by: Sydney Kalich, Nexstar Media Wire
(NewsNation Now) The World Health Organization has identified another coronavirus variant of interest, calling it the mu variant, saying it may have the ability to evade vaccine protections.
Heres what you need to know:
The B.1.621 variant, also known as the mu variant, was first found in Colombia in January 2021 and has been found in about 39 countries so far, including the United States. The variants prevalence has consistently increased in Colombia and Ecuador, despite reports of sequenced cases dropping globally overall.
WHO said further studies are needed to determine the characteristics of the mu variant.
Mu has changes, called mutations, which means it might be able to evade some of the protection given from COVID vaccines.
One reassuring element is that, despite being around since January 2021, it doesnt seem to be outcompeting delta, the dominant variant across most of the world. Mu has been designated a variant of interest or VOI by WHO. If there are changes to the virus that means it looks like it has the potential to do more harm, then it is designated as a variant of interest.
WHOs variants of interesthave been determined to exhibit genetic changes that are predicted or known to affect virus characteristics including transmissibility, immune escape, disease severity or resistance to treatment. VOIs being monitored by WHO include eta, iota, kappa and lambda.
Mu has yet to be designated as a variant of concern, or VOC, by WHO. If theres evidence mu is more serious and beginning to overtake other variants such as delta, it might be upgraded to a VOC. Variants of concern worldwide include alpha, beta, gamma and delta.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has also named alpha, beta, gamma and delta as all variants of concern in the United States.
If mu was truly as contiguous as the delta variant, we would have expected to have started to see indications of this, and we havent yet.
Some mutations will be detrimental to the virus, but some will be beneficial, allowing it to spread better, escape the protection offered by vaccines or even evade COVID tests.
The CDC advised that variants are expected as the pandemic evolves and that receiving COVID-19 shots is still the best way to protect against the virus.
Most COVID vaccines target the spike protein of the virus, which it uses to enter our cells. Our vaccines expose our bodies to a part of the virus, commonly the spike protein, so our immune system can learn to fight the virus off if it encounters it.
If a variant has significant changes in the spike protein, this may decrease the effectiveness of our vaccines.
The WHO said preliminary evidence suggests themu variantcould partially evade the antibodies we get from vaccination. But because this data is from lab studies, we cant be sure how the variant will actually play out in the population.
More research is needed to be certain about how it behaves in humans, and work on this is ongoing.
The good news is vaccines currently protect well against symptomatic infection and severe disease from all variants of the virus so far.
Theres a probability a new variant that will arise one day that can significantly escape the protection offered by our vaccines, which are based on the original strain of the virus. We would call this an escape variant.
However, the leading COVID vaccine manufacturers are well prepared if this eventuates. Some are already developing vaccines for new variants, such as delta.
The Associated Press, Reuters and Nexstar Media Wire contributed to this report.
Gov. Justice: Our hospitals are still overwhelmingly inundated with cases of people that are not vaccinated.
COVID-19 Dashboard | Coronavirus.wv.gov
This comes exactly one week after the state record for the number of patients on ventilators was broken. Wednesday, that number also continued to increase to never-before-seen levels, with a new all-time high of 132 West Virginians now onventilators.
West Virginias total number of COVID-related hospitalizations has increased to 813; just five away from the all-time record in that category as well. And, as Gov. Justice pointed out Wednesday, there is a common thread between the vast majority of these severe cases.
Just like if you have a big, roaring fire, the fire might start off in a few places, but after awhile, if you have enough dry timber and have too few number of firewalls, that fire can start to consume more and more of the of the forest, and start to join in to create one, raging fire, Dr. Marsh continued. That's exactly what I believe were experiencing right now in West Virginia. And, as the Governor has said, the way to generate the firewalls is vaccination. Theres really no other intervention that works as well as that.
As this variant continues to burn itself out, we predict it may take as much as another five to seven or maybe as many as 10 to 14 days for that to happen.
The statewide death toll from COVID-19 reached 3,169 on Wednesday, with 21 deaths occurring since his last briefing just two days ago.
The total number of active COVID-19 cases in West Virginia has now reached 22,215; an increase of over 700 new cases in the past two days.
Meanwhile, the County Alert System map now shows that a whopping 44 of the states 55 counties are now in the highest-risk Red category. Another eight counties are one step below in the Orange category.
Weve given out 11,000 vaccine doses since last Friday, Gov. Justice said. It sounds good, but its not enough. Weve still got so many folks out there that we need to get across the finish line.
All West Virginians interested in being vaccinated are encouraged to visitVaccinate.wv.govor call theWest Virginia Vaccine Info Line: 1-833-734-0965. The info line is open Monday-Friday from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
To qualify, all vaccine-eligible members of the grandfamily including grandparents and grandchildren ages 12 and older must have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. The family must also be enrolled in West Virginia State Universitys Healthy Grandfamilies program. Enroll at healthygrandfamilies.com.
Healthy Grandfamilies which provides information and resources to grandparents who are raising one or more grandchildren is assisting in the administration of the school voucher incentive. According to the organization, about 19,000 West Virginia children live in households with a grandparent or grandparents as their primary caregiver.
All West Virginians who have had at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine can register atDoitforBabydog.wv.govfor an opportunity to join the list of winners.Over 188,000West Virginians have already registered for Round 2 of the sweepstakes.
*Those who previously registered for Round 1 of the vaccination sweepstakes are required to register again to be eligible for Round 2*
Additional weekly prizes for vaccinated West Virginians ages 18+ include:
While the registration deadline to be eligible for this week's giveaway has passed, vaccinated West Virginiansare still able to register for future drawings.
Prize drawings will be held weekly, with winners being announced each Thursday through Oct. 7.
Click here: COVID-19 Outbreaks in State Public Schools (WVDE)
Tenschools and one entire county school system Clay County are currently closed due to COVID-19.
As of this afternoon, a total of 29 county school systems have face covering requirements, 13 counties have criteria for requiring face coverings, and 13 counties do not haveface covering requirements.
Click here: District-by-district face covering guidance (as of Sept. 8)
Additionally, there are now 62 active outbreaks in long-term care facilities across the state.
Meanwhile, there are now 134active inmate cases and 58active staff cases across the West Virginia Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation system. To view the latest DCR case update, click here.
I congratulate them both in every way, Gov. Justice said. What incredible work both of you do. Youre both very deserving of this great honor.
Casto is an eighth grade West Virginia Studies teacher at Milton Middle School in Cabell County and a 13-year education veteran. In addition to his classroom duties, he serves his school as a member of Milton Middle Schools leadership team, a team leader and a West Virginia Quiz Bowl coach. Outside of school, Casto coaches tee-ball, works with teens in his churchs youth group, and enjoys exploring the state with his wife and three children.
Miller is a cafeteria manager at Wayne High School in Wayne County. A pillar of support for her students and community, she has been in her current role for 19 years. Millers consistent dedication is displayed by her involvement in the development and implementation of her schools meal pick-up program, school improvement days, and cooking pre-game meals for the football team. Additionally, she participates in fundraising dinners for Hospice of Huntington and is involved with the Wayne County Special Olympics.
I congratulate all of this years finalists, Gov. Justice said. Weve got a lot of great, great teachers and service personnel who do incredible work across the state with our kids.
Click here to read more
This annual observance held on the second Saturday of each September celebrates the bravery and sacrifice of first responders in West Virginia; including firefighters, law enforcement officers, emergency medical services workers, and 911 telecommunicators.
This years Heroes Day happens to coincide with the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in New York, Washington D.C., and Pennsylvania.
Its an event that none of us will ever, ever forget, Gov. Justice said.
We salute all the heroes across our state and nation that always run to the fire, Gov. Justice continued. I say it over and over, but we love them and we thank them.
The Governor went on to add that a special Heroes Day celebration will be held this Saturday at the Ritchie County 4H Grounds just outside of Harrisville.
Confirmed cases of COVID-19 have passed 221.9 million globally, according to Johns Hopkins University. The number of confirmed deaths stands at more than 4.58 million. More than 5.53 billion vaccination doses have been administered globally, according to Our World in Data.
New Zealand has reported a further fall in locally acquired COVID-19 cases, with 15 reported today, down from 21 a day before.
As of Tuesday morning, 75% of US adults had received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced.
It comes as the CDC warned against travel to Sri Lanka, Jamaica and Brunei because of rising COVID-19 cases.
Venezuela has received its first batch of vaccines through the COVAX vaccine-sharing facility, the Pan-American Health Organization announced yesterday.
Spain's healthcare regulator has approved a third dose of COVID-19 vaccines for people with severely compromised immune systems.
Singapore recorded 328 new domestic COVID-19 cases yesterday, its highest daily tally in more than a year.
Two-hundred-nine deaths within 28 days of a positive COVID-19 test were reported in Britain yesterday, the highest total since 9 March.
The Philippines' capital region will remain under the second strictest COVID-19 restrictions, a senior official announced yesterday, delaying a planned easing of curbs.
Sweden is set to remove most restrictions and limits on public venues, such as restaurants, theatres and stadiums, at the end of September, the government said yesterday.
Daily new confirmed COVID-19 cases per million people in selected countries
Image: Our World in Data
Hundreds of thousands of people will die of tuberculosis if left untreated because of disruption to healthcare systems in poor countries as a result of the pandemic, the Global Fund warned.
The Geneva-based aid body said that in some of the world's poorest countries, excess deaths from AIDS and TB could even exceed those from COVID-19 itself.
"Essentially, about a million people less were treated for TB in 2020 than in 2019 and I'm afraid that will inevitably mean that hundreds of thousands of people will die," Executive Director Peter Sands told Reuters.
The Fund's annual report showed that the number of people treated for drug-resistant TB in countries where it operates fell by 19%. A decline of 11% was seen in HIV prevention programmes and services.
Each of our Top 50 social enterprise last mile responders and multi-stakeholder initiatives is working across four priority areas of need: Prevention and protection; COVID-19 treatment and relief; inclusive vaccine access; and securing livelihoods. The list was curated jointly with regional hosts Catalyst 2030s NASE and Aavishkaar Group. Their profiles can be found on www.wef.ch/lastmiletop50india.
Top Last Mile Partnership Initiatives to collaborate with:
COVID-19 is something that is likely here to stay, World Health Organization (WHO) officials said yesterday.
I think this virus is here to stay with us and it will evolve like influenza pandemic viruses, it will evolve to become one of the other viruses that affects us, Dr Mike Ryan, executive director of the WHOs Health Emergencies Program, said at a press briefing.
Ryan said that it was "very, very unlikely" that we will eliminate or eradicate the virus.
Written by
Joe Myers, Writer, Formative Content
The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and not the World Economic Forum.
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) More than 1,200 new COVID-19 cases were reported in South Dakota on Wednesday.
There were 1,230 new total cases reported on Wednesday. The states total case count is now at 135,538, up from Tuesday (134,308).
A note on the Department of Healths COVID-19 dashboard says Wednesdays report will include data from after 1 p.m. Friday, September 3 through Tuesday, September 7 at 1 p.m.
Active cases are now at 6,507, up from Tuesday (6,182).
The death toll from COVID-19 is now at 2,077, up from Tuesday (2,074). The three new deaths include two men and one woman in the following age ranges: 1 in the 30-39 year old group; 1 in the 50-59 year old group; 1 in the 80+ year old group. New deaths were reported in Charles Mix, Lawrence and Minnehaha Counties.
Current hospitalizations are at 210, down from Tuesday (213). Total hospitalizations are now at 6,976, up from Tuesday (6,924).
Total recovered cases are now at 126,954, up from Tuesday (126,052). The latest seven-day PCR test positivity rate for the state is 14.7% for Aug. 31 through September 6.
The state health department has removed the total persons negative column from its COVID-19 Dashboard Tables tab. DOH spokesman Daniel Bucheli told KELOLAND News the department will providea Total Persons Tested and Total Tests Reported table each month.South Dakota Department of Health to report persons tested, total tests for COVID-19 in monthly report.
The DOH currently reports total tests each day. There have been 1,399,182 total tests reported as of Wednesday, up 11,299 from 1,387,883 total tests reported as of Tuesday.
55 of South Dakotas 66 counties are listed as having high community spread. High community spread is 100 cases or greater per 100,000 or a 10% or greater PCR test positivity rate.
CLICK HERE to view the latest COVID-19 case numbers for South Dakota and surrounding areas
The total number of cases of the Delta variant (B.1.617.2, AY.1-AY.3) detected in South Dakota is up seven to 147.
There have been 172 cases of the B.1.1.7 (Alpha variant), 16 cases of B.1.429 and B.1427 variants (Epsilon variant), 3 cases of P.1. (Gamma variant) and 2 cases of the B.1.351 (Beta variant).
As of Wednesday, 62.61% of the population 12-year-olds and above has received at least one dose while 56.92% have completed the vaccination series.
There have been 421,438 doses of the Pfizer vaccine administered, 312,096 of the Moderna vaccine and 26,971 doses of the Janssen vaccine.
There have been 150,295 persons who have completed two doses of Moderna and 200,201 who have received two doses of Pfizer.
The number of people who completed the Pfizer vaccine went up by 1,180 patients; 339 people completed the Moderna vaccine series.
by: Sydney Kalich, Nexstar Media Wire
(Getty Images)
(NewsNation Now) The U.S. economy has slowly continued to recover in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, with months of robust hiring and a widespread vaccination campaign. However, the recovery has not been equal across all states.
Currently, 62.5% have at least one dose and 53.2% of the U.S. population is fully inoculated, according todata complied by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. After a decline in recent months, vaccination rates have started to increase again with the delta variants rise. The country has also made strides in mending the economic damage from the pandemic recession with the unemployment rate falling from a staggering 14.8% in April 2020 to 5.2% in August 2021.
WalletHub compared all 50 states and the District of Columbiaacross 17 key metrics to determine what states were recovering the quickest. The data set included the amount of the states population that is fully vaccinated to the return of travel to the current real gross domestic product compared to pre-COVID levels.
The states recovering quickest from the pandemic:
South Dakota and Utah ranked in the top five states for the lowest unemployment rate compared to pre-pandemic levels. Maine, South Dakota and Utah all tied for the top spot with the lowest share of hospitals across the state with supply shortages. Maine also ranked in the top five for the lowest hospitalization rate.
The states with the slowest recovery from the pandemic (47 to 51):
Louisiana and South Carolina were tied for the highest death rate in the country. Oklahoma and Louisiana both had some of the countrys highest coronavirus hospitalization rates. Hawaii and Oklahoma also were ranked at the bottom with the lowest GDP rates compared to their pre-COVID-19 levels.
Joanne Song McLaughlin, associate professor of economics at the University of Buffalo, said while she believes the further vaccine rollout and implementation of booster shots will greatly help the economy, the future is still unknown.
It is hard to make the long-run prediction because there are many variables involved. For example, for workers who were laid off during the recession, how soon can they get back to the same level of jobs they had before? said Song. Or if they were unemployed for a very long time, how would their skill deteriorate? Or are they forced to settle into a job that is not as good as the one they had before to pay their bills? All these factors play an important role in the long run, but we do not really have convincing evidence on these questions, yet.
However, Mark Hamrick, senior economic analyst at Bankrate, warns that the loss of unemployment benefits could be detrimental to states progress as demonstrated in the handful of states that chose to opt out of these programs early.
High-frequency economic data has suggested states which opted to exit these programs early did not see a hoped-for increase in employment amid a record number of reported job openings, Hamrick said. How this plays out from here remains to be seen.
To see where your state ranks, visit Wallethubs website.
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (WJZ) Maryland reported 701 new COVID-19 cases and 21 deaths, according to state health department data released Wednesday morning.
The percentage of people testing positive increased by 0.03, currently sitting at 4.68%.
Doctors say the new cases are fueled by dangerous strains targeting the unvaccinated. During an August press conference, Gov. Larry Hogan said the Delta variant, a strain that is reportedly two to four times more contagious than the original virus strain, accounts for nearly every new confirmed case in Maryland.
The vaccines are without a doubt our single most effective tool to mitigate the threat of COVID-19 and the surging Delta variant, and Marylands vaccination rate continues to outpace the nation, Hogan said.
More than 3.7 million Maryland adults are fully vaccinated.
Hospitalizations remained at 817. Of those hospitalized, 606 remain in acute care and 211 remain in the ICU.
Since the pandemic began, there were 505,557 total confirmed cases and 9,891 deaths.
There are 3,771,972 Marylanders fully vaccinated. The state has administered 7,623,715 doses. Of those, 3,851,743 are first doses with 2,987 administered in the past 24 hours. They have given out 3,481,808 second doses, 3,908 in the last day.
The state began to administer the Johnson & Johnson vaccine again in April after the CDC and FDA lifted their pause on the vaccine due to a rare blood clot found in some women.
A total of 290,164 Marylanders have received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, 252 in the last day.
The state reported 81.5% of all adults in Maryland have received at least one dose of the vaccine.
In August, the state launched a post-vaccination infections dashboard that is updated every Wednesday. There have been 11,454 total cases among fully vaccinated Marylanders as of last Wednesday, September 1.
Of those cases, 883 vaccinated Marylanders were hospitalized, representing 6.5% of all Covid cases hospitalized in the state. 82 fully vaccinated Marylanders have died, representing 5.3% of lab-confirmed Covid deaths in the state.
CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES:
Heres a breakdown of the numbers:
By County
By Age Range and Gender
By Race and Ethnicity
SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) Students are back to school across Utah. Already, hundreds of these students have tested positive for COVID-19.
On Tuesday, in the first update since the Labor Day weekend, the Utah Department of Health reported 1,151 new cases of COVID-19 among school-aged children. For the entire school year, UDOH reports over 2,600 cases have been confirmed in Utahs schools. Just over 2,030 of those cases have been reported in the last two weeks.
For the 2020-21 school year, Utah saw over 39,900 COVID-19 cases in schools, including over 33,000 in students.
Here are five Utah schools with the current highest numbers of active COVID-19 cases among students:
Cedar Valley and Willowcreek are both in the Alpine School District while Green Canyon and Sky View are in the Cache School District. Cedar Valley and Willowcreek were also among the top five schools with the most active cases to end August.
The five schools above also have the highest count of currently active cases, which includes students, teachers, and others involved with the school.
According to UDOH, here are the five schools that have seen the most cases of COVID-19 so far:
Of these, three are in the Alpine School District and two are in the Cache District. To see the full dashboard, click here. UDOH says reporting of these cases may be delayed.
Over 70% of Utahns 12-years-old and older have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. The youngest in the state those between the ages of 12 and 18 are the least-vaccinated, according to UDOH. As of Sept. 6, 54.3% of this age group has received at least one dose of the vaccine while 42.6% are fully vaccinated.
More than a year and a half into the Covid-19 pandemic, America still doesnt agree on what its trying to accomplish.
Is the goal to completely eradicate Covid-19? Is it to prevent hospitals from getting overwhelmed? Is it hitting a certain vaccine threshold that mitigates the worst Covid-19 outcomes but doesnt prevent all infections? Or is it something else entirely?
At the root of this confusion is a big question the US, including policymakers, experts, and the general public, has never been able to answer: How many Covid-19 deaths are too many?
The lack of a clear end goal has hindered Americas anti-pandemic efforts from the start. At first, the goal of restrictions was to flatten the curve: to keep the number of cases low enough that hospitals could treat those that did arise. But that consensus crumbled against the reality of the coronavirus leaving the country with patchwork restrictions and no clear idea of what it meant to beat Covid-19, let alone a strategy to achieve a victory.
The vaccines were supposed to be a way out. But between breakthrough infections, the risks of long Covid, and new variants, its becoming clear the vaccines didnt get rid of the need to answer the underlying question of what the Covid-19 endgame is.
America is now stuck between those two extremes: The country wants to reduce the risk of Covid-19, but it also wants to limit the remnants of social distancing and other Covid-related restrictions on day-to-day life.
Were not trying to go for zero Covid, Ashish Jha, dean of the Brown University School of Public Health, told me. The question becomes: When do, in most communities, people feel comfortable going about their daily business and not worrying, excessively, about doing things that are important and meaningful to them?
Will Americans accept the deaths of tens of thousands of people, as they do with the flu, if it means life returning to normal? Can the public tolerate an even higher death toll akin to the drug overdose crisis, which killed an estimated 94,000 people in 2020 if thats what it takes to truly end social distancing and other precautions?
Does it make a difference if the vast majority of deaths are among those who are willingly unvaccinated, who, in effect, accepted a greater risk from the coronavirus? Are further reductions in deaths worth postponing a return to normal or changing what normal means if continued precautions are mild, like prolonged masking or widespread testing?
There are no easy answers here. Even among the experts Ive spoken to over the past few weeks, theres wide disagreement on how much risk is tolerable, when milder precautions like masking are warranted, and at what point harsher measures, like lockdowns and school closures, are needed. Theres not even agreement on what the endgame is; some say that, from a policy standpoint, the goal should be to keep caseloads manageable for hospitals, while others call for doing much more to drive down Covid-19.
One big problem identified by experts: I dont think were having those conversations enough, Saskia Popescu, an infectious disease epidemiologist at George Mason University, told me. Instead of the public and officials openly discussing how much risk is acceptable, the public dialogue often feels like two extremes the very risk-averse and those downplaying any risk of the coronavirus whatsoever talking past each other.
But the path to an endgame should begin with a frank discussion about just how much risk is tolerable as the coronavirus goes from pandemic to endemic.
If there is one point of agreement among most experts, its that Covid-19 is here to stay. Until very recently, I was hopeful that there was a possibility of getting to a point where we had no more Covid, Eleanor Murray, an epidemiologist at Boston University, told me. Now she believes that it is infeasible, in the short term, to aim for an eradication goal.
Particularly with the rise of the delta variant, a consensus has formed that the coronavirus likely cant be eliminated. Like the flu, a rapidly shapeshifting coronavirus will continue to stick around in some version for years to come, with new variants leading to new spikes in infections. Especially as it becomes unlikely that 100 percent of the population will get vaccinated, and as it becomes clear that the vaccines provide great but not perfect protection, the virus is probably always going to be with us in some form, both in America and abroad.
That doesnt mean the US has to accept hundreds of thousands of deaths annually in the coming years. While the vaccines have struggled at least somewhat in preventing any kind of infection (including asymptomatic infection), they have held up in preventing severe illness, hospitalization, and death reducing the risk of each by roughly 90 percent, compared to no vaccine. Research has also found stricter restrictions reduce Covid-19 spread and death, and that masks work.
But its also become clear most Americans arent willing to tolerate drastic deviations from the pre-pandemic normal lockdowns, staying at home, and broadly avoiding interactions with other people for long. While social distancing staved off the virus in the pre-vaccine pandemic days, it also wrought economic, educational, and social devastation around the world. Its the intervention that, above all, most people want to avoid going forward.
Thats the goal, in my mind: to eliminate or reduce social distancing, Jha said.
What policymakers can aim for is not a total end to Covid-19 but a balancing act. On one side of that scale is containing Covid-19 with restrictions and precautions. On the other is resuming normal, pre-pandemic life. Vaccines have changed the balance by giving us the ability to contain Covid-19s worst outcomes hospitalization and death with less weight on the side of restrictions. But vaccines alone cant drive hospitalizations and deaths to zero if all the weight on the restriction side is removed.
That suggests a choice: Either Americans accept some level of Covid-19 risk, including hospitalization and death, or they accept some level of restrictions and precautions in the long term.
Depending on how that choice is made, the US could be looking at very different futures. Americans could decide some milder precautions, like masking, are fine. Or they could conclude that even masking is too much to ask, even if that means a greater death toll. It hinges on how much weight on the restrictions side remains acceptable for the bulk of the population how high the threshold is for embracing continued deviations from what day-to-day life was like before.
Regardless, experts say the balance, as the coronavirus becomes endemic, will require accepting some level of Covid-19 risk both to individuals and to society. America already does that with the flu: In some years, a flu season kills as many as 60,000 people in the US, most of whom are elderly and/or people with preexisting health conditions, but also some kids and previously healthy individuals. As a cause of death, the flu can surpass gun violence or car crashes, but its a tolerated cost to continuing life as normal.
You want to get Covid to a place where its more comparable in terms of disease burden and in terms of economic impact to the flu, Cline Gounder, an epidemiologist at New York University, told me.
With about half the country vaccinated, the Covid-19 death rate is still much higher than that of the flu the more than 120,000 deaths over the past six months is still more than double the number of people even the worst flu seasons have recently killed. But as more people get vaccinated and others develop natural immunity after an infection, the death rate will likely come down.
A glimpse of what this could look like in the future came from a study in Provincetown, Massachusetts. The study was at first widely reported as evidence that the virus can still spread among the vaccinated because the outbreak happened in a highly vaccinated population, and three-fourths of those who were infected had gotten their shots.
But experts now argue for another interpretation of the study: Its what a post-pandemic world could look like. Yes, the coronavirus still circulated among vaccinated people. But in an outbreak that eventually infected more than 1,000, only seven hospitalizations and zero deaths have been recorded. If this was 2020, given overall hospitalization and death rates, the outbreak would have likely produced around 100 hospitalizations and 10 deaths.
We should cheer, Amesh Adalja, senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, told me. The Provincetown outbreak, contrary to what the press reported, was evidence not of the vaccines failure but of their smashing success.
That doesnt mean the vaccine is perfect. A 90 percent reduction in death, relative to the unvaccinated, is not 100 percent. But it is a much lower risk. If this holds up despite future variants and potentially waning vaccine efficacy, its great news.
But that isnt how the Provincetown study has been widely interpreted, especially after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cited it to reinstitute masking recommendations for the vaccinated in public indoor spaces in areas with substantial or high caseloads.
And the national Covid-19 disease burden may never resemble Provincetowns anyway, since the city resides in the second most vaccinated state. In that context, Americans may have to come to accept even higher levels of sickness and death if the goal is to return to normal and vaccination rates dont go up quickly enough.
That leaves the country with a blunt question: How many deaths are Americans willing to tolerate?
The problem is theres no agreement, including among experts, on Covid-19 risk. Some have accepted merely reducing the coronaviruss strain on hospitals as the major policy goal. Theres next to no confidence that anything like Covid zero can be achieved now, but other experts still prefer harsher restrictions if it means preventing more deaths. And many people fall in between.
Its this debate, between flatten the curve and Covid zero, thats long divided the USs Covid-19 response. Red states hewed at least for a while to flatten the curve, moving to lift Covid-related restrictions and reopen their economies as soon as hospitals stabilized. Blue states never truly pushed for Covid zero, but they were generally much less willing to tolerate high levels of cases and deaths and, as a result, shut down more quickly in response to even hints of major surges. (Although there were some outliers on both sides.)
Even with the vaccines, this division, among both policymakers and the public they serve, has kept America in limbo.
Part of the divide is on a philosophical question about the role of government. But its about individuals decisions, too: Are they willing to forgo social activities, government mandate or not, to reduce deaths? Are they willing to keep wearing masks? Submit to continued testing in all sorts of settings?
Are 30,000 to 40,000 deaths a year too many? Thats generally what the country sees with gun violence and car crashes and American policymakers, at least, havent been driven to major actions on these fronts.
Are as many as 60,000 deaths a year too many? Thats what Americans have tolerated for the flu.
Are 90,000 deaths a year too many? Thats the death toll of the ongoing drug overdose crisis and while policymakers have taken some steps to combat that, experts argue the actions so far have fallen short, and the issue doesnt draw that much national attention.
Is the current death toll of more than 1,500 a day, or equivalent to more than 500,000 deaths a year too much? Many people would say, of course, it is. But in the middle of a delta variant surge, Americans may be revealing their preferences as restaurant reservations are now around the pre-pandemic normal a sign the country is moving on. The loudest voices on social media and in public are way more cautious than the average American, Jha said.
Part of the calculus may be influenced by who is getting infected and dying. Once everyone (including children) is eligible for the vaccines, is a high death toll among those who remain unvaccinated simply part of the risk they decided to take by not getting the shot?
This is not something most experts I spoke to are comfortable saying, but its a sentiment Ive repeatedly heard from vaccinated people and even some who are unvaccinated a very dire version of actions have consequences.
Another consideration is whether some Covid-related precautions become permanent. Social distancing in any of its forms doesnt seem like a candidate. But what about masking in indoor spaces? More frequent testing? Vastly improving indoor ventilation? Doing more things outdoors? Depending on whether Americans embrace these other interventions, the level of Covid-19 risk people have to tolerate may end up being lower but what normal looks like would also be redefined to some degree.
Other countries are talking about these trade-offs more explicitly. Australian leaders, for example, have said that they will shift from a long-heralded Covid zero strategy once vaccination rates hit certain thresholds even though this means continued cases and deaths, particularly among the unvaccinated. In the US, the end goal has never been so clear.
Experts argue that these kinds of questions need to be out in the open, so Americans and their leaders can openly discuss them and decide on a plan forward.
Those conversations were important to have in the beginning, Murray said. But theyre even more important now, as we move into this control phase rather than a phase where elimination or eradication [of Covid-19] seems possible.
The country may just continue muddling along. Vaccination rates and natural immunity will slowly increase. Deaths and hospitalizations will similarly decline. Eventually, the virus will hit a level that most Americans find tolerable (if that hasnt happened already). Politicians and the media will talk less about the coronavirus. And, perhaps before we know it, the pandemic will be a thing of the past in the US.
Thats what was happening in June before the delta surge. But over the past 18 months, weve seen that, with no agreement on the endgame, its often impossible to say if the end is really near.
SEOUL, Sept 8 (Reuters) - South Korea is drawing up a plan on how to live more normally with COVID-19, expecting 80% of adults to be fully vaccinated by late October, health authorities said on Wednesday.
The country is in the middle of its worst wave of infections, but it has kept the number of severely ill cases under control through steadily rising vaccination rates.
"We'll review measures that will allow us to live more normally, but any such switch will be implemented only when we achieve high vaccination rates and overall (COVID-19) situations stabilise," Son Young-rae, a senior health ministry official, told a briefing.
The strategy will be implemented in phases to gradually ease restrictions, authorities said. Masks will still be required at least in the initial stage.
The government expects to implement the plan sometime after late October, when 80% of its adult population likely will have been vaccinated. As of Tuesday, South Korea had given at least one vaccine dose to 70.9% of its adult population, while 42.6% are fully vaccinated.
It reported 2,050 new COVID-19 cases for Tuesday, with 2,014 of those locally acquired.
South Korea extended national social distancing curbs to Oct. 3 this week as the country boosts its vaccination campaign ahead of a thanksgiving holiday that falls later this month.
Restrictions in place include limited operating hours for cafes and restaurants and on the number of people allowed at social gatherings.
South Korea has registered 265,423 infections since the pandemic started, with 2,334 deaths.
The country has not seen a significant increase in coronavirus deaths, with a mortality rate of 0.88%, largely due to high vaccination rates among the elderly and vulnerable.
Severe or critical cases stood at 387 as of Tuesday.
Reporting by Sangmi Cha; Editing by Miyoung Kim and Tom Hogue
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
After Jeff Driskel tested positive for COVID-19 leading up to Week 12 last season, all three of the Denver Broncos other quarterbacks were also ruled ineligible to play against the New Orleans Saints because the NFL said they were close contacts.
With all four quarterbacks deemed ineligible to play, the Broncos were forced to call up practice squad wide receiver Kendall Hinton as an emergency quarterback. At the time, it seemed like a harsh decision from the NFL, especially when other games had been moved because of COVID outbreaks.
With new details now known, the NFLs decision makes more sense.
In a recent interview with Sam Farmer of the Los Angeles Times, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell revealed that Lock and Denvers three other QBs tried to skirt COVID protocol and manipulate the tracers.
Heres part of Farmers story with the details:
John Elway, Denvers president of football operations, made several frustrated pleas to Goodell to postpone the Sunday game until Tuesday, when the quarterbacks would be available. The league denied those requests because surveillance video from Denvers facility showed the quarterbacks had tried to fool the system. They had removed their contact-tracing devices and put them in the four corners of the meeting room, then they sat together to watch film. That close contact automatically made them ineligible to play.
Heres part of what Lock said in a statement after he was ruled out for the game last fall:
In a controlled and socially distanced area, we let our masking slip for a limited amount of time. An honest mistake, but one I will own.
Given the context we now know, thats an interesting comment from Lock. Driskel and Blake Bortles are no longer with the team. Lock is back as the teams No. 2 and Brett Rypien is back on the practice squad. Teddy Bridgewater will start for Denver this fall.
