During an interview Monday on MSNBC, Mitch Daniels said Purdue and many other universities are taking the same path.
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind Purdue University President Mitch Daniels said he will not require students and staff to get vaccinated against COVID-19, but did say those not vaccinated will face other restrictions.
During an interview Monday on MSNBC, Daniels said Purdue and many other universities are taking the same path.
"We're with that very large majority of American colleges and universities who are not planning to require the vaccine this fall," Daniels said.
Daniels said that it will be left up to a student to decide if they will get vaccinated or not.
"I will say, here at Purdue, we have offered a choice model and people can either chose to stay with the system we used all last year all of us were subject to surveillance testing on a regular basis or they can exempt themselves by getting vaccinated. We've done everything we know how to encourage that, enable that," Daniels said.
Daniels said 60 percent of students have already registered that they are vaccinated. He said the university will continue working to increase those numbers, but he doesn't see how requiring the COVID-19 vaccine will work.
"We believe there will be very big enforcement problems trying to absolutely require, throw people off campus if they didn't prove their vaccination status," Daniels said. "The vaccine is not approved yet and some people draw a distinction on that basis. Of course you should also notice the age group we're talking about here, and they're smart enough to know this, are at almost zero risk, personally, from this."
Daniels' remarks come after the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana in South Bend ruled in Indiana University's favor in regards to its vaccine requirement for students, faculty and staff.
IU will not require documentation that students, faculty and staff have received the COVID-19 vaccine by the fall semester. IU is still requiring everyone working or enrolled at any of its campuses be vaccinated.
Daniels was asked if he thinks it would be easier to enforce restrictions Purdue University will place on students not vaccinated over just implementing a vaccine mandate. Daniels did not answer that question, but he did say they will be clear with students about the expectations.
"I've said to them, 'Listen, we believe in personal responsibility here, and you can make a choice about yourself. But we share a responsibility to keep this campus open. So, if you don't do what we believe is the wise thing and get the vaccination, then you will have to agree to some other inconveniences: regular testing and what may be more important, if you are exposed and unvaccinated, you'll have to quarantine and interrupt your own academic progress in a way you probably won't find very comfortable," Daniels said.
Daniels also said the university has not yet decided on mask wearing.
"We won't make the masking indoors or masking in classrooms decision until we get much closer. That's something we can decide literally at the last minute. And so, we don't know what we're gonna do yet and neither do any other schools that we're talking to, or most of them," Daniels said.
Daniels said they are doing their best to make sure students' education is not interrupted.
What other people are reading:
People living with chronic hepatitis C have a higher risk of developing severe COVID-19 symptoms than individuals without the condition. Those who do develop severe illness may also have a higher risk of liver damage.
However, a 2021 study found that despite the higher risk for severe illness, people with hepatitis C did not have a higher risk of admission to an intensive care unit (ICU) or death due to COVID-19 compared with those without the condition.
Read on to learn more about hepatitis C and COVID-19, including the risks, how the two conditions interact, and whether people with hepatitis C can receive a COVID-19 vaccine.
All data and statistics are based on publicly available data at the time of publication. Some information may be out of date. Visit our coronavirus hub and follow our live updates page for the most recent information on the COVID-19 pandemic.
Yes the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) list liver disease as a risk factor for developing severe illness from COVID-19. Hepatitis C is a type of liver disease.
The risk for severe COVID-19 symptoms can depend on the level of liver scarring, or cirrhosis, a person has. According to a 2021 study, people with the hepatitis C virus (HCV) are more likely to develop serious COVID-19 symptoms and receive treatment in the hospital if they have a high fibrosis-4 score, a method that doctors use to estimate liver cirrhosis.
Despite the higher risk for severe illness, individuals with HCV do not appear to have a higher risk of ICU admission or death compared with those who do not have HCV. However, they may have a higher risk for complications.
Evidence suggests that severe COVID-19 can cause liver damage and that this may be especially harmful to individuals with preexisting liver disease.
A 2020 review found that up to half of people hospitalized with COVID-19 had elevated liver enzyme levels, which can indicate liver damage. This result was more common in those who:
The 2021 study also notes that in people with existing cirrhosis, COVID-19 has links with a deterioration in liver function.
However, it is important to note that most individuals with HCV do not develop severe COVID-19 symptoms, while liver injury is less prevalent among people with mild symptoms.
HCV cannot kill SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Having HCV does not protect someone from the disease.
However, both these viruses share a similar structure. They are both positive single-stranded RNA viruses that cause a similar immune system response. Because of this, some antiviral drugs that target HCV may also affect SARS-CoV-2.
The effectiveness of HCV medications for treating COVID-19 is still unknown. At present, the only drug with approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for treating COVID-19 is remdesivir, an antiviral that doctors can use with or without the anti-inflammatory drug dexamethasone.
Yes, people with hepatitis C can get the vaccine for COVID-19.
The CDC included anyone with a medical condition that increases the risk for severe COVID-19 in their phase 1 vaccine priority group. This meant anyone aged 1664 years with HCV could receive a vaccination earlier than other adults. Now, the vaccine is available to all adults.
The only situation where a person with HCV could not get the COVID-19 vaccine is if they have:
People can speak with a doctor if they have concerns about the safety of a COVID-19 vaccine.
Read more about COVID-19 vaccine safety.
The most effective way to stay safe from COVID-19 is to avoid coming into contact with the virus that causes the disease. Actions that everyone can take to prevent the spread of COVID-19 include:
There are also special precautions people with HCV can take to protect themselves. These include:
If a person is using drugs or has a substance abuse disorder, they should not delay seeking help from a doctor or counselor. People with a substance abuse disorder are at a higher risk for severe COVID-19. However, there are virtual treatment and recovery programs that can help.
Learn more about treatments for addiction.
People with HCV may wish to speak with a doctor to get more information about COVID-19 and how it may affect them. Some potential questions to ask include:
If someone thinks they have COVID-19 symptoms, they should remain at home and follow the guidance from their local health authority. The symptoms of COVID-19 can vary, but the most common include:
Call 911 or the nearest emergency department and notify them that an individual may have COVID-19 if their COVID-19 symptoms suddenly worsen or they develop any of the following:
Research suggests that people with HCV are more likely to experience serious illness and hospitalization if they develop COVID-19. They may also be at a higher risk for liver damage or reduced liver function as a result of the disease. However, individuals with HCV do not appear to have higher mortality rates than those without the condition.
Anyone with liver disease or cirrhosis can help reduce their risk of serious complications by receiving the COVID-19 vaccine if they are eligible. It is also important to continue taking precautions. People can remain at home as much as possible and make use of virtual medical and mental health support services.
For live updates on the latest developments regarding the novel coronavirus and COVID-19, click here.
Florida Rep. Vern Buchanan tested positive for Covid-19 after vaccination, according to a statement from his office Monday. Fully vaccinated entertainment journalist Catt Sadler warned her hundreds of thousands of Instagram followers not to "let your guard down," after she got sick after caring for someone with Covid-19 who wasn't vaccinated. Last Thursday, six players on the New York Yankees tested positive. This was the second instance of breakthrough cases on the team. Breakthrough cases are also already cropping up in the Tokyo Summer Olympics. An alternate member of the US Olympics gymnastics team, Kara Eaker, who had been vaccinated tested positive for Covid-19 Sunday, her father confirmed to CNN affiliate KMBC Monday. So had basketball player Katie Lou Samuelson who confirmed on her Instagram account that she would not be able to compete in Tokyo.
The good news is that the number of breakthrough infections can be reduced, but it will take a much bigger community effort to protect people from getting Covid-19.
For the Pfizer and Moderna vaccine full vaccination is after two doses. For the Johnson & Johnson vaccine it's a single dose.
No vaccine is perfect
Covid-19 vaccines are highly protective against lab confirmed infection and seem to provide protection against the variants; however, a tiny fraction still become infected, just like they can with any other vaccine.
With other diseases like mumps or rubella, breakthrough infections are highly rare, Edwards said, because so many people have been vaccinated against those diseases, and mumps and rubella are in low circulation.
"The chance that a person who happened to be a nonresponder to the vaccine would come in contact with those diseases is very low," said Edwards. "The reason why we are seeing more breakthrough infections with Covid is because there are so many unvaccinated people."
Another example is the flu vaccine, which reduces the risk of getting sick between 40-60%, studies show. The Covid-19 vaccines are much more protective -- as much as 95% effective at preventing severe illness, hospitalization and deaths.
Breakthrough infections by the numbers
We don't know how many mild or asymtomatic breakthrough Covid-19 infections there are in the US. The CDC stopped counting in May.
It's hard to draw any specific conclusions about the rate of infection from these numbers, but they are likely an undercount, according to the CDC. Surveillance data relies on voluntary reporting, and not all reporting is complete or even representative of total infections.
What scientists do know is that 99.5% of deaths from Covid-19 in the US right now are among people who are not vaccinated, US Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy told CNN's Dana Bash Sunday.
The CDC is monitoring breakthrough infections to identify which people are most likely to have breakthrough infections. The CDC said there are no unusual patterns so far.
Who may be more vulnerable to breakthrough infections
People with weakened immune systems are those who have had an organ transplant, are receiving chemotherapy for cancer, are on dialysis or are taking certain medicine that suppresses the immune system.
People who live in parts of the country with low vaccination rates may also have a greater likelihood of a breakthrough infection since they would be encountering more people with the disease.
What can you do to prevent a breakthrough infection
"If we want breakthrough cases to stop, then we need to have everybody else get vaccinated, so there's no virus in circulation and then it won't matter anymore," Edwards said.
If more people are vaccinated, the coronavirus has fewer people it can infect. It also limits the number of new variants that can develop. More variants in circulation increase the likelihood that the coronavirus can evade the protection of the vaccines.
"If you are not vaccinated, you remain at risk," said CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky on Friday. "This is becoming a pandemic of the unvaccinated."
When asked if people who are vaccinated should be doing anything different than they normally would on Sunday, Murthy told CNN that even with a breakthrough infection "which, again, happens in a very small minority of people -- it's likely to be a mild or asymptomatic infection." He did say he would wear a mask indoors out of an abundance of caution if he is in an area with a large number of unvaccinated people.
"Again, even if the vaccine isn't offering full protection it is offering a lot of protection," Edwards said. "Even when they do not work as well in patients who are immunocompromised, they do provide some protection. That's why it's up to the rest of us to get vaccinated because we want to protect those people, the fragile and the elderly, and everyone else."
"So please, I cannot say this enough," Edwards said "Get vaccinated."
Workers in protective suits carry a coffin containing the body of a COVID-19 victim to a grave for burial at the Cipenjo Cemetery in Bogor, West Java, Indonesia, Wednesday, July 14, 2021. Achmad Ibrahim/AP hide caption
Workers in protective suits carry a coffin containing the body of a COVID-19 victim to a grave for burial at the Cipenjo Cemetery in Bogor, West Java, Indonesia, Wednesday, July 14, 2021.
A devastating third wave of the coronavirus pandemic is hitting several countries in Southeast Asia as the delta variant takes hold in the region, leading to record levels of infections and death.
Southeast Asian countries such as Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand had avoided such largescale outbreaks previously. Now, they're struggling to contain fresh outbreaks, even as Indonesia and Myanmar are battling low vaccination rates, limited oxygen supplies and overcrowded hospitals. Health care experts say health care systems in both countries are on the brink of collapse.
Indonesian Epidemiologist Dicky Budiman of Griffith University in Australia spoke with NPR about why so many countries in the region are facing high levels of infection now.
"Our testing capacity is still low compared to the magnitude of the pandemic. And the second one is about the vaccination rate - not only low but slow," Budiman said.
Many Southeast Asian nations have benefitted from China's largesse in making its' Sinovac vaccine available relatively early on in the pandemic. Now, however, with many vaccinated health care workers falling sick, these same countries are starting to question Sinovac's efficacy, even as they struggle to import others from the U.S. and Europe.
As of Sunday, Indonesia reported 73,582 deaths from COVID-19 and more than 2.8 million confirmed cases since the pandemic begain. For much of last week the country recorded a steady rise in infections, surpassing India and Brazil as the world's leader in new infection rates.
Oxygen tanks are prepared for patients in the hallway of an overcrowded hospital amid a surge of COVID-19 cases, in Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia, Friday, July 9, 2021. Trisnadi/AP hide caption
Oxygen tanks are prepared for patients in the hallway of an overcrowded hospital amid a surge of COVID-19 cases, in Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia, Friday, July 9, 2021.
Indonesian epidemiologists say the real case load is likely even higher. Many expect the situation will get much worse.
Citizens are reporting desperate searches to find oxygen for loved ones or beds in a hospital. An increasing number of health workers are reportedly dying from COVID-19, too.
According to the Mitigation Team of the Indonesian Medical Association, a physicians' network known as IDI, 114 doctors have died so far this month--twice as many as the those who died in June, according to Voice of America. A total of 545 doctors in Indonesia, the IDI said, have died since the pandemic began.
Still, government officials claim they are prepared for the "worst-case scenario," according to The New York Times.
"If we talk about the worst-case scenario, 60,000 or slightly more, we are pretty OK," said Luhut Pandjaitan, a senior minister in charge of handling the crisis in Indonesia, said last week during a press conference. "We are hoping that it will not reach 100,000, but even so, we are preparing now for if we ever get there."
Pandu Riono, an epidemiologist at the University of Indonesia, told NPR that the worst-case scenario would be more than 100,000 cases a day. That's a number he says could be reached by next month if existing measures to stop the transmission of the virus aren't strengthened.
Anger with how Thai officials have handled the pandemic boiled over this weekend.
On Sunday, more than 1,000 protesters marched toward Thai Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha's office, demanding he resign over perceived failures at controlling the pandemic in the country.
Police use water cannon to disperse protesters as they march to Government House in Bangkok, Thailand Sunday, July 18, 2021. Anuthep Cheysakron/AP hide caption
Police use water cannon to disperse protesters as they march to Government House in Bangkok, Thailand Sunday, July 18, 2021.
According to Reuters, police used tear gas, water cannon, and rubber bullets to disperse the crowd. Police said eight officers were injured and 13 protestors were arrested.
As of Monday local time, Thailand reported 11,784 new confirmed coronavirus cases and a total of 415,170 cumulative cases in the country. More than half of which have come since April. At least 3,420 people have died, the government reports.
Thirteen provinces in Thailand are tightening lockdown measures in existing red zones and expanding them to several more starting July 20 in an attempt to curtail the spread of the virus. New restrictions are in place until at least Aug. 2.
"The Government stressed the need to ease the COVID-19 situation as soon as possible by restricting the people's movement out of their dwelling places in order to reduce the risk of COVID-19 infection," the Thai government's public relations department said in an announcement. "It has been found that the spread of the disease in Bangkok and its vicinity became more severe."
Bangkok and other nearby areas with existing measures currently in place are included in the expanded order, which includes closing malls and further restrictions on restaurants and public transportation. The government is also establishing checkpoints to screen and prevent people that live in strict coronavirus control zones from traveling to other areas in the country.
Political tensions and a military crackdown on dissent following the military's Feb. 1 coup have disrupted access to healthcare in neighboring Myanmar as the country faces a devastating rise in COVID-19 cases.
Buddhist novice monks wearing face masks walk past a COVID-19 awareness sign as they collect morning alms Thursday, July 15, 2021, in Yangon, Myanmar. Thein Zaw/AP hide caption
Buddhist novice monks wearing face masks walk past a COVID-19 awareness sign as they collect morning alms Thursday, July 15, 2021, in Yangon, Myanmar.
The UN's special rapporteur for human rights in Myanmar warned the country was at risk of "becoming a Covid-19 super-spreader state," according to The Asian Times.
Anger at the military as well as fear of being seen as cooperating with the regime, has pushed many doctors and patients away from military-run hospitals. Families are searching for care and oxygen on their own, the outlet reports.
Myanmar's Ministry of Health and Sports reports more than 229,000 infected people in the country and at least 5,000 deaths from the virus as of Sunday, though reports indicate the number may be even higher.
The number of people who have died from the virus has risen so quickly, reports say, that crematoriums and funeral homes are struggling to keep up with the demand.
President Biden continued to put pressure on social media giant Facebook Monday as he sought to clarify comments that the platform was killing people through misinformation amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
Asked about those comments by CNNs Kaitlan Collins, Biden said, I meant precisely what I said. Im glad you asked me that question, going on to explain that he had just read an article that showed that of all the misinformation on the platform, 60% of that misinformation came from 12 individuals.
Asked by Collins whether the platform had done enough, he said he was unsure.
To be completely honest with you, I dont know that they did anything today, up to the weekend, I dont think they had. But I dont know, I dont know the answer to that question, he said.
Asked whether he would take steps to hold the company accountable if they dont do more, Biden said, Im not trying to hold people accountable, Im trying to make people look at themselves, look in the mirror. Think about that misinformation going to your son, your daughter, your relative, someone you love. Thats what Im asking.
Theextraordinary spat between the White House and Facebookover Covid-19 disinformation has pit the President against one of the countrys most prominent companies as the race to vaccinate continues and Covid-19 cases spread.
Theescalating war of words comes after growing frustration at the White Houseover what they say are inadequate steps by the social media platform to control the spread of anti-vaccine disinformation.
An alternate on the U.S. Olympic womens gymnastics team tested positive for Covid-19 while in Japan on Sunday, team officials said, immediately creating anxiety around one of the most closely watched teams at the Tokyo Games that open this week.
The world-dominant U.S. women, led by superstar Simone Biles, are the strong favorites to take a third consecutive team gold medal at the Games. Biles is favored to take as many as four out of five additional individual gold medals.
The result was confirmed by USA Gymnastics, the national governing body of the sport, following announcements from city authorities of Inzai, the Japanese city where the womens team is for a training camp before the Games begin Friday, as well as the U.S. Olympic & ParalympicCommittee.
USA Gymnastics said that after the Covid protocols for the Games were reviewed, the local government put the gymnast who tested positive and one other additional alternate gymnast into quarantine. Neither athlete was named.
The father of 18-year-old Kara Eaker confirmed on Monday that his daughter was the gymnast who had tested positive. Mark Eaker said in a text message that Kara had been vaccinated under the two-dose Pfizer regimen, and was not currently experiencing any symptoms.
Retailers drop mask mandates after new CDC guidance
A day after the CDC issued new masking guidelines, retailers started announcing changes to mask policies for fully vaccinated customers.
USA TODAY, Wochit
Costco Wholesale will continue to hold special operating hours for members 60 and older and vulnerable shoppers while the coronavirus pandemiccontinues.
Weeks after announcing it would end the senior hourson July 26, the retailer changed course and is instead reducing themfrom five days a week to twice-weekly events.
"Instead of discontinuing, we'll maintain hours for seniors Tuesdays and Thursdays, until further notice,"Richard Galanti, Costcos chief financial officer, told USA TODAY Monday.
Starting the week of July 26, the reserved shopping time at most clubs for senior shoppers, members with disabilities or immunocompromised will be 9 to 10 a.m. Tuesday and Thursday, the retailer posted on itsCOVID-19 updates page.
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The update comes as thenumber of new coronavirus infections is rising in all 50 states and hospitalizations nationwide are increasing at an alarming rate, according to Johns Hopkins University data released Sunday.
New infections rosein all 50 states Saturday, the third consecutive day, data from Johns Hopkins University shows. And more than 25,000 U.S. patients who likely had COVID-19 were in hospitals Saturday, up 24.1% from a week earlier.
Like most of the nation's major grocery stores, Costco started designatingspecial shopping hoursin March 2020to help those the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention considered most vulnerable and at-risk forCOVID-19.
Costco started its senior hoursas a twice-weekly eventand quicklyextended to three times a week. When clubs resumed normal hours in early May 2020, clubs extended the senior hours toweekday morningsat most locations.
Last summer,Costco originally announced plans toreduce the special hoursto twice per week in July 2020 but didn't cutthe hours as cases spiked. Instead, Costco said at the time the hours would continue indefinitely.
Walmart,Target, BJ's Wholesale Club and Aldi are among retailers still promoting special senior hours on their websites. Hours and criteria vary by location. Trader Joe's has cut senior hours at most of its stores.
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Costco's designated hour for senior shoppers, members with disabilities, or people who are immunocompromised is 9 to 10 a.m. Monday through Friday at most clubs.That's scheduled to change effectiveJuly 26 to twice a week, which will be Tuesday and Thursday.
Find all locations' hours atCostco.com/warehouse-locations. Members and guestswho don't meet the criteria will not be admitted.The following clubs are the exceptions listed on the COVID-19 updates page:
Contributing: Jordan Culver and John Bacon,USA TODAY
Follow USA TODAY reporter Kelly Tyko on Twitter:@KellyTyko.For more shopping tips and deals, join us onourShopping Ninjas Facebook group.
For the first year of the Covid-19 pandemic, hospitalizations and deaths followed infection patterns by a few weeks, as sure as night follows day.
Vaccines promised to sever those metrics. While they might not prevent all Covid-19 infections, vaccines would, experts predicted, dramatically reduce hospitalizations and deaths. And they have.
But with the highly transmissible Delta variant now circulating mostly among the unvaccinated the United States is seeing spikes in infections that have turned into increases in hospitalizations in some communities.
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So, how well is the country preventing hospitalizations and deaths right now?
The answer is nuanced. Vaccines are absolutely helping blunt the impact of these outbreaks both the size and the toll in sickness and death. But vaccine uptake isnt to the point yet where it can preclude increases in hospitalizations and deaths.
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Put another way, without vaccines, the outbreaks in Nevada, Missouri, Arkansas, and elsewhere with low immunization rates would be worse, and other states would be more vulnerable to similar spikes.
This is a new phase of the pandemic, Jay Butler, the deputy director for infectious diseases at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said at a press briefing last week. Were seeing positive effects of the vaccination problem, but at the same time it aint over til its over. Were continuing to see transmission occurring, and we have a significant portion of the population that is unimmunized.
The impact of vaccines is remarkable. Theyre standing up to the variants nature has thrown our way. The overwhelming majority of hospitalizations and deaths some 98% to 99% of the latter are among people not fully vaccinated. (No vaccine prevents all severe outcomes.)
But so many people remain unvaccinated that, nationwide, cases have more than doubled in recent weeks a jump driven not just by Delta, but also the countrys lapsing of mitigation efforts and people traveling and reconnecting socially. Even states like Massachusetts that have comparatively high vaccination rates have started seeing upticks in cases.
This is becoming a pandemic of the unvaccinated, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky said Friday. She added: Our biggest concern is that we are going to continue to see preventable cases, hospitalizations, and sadly deaths among the unvaccinated.
The shape and scope of the damage of a Covid-19 outbreak isnt just determined by how many people in a given area are protected its also a question of who is protected. While 56.8% of people in the United States 12 and over who are eligible for the shots are fully vaccinated, the rate is nearly 80% for people 65 and older the population at greatest risk of getting severely ill and dying from Covid-19.
Having so many older people protected will in turn reduce the death rate among those people still contracting the coronavirus. It also explains why younger adults who have lower vaccination rates are accounting for a larger portion of people hospitalized now.
In Florida, for example, while people 70 and older accounted for nearly 1 in 2 hospitalized Covid-19 patients in the pre-vaccine era, they now make up just 1 in 4, according to data analyzed by epidemiologist Jason Salemi of the University of South Florida. And with the bulk of hospitalizations among younger adults, we should absolutely not see as many deaths related to hospitalizations, because fewer of those hospitalized will die, Salemi said.
Similar patterns are occurring in other states.
The infection rates are highest among young people, 15 to 45, Andrew Pavia, a pediatric infectious disease physician at the University of Utah, said about the recent increases in Utah. The hospitalization rates are much higher in those age groups than they were earlier in the pandemic. And the rates of infection and rates of hospitalization are highest in the rural areas, and it should be no surprise to anyone that those are the same areas that have very low rates of vaccination.
Just how many deaths will occur as a result of the recent uptick in transmission is still unclear. Even if they die at lower rates than older adults, some of the younger adults hospitalized in recent weeks will still die. But cases only started rising in the past few weeks, and it can take people with Covid-19 that long to die, and another few weeks for their deaths to be recorded.
Plus, cases are still rising.
The deaths have remained pretty flat, but given when that increase in hospitalizations and the increase in cases occurred, Im not surprised by that, said infectious disease epidemiologist Brian Labus of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas public health school, suggesting that the state, which has had one of the countrys largest recent surges, hasnt yet seen the full impact of that transmission.
Because so many people are protected, whatever outbreaks occur now arent likely to create crises for health care systems nationwide. Individual hospitals are facing a deluge of patients hospitals in Arkansas and Missouri are under particular pressure but even as cases and hospitalizations have built up in recent weeks, theyre still drastically down from prior months in most places. Take Utah: ICUs are at capacity, Pavia said, but hospitals havent had to build emergency units like they did during the winter.
Overall, its difficult to compare metrics like hospitalization and death rates at various points in the pandemic. Testing has fallen off in many places. Doctors have gotten better at treating Covid-19, while who is getting sick has changed. The virus has also evolved. Now dominant is Delta, but experts are still trying to sort out if it causes more severe disease on average than other forms of the virus.
Even how we think about what a case means has fragmented. People who still get infected by the coronavirus after being fully vaccinated face a minuscule risk of becoming severely sick, having to go to the hospital, or dying. Its presumed that many asymptomatic or even mild cases among vaccinated people which are evidence that the vaccines are working, because theyre not getting sick are going undetected.
But those who remain unvaccinated (or who dont have protection from an earlier infection) still face the same risks from a case.
The vaccines have had some help in bringing transmission down from the winter to the spring to the summer. Some chunk of unvaccinated people have been infected by the coronavirus already and are protected that way (though experts say that the protection provided by vaccines appears more robust and durable than that from an infection). Scientists are still trying to sort out seasonal influences on the virus, though typically respiratory viruses spread less efficiently in warmer temperatures. Plus, people can be outside more than in the winter though the counterpoint to that is that its so hot in the summer in some places, like southern states, that people there spend more time indoors.
The way to prevent and minimize outbreaks going forward, experts stress, is getting more people vaccinated. The United States has shown it can do this: In the spring, the Alpha variant drove a spike in cases in Michigan and threatened other states. But the country vaccinated itself out of feeling more severe devastation from that variant.
Now the country has to do that again in the face of an even more transmissible variant, Delta. Because of how effectively it spreads, more people have to be protected for its circulation to slow.
At the Medical University of South Carolina, hospitalized Covid-19 patients include a mix of unprotected younger adults, but also older adults from the states rural areas who havent been vaccinated either, said infectious disease physician Krutika Kuppalli. While Charleston has a relatively high vaccination rate, many people from the rural areas where Kuppalli sees patients through telemedicine appointments have hardened in their resistance to the vaccines.
Trying to get people to take a vaccine, which has been so politicized, is just really hard, she said.
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The lawmakers are part of the group that left Texas, flying from Austin to Washington to break the state House's quorum and block Republicans from passing a restrictive new voting law. Officials with the group told CNN that all of the lawmakers participating in the quorum break trip are fully vaccinated, including the five who have tested positive for Covid-19.
The caucus began taking additional measures after the initial members tested positive, moving the slate of meetings on voting rights scheduled for this week to a virtual summit and adding daily rapid tests for all of the legislators and their staff staying in Washington, DC.
"All of the HDC Members who tested positive are feeling good, with no symptoms or only mild symptoms," the caucus said in a statement.
While the statement did not identify which members were infected, Texas state Rep. Trey Martinez Fischer said Sunday evening that he tested positive earlier in the day.
"I will be tele-working with my colleagues, staff, partners, and allies. We're planning more good trouble, and hope to make announcements soon," he said in a statement. "Democracy is in jeopardy, and we will not be stopped in our fight to protect it."
Texas state Rep. Celia Israel also confirmed she was one of the initial members to test positive.
"Yesterday, I tested positive for Covid-19. What this highlights is the risk every @TEXASHDC member continues to face to defend the state we love and the Texans we represent," Israel tweeted Sunday. "Despite my setback, I will continue to push forward and fight for every Texan to have their voices heard."
Fully vaccinated people who have been exposed to Covid-19 but are not showing symptoms do not need to quarantine or get tested for the virus following their exposure, according to current CDC guidance, unless they are in a correctional or detention facility or a homeless shelter.
While in Washington, members of the Texas House Democratic Caucus met with Vice President Kamala Harris, as well as with members of Congress, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin.
An official in the vice president's office said that Harris' testing occurred before her "routine doctor's appointment" at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, not because of the meeting with Texas legislators.
Texas state Rep. James Talarico told CNN's Jim Acosta on Saturday that he and his colleagues in the Texas delegation had known their trip to Washington would bring some risk.
"It brought health risk because there's an active pandemic and many of our members are over the age of 65, yet they chose to travel because this is so much bigger than one politician. It's so much bigger than you or I," Talarico said of their fight to protect access to the ballot box. "This is about the American experiment and whether it's going to survive for future generations."
But the legislative reality remains: there is currently no Republican support in the US Senate for voting rights legislation and Democrats do not have the votes to overcome the filibuster.
CNN's Gregory Clary and Jasmine Wright contributed to this report.
