Friday, May 28
Denton County Public Health announced this week that 15 more Denton County residents deaths were the result of COVID-19, bringing the countywide COVID-19 death toll to590.
The deaths reported this week include a Bartonville man in his 70s, a Flower Mound woman in her 70s, two Flower Mound men over 80, a Justin woman over 80, a Lewisville man in his 60s, two Lewisville men in their 70s, a Lewisville woman over 80, a Denton woman in her 40s, a Denton man in his 60s, a Denton man in his 70s, a woman in her 50s from The Colony, a Carrollton woman in her 70s and a Carrollton woman over 80.
DCPH Director Dr. Matt Richardson has said multiple times that DCPH only rules a residents death as a COVID-19 death if it is determined that the person died as a result of COVID-19, not when someone has COVID-19 but dies primarily of another cause.
There are now 2,831 active COVID-19 cases in the county, a number that was declining swiftly a few months ago but is now declining at a much slower rate.
To minimize spread of COVID-19, DCPH urges all community members to:
Click here for more information about COVID-19 vaccines in Denton County. For additional COVID-19 data including active case information by municipality, hospital capacity, and ventilator utilization, visitdentoncounty.gov/COVIDstats. For information regarding DCPHs upcoming testing centers, visitdentoncounty.gov/COVID19testing. For additional COVID-19 health and safety recommendations, visitdentoncounty.gov/COVID19.
A view shows empty roads during a 14-hour long curfew to limit the spreading of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in the country, in Ahmedabad, India, March 22, 2020. REUTERS/Amit Dave
Indias economic outlook has weakened again, albeit slightly, with worst-case scenario forecasts suggesting the toll from the coronavirus pandemic could be much deeper, stoking fears the job crisis may worsen over the coming year, a Reuters poll found.
Renewed restrictions to curb the current coronavirus wave have stalled economic activity, leaving many millions out of work and pushing economists - who have broadly been bullish - to downgrade their views for the second time since early April. read more
The May 20-27 poll showed the outlook for the current quarter was lowered to 21.6% annually, and to 9.8% on average for this fiscal year, down from 23.0% and 10.4% respectively a month ago. The economy was then forecast to grow 6.7% next fiscal year, compared to 6.5% predicted previously.
While the consensus pointed to healthy growth figures later this year, all 29 economists, in response to an additional question, warned the outlook was either "weak and prone to further downgrades" or "fragile, with a limited downside".
None expected a "strong recovery, followed by an upgrade".
"Recovery in India was strong in the months before the second wave. This leads us to believe the recovery can rebound quickly after the number of new infections have come down. But vaccination implementation needs to pick up pace in order to have an effect this year," said Wouter van Eijkelenburg, an economist at Rabobank.
"Therefore new surges of the virus hang above recovery like the sword of Damocles. Until a large share of the population is vaccinated there remains this downside risk of new waves and subsequent lockdowns hampering the recovery."
Underscoring concerns that a slow vaccine rollout may make a bigger dent in the economy, the consensus showed in a worst-case scenario the economy would average just 6.8% growth this fiscal year after its deepest ever recession last year.
"Let's hope (the situation) doesn't go there. If it does and we do have another wave ... after this one, maybe the government will learn some lessons - that it is better to lock down the economy sooner, rather than later," said Gareth Leather, senior Asia economist at Capital Economics.
"The threat of further waves will hang over the economic outlook so long as India's vaccination progress remains lackluster."
India's unemployment rate soared to a near one-year-high of 14.73% in the week ending May 23, according to the Center for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), reflecting the impact of the economic slowdown.
When asked if there was a risk that India's unemployment situation could worsen over the coming year, more than 85%, or 25 of 29 respondents, said it was high, including four who said very high. The remaining four said the risk was low.
"There is going to be a significant demand shock to the economy, some of that could be permanent demand destruction, thereby pushing more out of the jobs market and keeping the unemployment rate elevated over the coming year," said Prakash Sakpal, senior Asia economist at ING.
The Reserve Bank of India has kept its monetary policy loose, including several liquidity measures, and was expected to stay on an easy course for this fiscal year.
While calls have increased for more fiscal stimulus to speed up the economic healing, the government has limited space to respond to challenges posed by the health crisis.
"If the Indian government increases spending ... it will probably prevent a loss in economic output in the short term, but this simultaneously puts more pressure on the sustainability of debt in the longer term, essentially mortgaging their future," said Rabobank's Eijkelenburg.
"India's policymakers find themselves between a rock and a hard place when it comes to decisions on additional fiscal stimulus."
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WENATCHEE Central Washington Hospital was pushed to its absolute limit Thursday morning after experiencing a surge of hospitalizations not related to COVID-19 that filled all its acute care beds.
During this critical moment, capacity hit 98% with beds available only in pediatrics, the labor delivery unit, and the mother baby unit, according to Andrew Canning, spokesperson for Confluence Health.
Acute care beds include beds in the intensive care and progressive care units.
Due to the surge, seven people had to wait to be admitted into the hospitals emergency department, Canning said in an email.
Canning also said that medical facilities in the state and North Central Washington region are also close to full, partially due to COVID-19, but largely because of other chronic medical conditions requiring attention like cancer, heart disease, stroke and infections other than COVID-19.
The region has very little to no surge capacity for patients either with COVID-19 or non-COVID-19 medical conditions, Canning said in an email.
As of May 27, about 70% of staffed acute care beds were being occupied by patients in North Central Washington, according to data from the state Department of Health. Around 84% of acute care beds across the state were occupied by patients.
Chelan, Douglas, Grant, and Okanogan counties together make up one of eight Emergency Medical Services and Trauma Regions, according to the state Department of Health.
According to the Healthy Washington COVID-19 reopening plan, the state would begin to rollback phases if the statewide ICU capacity ever reached 90%. Around 83% of ICU beds were filled as of May 27, according to data from the state Department of Health.
In North Central Washingont, about 89% of ICU beds were occupied, according to DOH data.
We are on a good, downward path, but we are not quite out of the woods yet, Canning said in an email.
Canning also said that Central Washington Hospital continues to see severe cases of COVID-19, and more than 97% of these severe COVID-19 hospital admissions coming from unvaccinated individuals.
There are a couple rare patients with severe immunodeficiency like those undergoing chemotherapy or organ transplant recipients that have been admitted into the hospital for severe COVID-19 despite being fully vaccinated, according to Canning.
The Chelan-Douglas Health District is asking that the community be cautious with celebrations going into the Memorial Day weekend to give local health providers a break, according to a health district press release.
Safety, Immunogenicity, and Efficacy of the BNT162b2 Covid-19 Vaccine in Adolescents | NEJM nejm.org
The Johnson & Johnson (J&J) vaccine is a single-dose vaccine that can help prevent COVID-19. Its the third COVID-19 vaccine authorized by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for emergency use in the United States.
Large-scale clinical trials in several locations across the globe found that a single dose of the J&J vaccine was effective at preventing COVID-19. They found that the vaccine can also protect against several viral variants.
Below, well break down everything we know so far about the efficacy of the J&J COVID-19 vaccine. Continue reading to learn more.
The efficacy of the J&J vaccine was tested in a clinical trial involving more than 40,000 people. The FDA reviewed this data, along with manufacturing information provided by Johnson & Johnson, when deciding to grant emergency use authorization.
The results from this clinical trial found that the J&J vaccine could protect against mild to moderate and severe to critical cases of COVID-19.
Lets take a closer look.
In most people, COVID-19 is a mild or moderate illness. Many individuals can recover from mild to moderate COVID-19 at home.
J&J vaccines efficacy for mild to moderate COVID-19 14 days after vaccination was:
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 20 percent of people with COVID-19 experience a severe to critical illness that often requires hospitalization.
J&J vaccine efficacy for severe to critical COVID-19 14 days after vaccination was:
Additionally, individuals receiving the J&J vaccine were less likely to be hospitalized than those who didnt receive the vaccine. In fact, the J&J vaccine was 93 percent effective at preventing hospitalization for COVID-19 14 days after vaccination and 100 percent effective 28 days after.
How long the J&J and Moderna vaccines will protect against COVID-19 is currently unknown. Research suggests that the Pfizer vaccine will offer protection for 6 months, but studies are ongoing.
Earlier clinical trials of the J&J vaccine found that a single dose of the vaccine produced a strong immune response in most people. Measurements taken 71 days later found that levels of antibodies remained stable or had increased.
Overall, more research is needed to determine how long the J&J vaccine will protect against COVID-19. Its possible, but not certain, that a booster may be needed in the future.
You may be wondering how the efficacy of the J&J vaccine stacks up against the other two COVID-19 vaccines authorized for use in the United States. These are the mRNA vaccines produced by Pfizer and Moderna.
Data from clinical trials of the Pfizer vaccine found an efficacy of 95 percent 7 days after the second dose. Clinical trial data of the Moderna vaccine reported an efficacy of 94.1 percent 14 days after the second dose.
These numbers may seem much higher than those of the J&J vaccine. However, its important to note that its not possible to make direct comparisons between the three COVID-19 vaccines. This is because the clinical trials:
The FDA notes that the only way to directly compare the efficacy of the three vaccines is to conduct a head-to-head clinical trial. This has not yet been done.
The CDC currently doesnt recommend the use of one vaccine over another.
Preliminary data from the J&J vaccine clinical trial indicates that the J&J vaccine can protect against asymptomatic COVID-19. Asymptomatic means that a person doesnt have symptoms but may still be able to spread the SARS-CoV-2 virus to others.
In the J&J vaccine clinical trial, 2,650 trial participants were tested using a COVID-19 antigen test 71 days after vaccination. This test identified 18 asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infections in the vaccinated group and 50 in the unvaccinated group.
Based on this data, researchers estimated that the efficacy of the J&J vaccine for preventing asymptomatic COVID-19 was at least 66 percent. This is comparable to the vaccines overall efficacy for preventing mild to moderate COVID-19.
The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines can also prevent asymptomatic COVID-19. Current research indicates that the vaccines can significantly reduce the rate of asymptomatic COVID-19.
Its completely normal for viruses to mutate. When this occurs, new variants can emerge.
So far, several different variants of the novel coronavirus have been identified. Some of these have caused concern amongst public health officials. This is because the variants may be more contagious or escape the immune response.
The J&J vaccine clinical trial can give us some indication of how effective the vaccine is against these variants. This is because the trial was carried out at a time when viral variants were very common in some locations.
At the time of the trial, 95 percent of sequenced COVID-19 cases in South Africa were caused by the B.1.351 variant. The efficacy of the J&J vaccine at this location was 52 percent for mild to moderate COVID-19 and 73.1 percent for severe to critical COVID-19.
Similarly, in Brazil, 69 percent of the sequenced COVID-19 cases were caused by the P.2 lineage. The efficacy of the J&J vaccine in Brazil was 66.2 percent for mild to moderate COVID-19 and 81.9 percent for severe to critical COVID-19.
Compared with the two mRNA vaccines, the clinical trial of the J&J vaccine included more people of racial or ethnic backgrounds that may be at a higher risk of COVID-19. This is important, as it helps give researchers a better idea of the vaccines efficacy across many different racial and ethnic groups.
The table summarizes the demographics of the three vaccine trials.
People who experienced a severe or immediate allergic reaction to any of the ingredients in the J&J vaccine should not receive the J&J vaccine. The information sheet for recipients and caregivers includes a list of the ingredients.
The CDC notes that female adults under the age of 50 should be aware of the risk of TTS following J&J vaccination. If TTS is a concern, the other COVID-19 vaccines arent associated with this very rare side effect.
The J&J vaccine is the third COVID-19 vaccine authorized by the FDA for emergency use in the United States. It consists of a single dose thats been found to be both safe and effective at preventing COVID-19.
Clinical trials found that the J&J vaccine can prevent many types of COVID-19. Its overall efficacy was 66.3 percent for mild to moderate COVID-19 and 76.3 percent for severe to critical COVID-19. Additionally, it provides 100 percent protection from hospitalization for COVID-19 28 days after vaccination.
The J&J vaccine can also protect against asymptomatic COVID-19, as well as some viral variants. Its currently unknown how long the vaccine protection will last. A booster shot may be needed in the future.
The efficacy of the three authorized COVID-19 vaccines cant be compared directly, as the trials took place at different locations and at different times in the pandemic. Currently, no one vaccine is recommended over the others.
The city of Sioux Falls this weekend is playing host to a convention of social media health influencerswho critics say are responsible for peddlingpseudoscience and COVID-19 conspiracy theories.
And that's drawing scrutiny from South Dakota medical professionals, including a coalition ofhealth care professionals, advocates, scientists, parents and community members known as Immunize South Dakota who say such messaging could compromise COVID-19 control measures.
"We are on the threshold of potentially moving forward and going back to our normalcy with COVID-19 vaccines," said Dr. Santiago Lopez, a member of the Immunize South Dakota coalition."So these types of meetings and conferences where they make false statements about the safety and efficacy of vaccine can lead toward people not getting vaccinated ... and not getting herd immunity."
More: Active cases of COVID-19 continue to drop in South Dakota
The Advanced Medicine Conference (AMC) kicked off Friday at the Sioux Falls Convention Center and will run through Monday. The conferencefeatures dozens of speakers, including several who've recently been identified as originating sources for various myths and untruths about the coronavirus pandemic and the safety and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines.
Among the featured speakers areRobert F. Kennedy, Jr. and Ty and Charlene Bollinger, three well-known vaccine skeptics who regularly share medical information that isn't vetted with evidence-based science with their social media followers and through various media forms, according to theCenter for Countering Digital Hate.
More: Six more COVID-19 deaths reported in South Dakota
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.(Photo: COURTESY PHOTO)
A recent study by CCDH found the three were among 12 of the most prolific sources for medical misinformation regarding the COVID-19 pandemic.
Expected to draw about 1,200 attendees, this year's AMC is the third annual event. Previously, it's been held in Charlotte, North Carolina. "However, the venue has now shifted to Sioux Falls, SD which does NOT oppose our belief systems, philosophies and ability think and will allow us to have an event free of political rhetoric, medical myths, unscientific extrapolations and biased conclusions," according to a website where tickets to the event go for anywhere between $120 to $2,300.
After learning this spring thatthe Sioux Falls Convention Center would host the 2021 AMC event, Immunize South Dakotasent a letter to the city of Sioux Falls unsuccessfully urging officials to take action to stop the event from taking place at the city-owned venue.
More: Sioux Falls, Minnehaha officials continue slow march forward on medical marijuana regulations
While the convention center is owned by the city of Sioux Falls, its third-party management company known as ASM Global is responsible for event bookings, including the AMC conference.
ASM Global declined to comment for this article.
Mayor Paul TenHaken said late Friday afternoon in an email that the city of Sioux Falls does not involve itself in ASM Global's booking decisions.
"The city contracts with ASM Global to run our convention center campus facilities and they do an outstanding job," he wrote. "Despite what some may think, our office does notget into the business of picking winners and losers to use our public venues."
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A video shared by a radio host resurfaces a previously debunked claim that vaccines contain a microchip allowing a person to be tracked through the 5G cellular network.
Hal Turner posted a four-minute Russian-language video with English subtitles to his website on May 20 allegedly showing a programmer hacking into a leaked database for Russias Sputnik V vaccine.
"Claim: Vaccinated People Are Being TRACKED in Real Time via 5G Cellular, and all that data can be hacked-into to track YOU," the posts headline reads.
The post was flagged as part of Facebooks efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Facebook.)
In the video, the programmer claims hes able to use the database to access information thats been transmitted over the 5G cellular network from a microchip that was injected into a vaccinated person. The information allegedly showed the persons real-time location, that he was currently asleep at the time and the microchips current firmware.
"We know that our government is doing stuff like mass jabs and not everything is as they tell us," the man says.
Turner said he doesn't know what to make of the video and that he has no knowledge of the claims "possibility or its impossibility." Despite his reservations, Turner said the video was compelling enough for him to share it on his site.
Versions of this claim have repeatedly been checked by PolitiFact and other media organizations.
There have been no reports of a database leak or hack related to the Sputnik V vaccine, and there is no evidence that any of the COVID-19 vaccines contain microchips.
In fact, microchips are too big for the syringes used in administering the vaccine and other immunizations.
The world's smallest microchip is 1 mm x 1 mm large, whereas the inner diameter of the needle typically used in vaccinations is about .41 mm, according to Nebraska Medicine, a nonprofit hospital affiliated with the University of Nebraska.
Additionally, none of the ingredients listed for the Moderna, Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, AstraZeneca and Sputnik V suggests they have technology that can connect to a cellular network.
Conspiracies about the vaccines containing microchips and being related to the 5G network have been persistent; it prompted the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to include an entry in its COVID-19 vaccine FAQ that says they dont contain microchips.
"There may be trackers on the vaccine shipment boxes to protect them from theft, but there are no trackers in the vaccines themselves," the agency says.
Our ruling
Turner posted a video on his website that claims to show a Russian hacker accessing information from a microchip that was injected into someone when they received a COVID-19 vaccination. That information can be used to track someones movements.
There is no evidence that any of the COVID-19 vaccines currently in use contain microchips or any ingredients with networking capabilities that allow people to be tracked. Similar claims about the vaccines have been debunked in the past.
We rate this claim Pants on Fire!
Roughly half of all Americans have received at least one dose of a Covid vaccine, based on Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data published Thursday, as nationwide infection levels continued their downward trend.
New Covid cases are 23,033 per day, on a seven-day average, down 21% from a week prior, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
CDC data shows 49.9% of the U.S. population has received one shot or more, with 40% having completed a full vaccination program.
Among those aged 18 and older, 62% are at least partially vaccinated.
Data in a Kaiser Family Foundation survey published Friday suggests that adult vaccination rates could reach 70% in the next few months. President Joe Biden is aiming to hit that target by July 4.
In addition to 62% of survey respondents reporting they have received one dose or more, 4% said they want the vaccine as soon as possible. Another 4% of adults who said they want to "wait and see" before getting a shot reported that they have already scheduled an appointment or plan to get the vaccine in the next three months.
The share of respondents saying they will "definitely not" get vaccinated or only do so if required has remained steady at around 20% in the past few monthly Kaiser Foundation surveys.
About 1.6 million vaccine shots have been reported administered each day on average over the past week, CDC data shows.
A handful of states have reported that vaccine incentive programs have increased local vaccination numbers in some demographics after recent drops.
The seven-day average of daily U.S. Covid cases was 23,033 as of Thursday, down more than 6,000 from a week ago, according to Johns Hopkins data.
Case counts have not been this low since June 2020.
Average daily case counts have fallen by 5% or more in 43 states and the District of Columbia over the past week, a CNBC analysis of Johns Hopkins data shows.
In some countries outside of the U.S., infection levels are rising. Bahrain, for example, has seen a record-setting spike in cases since the beginning of May despite having 55% of its population vaccinated with at least one dose, according to data fromOur World in Data.
The latest seven-day average of daily U.S. Covid deaths is 667, JHU data shows, though the release of backlogged data from multiple states in recent days obscures the latest trend.
Wednesday's figures included 373 deaths reported for Oklahoma, which thestate announcedis part of an "ongoing effort to investigate and reconcile backlog of COVID-19 related deaths."
Maryland on Thursday added about 500 previously unreported deaths to its totals.
In some situations, state health departments will attribute a batch of previously unreported cases or deaths to a single day, even if those may have occurred previously. The data may be updated to reflect different dates in the future.
Before the reporting issues this week, the daily death toll had been on the decline for weeks.
SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) Health officers in the Bay Area said people seeking COVID-19 vaccines can receive them at the same time as other shots, in the wake of new guidance by the Centers for Disease Control.
According to a joint statement, the officers in all nine counties and the city of Berkeley are encouraging health providers to offer routinely recommended child and adult vaccines alongside the ones the targeting the coronavirus.
We know a lot of people have delayed getting care and regular immunizations during the pandemic, said Contra Costa County health officer Dr. Chris Farnitano. This new guidance will make it easier for people to catch up on any immunizations theyre due for when they get a COVID-19 vaccine at their providers office.
Previously, the CDC recommended COVID-19 vaccines be administered at least 14 days before or after any other vaccines out of an abundance of caution.
Now that we have substantial data and real-world experience with the COVID-19 vaccines, we feel confident that it is safe for everyone to get immunized simultaneously against COVID-19 and other vaccine-preventable diseases, the officers said.
According to data from state officials, about 17.1 million Californians, or about 50.5% of eligible residents, are fully vaccinated as of Thursday.
El Paso, Texas (KTSM) The City of El Paso COVID-19 VaccineSites and State-Operated COVID-19TestingSites will be closed Monday, May 31, 2021, in observance of Memorial Day.
The following City COVID-19 VaccineSites will resume operation on Tuesday, June 1, 2021:
Residents are also able to review upcoming Pop-Up COVID-19 Vaccine events or register and schedule a vaccine appointment by visitingEPCovidVaccine.comor by calling (915) 212-6843.
The following State-Operated COVID-19TestingSites will resume operation on Tuesday, June 1, 2021, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. (7-days a week):
Health officials highly recommend that residents continue wearing face covers, wash your hands frequently and watch your distancing, regardless of whether you have or have not yet received the vaccine. For more information, visitEPStrong.org.
For local and breaking news, sports, weather alerts, video and more, download the FREE KTSM 9 News App from theApple App Storeor theGoogle Play Store.
