.2% (116,693 fully vaccinated)
New cases per 100k in the past week: 46 (129 new cases, -10% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 25,621 (71,145 total cases) 9.8% more cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 295 (818 total deaths) 30.0% more deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 51.8% (143,904 fully vaccinated)
New cases per 100k in the past week: 50 (277 new cases, +7% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 24,597 (135,447 total cases) 5.4% more cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 298 (1,643 total deaths) 31.3% more deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 57.0% (313,933 fully vaccinated)
New cases per 100k in the past week: 52 (9 new cases, -47% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 15,317 (2,635 total cases) 34.4% less cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 174 (30 total deaths) 23.3% less deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 44.9% (7,722 fully vaccinated)
New cases per 100k in the past week: 56 (563 new cases, -30% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 25,618 (255,954 total cases) 9.8% more cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 275 (2,748 total deaths) 21.1% more deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 61.2% (611,326 fully vaccinated)
New cases per 100k in the past week: 57 (1,413 new cases, +42% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 25,193 (622,412 total cases) 8.0% more cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 261 (6,457 total deaths) 15.0% more deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 58.7% (1,450,332 fully vaccinated)
New cases per 100k in the past week: 58 (16 new cases, -16% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 21,721 (6,041 total cases) 6.9% less cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 180 (50 total deaths) 20.7% less deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 47.8% (13,308 fully vaccinated)
New cases per 100k in the past week: 60 (60 new cases, +40% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 17,376 (17,333 total cases) 25.5% less cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 127 (127 total deaths) 44.1% less deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 63.2% (62,999 fully vaccinated)
New cases per 100k in the past week: 64 (124 new cases, +158% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 15,653 (30,186 total cases) 32.9% less cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 109 (210 total deaths) 52.0% less deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 60.9% (117,363 fully vaccinated)
New cases per 100k in the past week: 64 (12 new cases, +200% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 17,605 (3,311 total cases) 24.6% less cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 69 (13 total deaths) 69.6% less deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 55.0% (10,337 fully vaccinated)
New cases per 100k in the past week: 65 (260 new cases, +11% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 17,762 (70,750 total cases) 23.9% less cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 157 (625 total deaths) 30.8% less deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 67.0% (266,863 fully vaccinated)
New cases per 100k in the past week: 74 (2,354 new cases, +33% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 18,709 (594,132 total cases) 19.8% less cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 220 (6,998 total deaths) 3.1% less deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 72.6% (2,305,143 fully vaccinated)
New cases per 100k in the past week: 75 (635 new cases, +38% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 21,757 (184,065 total cases) 6.8% less cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 176 (1,486 total deaths) 22.5% less deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 72.1% (610,066 fully vaccinated)
New cases per 100k in the past week: 78 (36 new cases, +64% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 16,754 (7,691 total cases) 28.2% less cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 261 (120 total deaths) 15.0% more deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 53.5% (24,560 fully vaccinated)
New cases per 100k in the past week: 78 (591 new cases, +98% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 23,188 (176,728 total cases) 0.6% less cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 292 (2,225 total deaths) 28.6% more deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 61.5% (469,001 fully vaccinated)
New cases per 100k in the past week: 80 (32 new cases, +14% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 23,136 (9,197 total cases) 0.9% less cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 216 (86 total deaths) 4.8% less deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 52.5% (20,887 fully vaccinated)
New cases per 100k in the past week: 91 (200 new cases, -22% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 18,333 (40,425 total cases) 21.4% less cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 142 (314 total deaths) 37.4% less deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 70.5% (155,464 fully vaccinated)
New cases per 100k in the past week: 92 (260 new cases, +76% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 20,106 (56,923 total cases) 13.8% less cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 168 (477 total deaths) 26.0% less deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 64.1% (181,569 fully vaccinated)
New cases per 100k in the past week: 94 (418 new cases, +12% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 20,533 (91,679 total cases) 12.0% less cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 154 (688 total deaths) 32.2% less deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 69.2% (308,820 fully vaccinated)
New cases per 100k in the past week: 95 (2,077 new cases, -19% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 27,240 (593,862 total cases) 16.7% more cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 330 (7,191 total deaths) 45.4% more deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 56.9% (1,240,838 fully vaccinated)
New cases per 100k in the past week: 103 (56 new cases, +133% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 24,391 (13,288 total cases) 4.5% more cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 332 (181 total deaths) 46.3% more deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 52.4% (28,566 fully vaccinated)
New cases per 100k in the past week: 103 (3,451 new cases, +24% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 24,392 (814,292 total cases) 4.5% more cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 157 (5,238 total deaths) 30.8% less deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 80.3% (2,682,311 fully vaccinated)
New cases per 100k in the past week: 108 (94 new cases, +62% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 18,815 (16,322 total cases) 19.4% less cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 142 (123 total deaths) 37.4% less deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 68.8% (59,671 fully vaccinated)
New cases per 100k in the past week: 108 (467 new cases, +74% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 21,665 (94,041 total cases) 7.2% less cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 168 (731 total deaths) 26.0% less deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 72.9% (316,248 fully vaccinated)
New cases per 100k in the past week: 112 (503 new cases, +125% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 19,676 (88,078 total cases) 15.7% less cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 100 (449 total deaths) 55.9% less deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 67.2% (300,903 fully vaccinated)
New cases per 100k in the past week: 120 (12,029 new cases, +15% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 28,528 (2,863,983 total cases) 22.2% more cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 316 (31,712 total deaths) 39.2% more deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 73.2% (7,352,633 fully vaccinated)
New cases per 100k in the past week: 140 (653 new cases, -16% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 29,122 (135,763 total cases) 24.8% more cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 313 (1,458 total deaths) 37.9% more deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 54.5% (254,102 fully vaccinated)
New cases per 100k in the past week: 141 (191 new cases, +53% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 14,920 (20,225 total cases) 36.1% less cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 107 (145 total deaths) 52.9% less deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 66.3% (89,808 fully vaccinated)
New cases per 100k in the past week: 142 (1,638 new cases, +61% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 17,839 (205,778 total cases) 23.6% less cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 113 (1,301 total deaths) 50.2% less deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 82.3% (949,461 fully vaccinated)
New cases per 100k in the past week: 157 (2,624 new cases, +47% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 16,553 (276,662 total cases) 29.1% less cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 111 (1,851 total deaths) 51.1% less deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 81.6% (1,364,573 fully vaccinated)
New cases per 100k in the past week: 164 (813 new cases, +48% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 17,821 (88,095 total cases) 23.6% less cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 99 (488 total deaths) 56.4% less deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 78.6% (388,314 fully vaccinated)
New cases per 100k in the past week: 175 (3,381 new cases, +45% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 17,302 (333,565 total cases) 25.9% less cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 118 (2,281 total deaths) 48.0% less deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 85.5% (1,649,116 fully vaccinated)
New cases per 100k in the past week: 176 (50 new cases, +900% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 23,319 (6,621 total cases) 0.1% less cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 169 (48 total deaths) 25.6% less deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 55.3% (15,698 fully vaccinated)
New cases per 100k in the past week: 181 (250 new cases, +31% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 19,853 (27,347 total cases) 14.9% less cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 104 (143 total deaths) 54.2% less deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 79.0% (108,824 fully vaccinated)
New cases per 100k in the past week: 182 (2,828 new cases, +19% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 20,018 (310,697 total cases) 14.2% less cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 194 (3,007 total deaths) 14.5% less deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 67.6% (1,049,419 fully vaccinated)
New cases per 100k in the past week: 203 (525 new cases, -19% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 14,416 (37,312 total cases) 38.2% less cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 112 (291 total deaths) 50.7% less deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 87.4% (226,121 fully vaccinated)
New cases per 100k in the past week: 204 (558 new cases, +37% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 18,667 (51,000 total cases) 20.0% less cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 96 (262 total deaths) 57.7% less deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 75.3% (205,790 fully vaccinated)
New cases per 100k in the past week: 233 (2,057 new cases, +46% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 15,757 (138,909 total cases) 32.5% less cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 98 (860 total deaths) 56.8% less deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 83.6% (736,825 fully vaccinated)
New cases per 100k in the past week: 242 (1,852 new cases, +18% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 17,374 (133,181 total cases) 25.6% less cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 92 (705 total deaths) 59.5% less deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 84.4% (647,347 fully vaccinated)
Sharon Osbourne Has COVID-19, Shares Photo of Her in Bed with an IV | PEOPLE.com Skip to content Top Navigation Close this dialog window Explore PEOPLE.com Close this dialog window Share & More Close this dialog window View image
Sharon Osbourne Says She Has COVID-19 as She Shares Photo of Her in Bed with an IV
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KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) Everyone has a unique experience with the COVID-19 pandemic. The students in yearbook class at Hardin Valley Academy are looking back at how they covered the pandemic since its start which would ultimately change their high school experience forever.
We have not had a normal year yet that Ive been making a yearbook, said Allison Harris, who took over teaching Hardin Valley Academys yearbook class in 2019. She said she and her students would have never anticipated what would lie ahead.
I had to get special permission to come back into the school so that I could go around to all the computers and download all the pictures and upload them to Google because that was the only way I could get them home, explained Harris.
Her students also had to adjust.
I got really comfortable with doing yearbook stuff, senior Alyssa Goldmann said. Then the second year rolled around, and then the pandemic happened, and then it got really hard because we went virtual.
Over the last couple of years since the start of the pandemic, Goldmann and her fellow senior yearbook classmate Alex Valentine have moved on to become editors of the yearbook. The pair spoke about how theyve been able to use their yearbook as a sort of time capsule to tell their schools story of the pandemic.
This is our COVID-19 spread that we had in our Visionary book when the whole school shut down and we just basically explained all the dates that occurred, Goldmann said of their 2019-2020 school yearbook. Like when we ran out of toilet paper, when the whole school shut down, when we went virtual and then the mask mandate happened.
Valentine explained the pandemic vocabulary added to that yearbook. It included words that were new at the time of publication, but that the entire world would learn quickly.
Obviously, like main ones, like social distancing and quarantine are added in there because thats all the words that started being thrown around and no one really knew what was going on so, Valentine said.
Covering sports and activities was another challenge that year, considering many teams and clubs barely could have a season.
Luckily, we had one game we could take photos of cause if not we would have to think of a whole new spread, sometimes we had to do that, said Goldmann of covering the schools baseball team in the 2019-2020 yearbook.
Valentine explained parts of the yearbook were made up of lists instead of group photos because the opportunity never came back around to take photos once the school went virtual.
Kind of hard to make a yearbook when you dont have pictures, Valentine said.
As they returned to school in the fall of 2020, there were a new set of challenges.
It was kind of hard because sometimes they wouldnt let us into events because you cant be on the football field when its like COVID season, explained Goldmann. It was very hard to identify people because you dont know who they are, and you cant see who they are under the mask.
Moving into the creation of that school years yearbook, they focused on the positive, titling it Thrive. Goldmann and Valentine say they saw it as an opportunity to show off how their classmates thrived during the drastic changes, they, and other high schoolers across the nation, were going through.
They created spreads about hair trends during quarantine, Q & A sections about what people did during their time virtually learning, and even talked about how different activities changed because of new COVID guidelines.
We had a graduation spread where they walked down Hardin Valley Road and they got to see pictures from that that we took, Valentine said.
The musical happened, but everyone was wearing a mask, so the book is filled with kids in masks, which is a weird thing to look at, added Harris.
Its something they hope gave their classmates a chance to feel seen in a year where so much was different.
I think it was just really nice for everyone to have that sort of closure on the year, Valentine said.
And as students may graduate onto other endeavors, Ms. Harris knows just how vital these books will be down the road.
Kids, they dont necessarily grasp the importance of them in the moment because they are so digital and theyre documenting their lives every day on Instagram and whatever, Harris said. It just gives you something to look at and point to with your kids, your grandkids, 50-years from now so you can say, This is what it looked like at school that year.
WINDOW ROCK
As COVID-19 numbers continue to decline and life returns to some semblance of normal, it is important to remember the children who are grieving the loss of a parent or caregiver during the pandemic who still need the support and resources of their communities.
This is according to a recently release study called Hidden Pain by the COVID Collaborative and Social Policy Analytics, that reports than 167,082 children under 18, or about one in 450 of all children in the United States, lost at least one of their caretakers from January 2020 to November, 2021.
For these children, COVID has done more than hurt their lives it has ended their world, the report states. Especially early in development, a parent or family caregiver fills a childs entire skyproviding most of his or her stability, confidence and care.
According to the report, more than 2000 Native children lost primary caregivers to COVID-19 in Arizona, New Mexico and Utah alone.
The study describes the COVID-19 pandemic as the single deadliest acute public health crisis in American history and a mass casualty event that has left a trail of grief.
Americas COVID-19 crisis has not ended, but we have begun to count the staggering size of our loss, state the researchers. These tragedies were experienced in the isolation of pandemic precautions and hospital wards.
Children who lost a parent, grandparent or other caregiver face uncertainty, stress and turmoil, they say.
The report advises policymakers and other leaders to face the responsibility to minimize the clinical, social, and economic impacts these children are encountering.
This group of children warrant special attention in the policy and practice responses to COVID-19 bereavement, it states.
The report found children from racial and ethnic minority groups were far more likely to lose a caregiver to COVID-19 than White, non-Hispanic children, meaning COVIDs hidden loss falls heaviest on minority children.
Higher mortality rates and larger household sizes among communities of color, combined with legacies of disinvestment, have led to consistently disadvantaged communities experiencing COVID-19 related orphanhood at the highest rates, the report states.
American Indian and Alaska Native and Hawaiian and Pacific Islander children had the highest rate of caregiver loss at nearly four times that of white children per 100,000 people.
The study reports the rates of caregiver loss for American Indian and Alaska Native children were more than 10 times those of white children in Mississippi, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota and Utah.
In Arizona, 1,142 Native American children out of a total of 5,980 lost a caregiver.
In New Mexico, 774, or about half of the 1,609 total children who lost caregivers, were Native American.
In Utah, 120 Native American children out of 1,323 total lost caregivers.
In total, 2,036 Native American children lost caregivers in the three states that comprise the Navajo Nation.
We are requiring these children and families to bear the heaviest burden of the pandemic, despite permitting them the fewest resources with which to carry on, states the report.
Overall, approximately 20% of children with a caregiver death were in the youngest age group (birth through 4 years old), 50% were elementary or middle-school age (age 5 through 13), and 29% were high-school age (age 14 through 17).
Many of these children already faced significant social and economic adversity, and these devastating losses can impact their development and success for the rest of their lives, said researchers.
Additionally, the trauma, uncertainty and stress associated with the loss of a caregiver can lead to depression, anxiety, PTSD, addiction, lower academic achievement and higher dropout rates, financial turmoil, and reduced employment into adulthood.
Caregiver death can contribute to negative psychological, economic, and social outcomes, especially for families from these under-resourced communities, and failure to mitigate these consequences is a missed opportunity, the report states. They have lost the most important people in their lives: their sources of care, comfort, love, and economic support.
Researchers say critical support needed for the children who lost caregivers can be provided by extended family, peer support groups, community-based intervention, counseling, grief camps, mentoring programs, increased access to mental health programs, financial assistance, and government and school engagement.
The grief and confusion of these young people is concealed by being scattered across the country, the report states. We must do everything necessary to rescue and comfort them.
Click to access HIDDEN-PAIN-FINAL.pdf
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