The appointments are available at the Wonderland of the Americas COVID-19 vaccine clinic.
SAN ANTONIO University Health said Monday the organization still has appointments available this week.
The appointments are available at the Wonderland of the Americas COVID-19 vaccine clinic.
To look for predictability of time to be vaccinated, sign up at WeCanDoItSA.com,the organization said.
Or, you can simply walk in and receive your vaccine that way, according to University Health.
The Wonderland center provides the vaccinations Monday-Friday, from 8 a.m.-8 p.m. The location features free convenient parking and is on several VIA bus routes.
All adults are eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine in Texas. If you are 16 and 17 years old, you must bring a parent or guardian to your appointment.
Below is the latest overall vaccine progress for Bexar County and Texas:
Across Bexar County, more than 987,000 vaccine doses have been administered, as of April 15.
Click this linkfor more options for COVID-19 vaccine appointments and a list of COVID-19 symptoms and COVID-19 testing locations.
SALISBURY This weeks drive-thru vaccination clinic hosted by the Rowan County Health Department will be 1:45 p.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday.
The clinic will be held in the parking of West End Plaza, 1935 Jake Alexander Blvd. West, and offer roughly 1,400 Pfizer vaccines to the public, including 220 left over from an event at Livingstone College on Saturday. Anyone 16 and older is eligible to be vaccinated Thursday.
There were still plenty of appointments available Monday afternoon. People can sign up for an appointment by visiting rowancountync.gov/covidvaccine or calling the COVID-19 hotline at 980-432-1800 and selecting option No. 1. The Rowan County Health Department asks that people who sign up for an appointment make themselves available for a second dose on Wednesday, May 12.
People can schedule a second appointment after completing the first by calling 980-432-1800 or scanning a QR code received on Thursday.
So far, 33,610 Rowan County residents, or about 23.7%, have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, which is below state and national averages and among the worst in the state. The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services says 36.8% of North Carolinians have received at least one dose and 46.6% of state residents 18 or older are vaccinated (a number not available on a county level). The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says 39.5% of the total U.S. population has received at least one dose.
Rowan residents fully vaccinated number 24,845, which is 17.5% of the population.
The number of new, daily positives in the county remains steady, with 25 new cases reported Monday. There have been 433 positives reported in the previous two weeks.
COVID-19 deaths among Rowan County residents remain at 299, with no new ones reported Monday.
As more Americans receive Covid-19 vaccines, just how effective are vaccines at combatting variants of the new coronavirus that are surging throughout the United States? Here's what the latest research says.
Your top resources for Covid-19 readiness
According to The Hill, experts are scrambling to determine how well authorized vaccines perform against coronavirus variants because, in several countries, the variants are becoming the dominant version of the virus in circulation.
For example, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky last week said the B.1.1.7 variant, which was first identified in the United Kingdom, is now the United States' dominant coronavirus strain, The Hill reports.
The P.1 variant, which was first detected in Brazil, is now the second-most prevalent version of the virus in the United States, and the country also has reported increasing cases of the B.1.351 variant, which was first detected in South Africa.
There is limited research available on how currently authorized vaccines perform against the variants. However, the research that is availablealthough generally preliminarysuggest that several vaccines are fairly effective at protecting against both the original version of the virus and the range of variants emerging around the globe.
For instance, one study of Johnson & Johnson's vaccinethe distribution of which U.S. officials have temporarily pausedfound it was 85% effective at preventing severe Covid-19 from the B.1.351 variant, which was first discovered in South Africa. Similarly, a small study of Pfizer/BioNTech's vaccine found it was up to 100% effective at preventing even mild cases from the B.1.351 variant.
However, some preliminary research suggests not all vaccines are so effective against all variants. For example, one study of the vaccine developed by Novavaxwhich has not been authorized for use in the United Statesfound that, although it's about 89% effective at preventing mild Covid-19 from the original strain of the coronavirus, that efficacy drops to about 50% against B.1.351.
And several lab experimentsin which blood samples from vaccinated people are exposed to variants or manufactured "pseudo-virus" variantssuggest that the antibodies produced by the Moderna vaccine are less effective against B.1.351 than against the original version of the virus. According to NPR's "Goats and Soda," these experiments suggest it takes about eight times as many of the antibodies produced by the Moderna vaccine to neutralize the B.1.351 variant as to neutralize the original version of the virus.
That said, Salim Abdool Karim, an infectious disease researcher and co-chair of the Covid-19 advisory committee for South Africa, said he was not deeply concerned about those findings. "[T]he Moderna vaccine produces pretty high levels of antibodies," he said, "so there is enough antibody still to neutralize the virus."
However, Abdool Karim expressed more concern about the efficacy of AstraZeneca's vaccine, which has not been authorized in the United States, against certain variants. One very small study suggested that that vaccine was almost entirely ineffective at preventing mild cases of Covid-19 against B.1.351, and a separate experiment found that it takes 86 times as many antibodies from the AstraZeneca vaccine to neutralize B.1.351 as it does to neutralize the original strain of the virus.
"I'm basically not confident about [AstraZeneca's] vaccine at all" in mitigating B.1.351 infections, Abdool Karim said.
Amid these laboratory findings, researchers in Israel recently conducted the first real-world studyalthough still in pre-printassessing the efficacy of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine against the B.1.1.7 and B.1.351 variants, with largely positive results.
For the study, researchers compared almost 400 people in Israel who had been infected with the coronavirus after receiving at least one dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine with a control group of unvaccinated people who had similarly contracted the virus. Of those in the vaccinated group, 149 participants were infected at least one week after their second dose; the rest were infected more than two weeks following their first dose, but less than one week after their second dose.
Overall, the researchers found that the vaccine performed well against all the variants circulating in Israel. However, because the vaccine doesn't have 100% efficacy, a few breakthrough infections occurred among vaccinated peopleand those infections, while generally not severe, were most likely to be caused by the B.1.351 variant.
Specifically, the researchers found that "vaccine effectiveness remains high" against the B.1.1.7 variant. "We see evidence for reduced vaccine effectiveness against the [B.1.1.7] variant, but after two doses, extremely high effectiveness kicks in," Adi Stern, a researcher at Tel Aviv University and senior author on the study, said.
However, the researchers found that B.1.351 accounted for 5.4% of breakthrough infections among people who had received both doses and just 0.7% of the infections among unvaccinated people. "This means that the [B.1.351] variant is able, to some extent, to break through the vaccine's protection," Stern said.
Even so, Stern noted that while the study wasn't able to pinpoint precisely how much lower the vaccine's efficacy was against the B.1.351 variant, she pointed out that "even if the [B.1.351] variant does break through the vaccine's protection, it has not spread widely through the population."
Separately, Richard Lessells, an infectious disease expert focusing on the B.1.351 variant, said he doesn't believe the results of this study should "worry us unduly."
The study results "seem to provide support to what we currently understandthat while the neutralizing antibody response is still developing post-vaccination and has not yet reached peak, there is still a risk of infection."
"It is always important to keep in mind that vaccine protection is never 100%," Stern said. "As long as case counts are high, even fully vaccinated individuals should take precautions" (CIDRAP News, 4/12; Aizenman, "Goats and Soda," NPR, 4/9; Schumaker, ABC News, 4/12; Stein, "Shots," NPR, 4/15; Choi, The Hill, 4/11; Williams, The Hill, 4/09).
What is a COVID-19 vaccine passport, and will I need one?
Vaccine passports, or vaccine certificates, are documents that show you were vaccinated against COVID-19 or recently tested negative for the virus. They could help you get into places such as stadiums or even countries that are looking to reopen safely.
The certificates are still being developed, and how and whether theyll be used could vary widely around the world. Experts say they should be free and available on paper, not just on apps, since not everyone has a smartphone.
In the U.S., federal officials say there are no plans to make them broadly mandatory. In some states, Republican governors have issued orders barring businesses or state agencies from asking people to show proof of vaccination.
Objections revolve mostly around privacy and security how peoples personal information will be stored and fairness. Critics say the passports will benefit people and countries with more access to vaccines.
Supporters say they could make reopenings faster and easier. Proof of vaccination or a negative test could be a way for businesses and schools to reassure customers, students and parents that steps are being taken to limit transmission of the virus.
International travel bans by countries could also be eased if people are able to show proof theyre vaccinated. Some countries have long had requirements to prove vaccination against yellow fever.
Still, a challenge is creating certification systems that work across vaccine providers and businesses. More than a dozen initiatives are underway to develop a credential that could be stored on a smartphone or printed on paper, using a QR code.
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The AP is answering your questions about the coronavirus in this series. Submit them at: FactCheck@AP.org. Read more here:
I got the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine. Now what?
Are some COVID-19 vaccines more effective than others?
I got the COVID-19 vaccine. What can I safely do?
CLEVELAND, Ohio - Newly reported coronavirus cases are down over the last week across Ohio, while hospitalizations are up.
This could be a positive change to what had been a spring uptick in cases across Ohio.
More will be known in the coming days and weeks, but health officials say hospital trends often lag the cases by a several days to a week because it generally takes time for patients to get sick enough to need the more extensive treatment.
The latest increases in hospitalizations could be the result of earlier case increases. If newly reported cases do continue to decline, the hospitalization trends would be expected to eventually follow.
The seven-day average for newly reported cases dipped to 1,917 a day on Monday, the lowest this average has been since April 7. It was as high recently as 2,154 on Wednesday.
To date, Ohio has reported 18,991 deaths, 55,016 hospitalizations and 1,054,807 cases. This means that 1-in-11 Ohioans is known to have contracted the coronavirus at some point.
Heres a closer look at the latest trends.
The average number of newly reported coronavirus cases declined some in the last week.Rich Exner, cleveland.com
A total of 1,323 coronavirus patients were reported in Ohio hospitals on Monday, the highest patient count reported by the Ohio Hospital Association since Feb. 24. The daily census had dropped as low as 823 on March 7 and didnt climb back over 1,000 until Thursday, April 1.
There were 1,234 patients a week ago, on April 12.
However, even the increased numbers remain well below where they were months ago, including a record 5,308 patients on Dec. 15.
Among Mondays patients were 378 in intensive care units, up from 315 a week ago. The high was 1,318 on Dec. 15.
Ohio's coronavirus hospital patient count has been trending up.Rich Exner, cleveland.com
The state reported starting vaccines for 268,328 people in the last week, a drop for the the third consecutive week. The latest number is in comparison to 400,851, 445,174, 454,155, and 431,824 the previous weeks.
The 4,390,744 vaccinations started through reporting on Monday means about 47% of Ohios population age 16 and up has received at least one shot. Younger people are not approved to receive vaccines.
These are estimates in part because the Ohio data for vaccines includes some people from other states such as those who work in Ohio or traveled here for shots - at least 125,515 so far - yet some Ohioans received vaccinations in other states.
About 38% of Ohioans have received at least one dose of a coronavirus vaccine. About 43% of those older enough to be vaccinated have not yet received a shot.Rich Exner, cleveland.com
Ohio reported an average of 1,917 cases a day in the last week.
This compares with averages of 2,066 1,973, 1,704, 1,551, 1,516 and 1,550 the last several weeks, and down from close to 6,700 a day at the end of December.
Cases are trending younger. About 59% of the new cases over the first half of April involved people under the age of 40, in comparison to 44% for this age group during the first half of December - ahead of the vaccination effort.
The number of coronavirus cases reported daily by the state of Ohio over the last three weeks. There was no report on Easter.Rich Exner, cleveland.com
The state has reported 18,991 deaths caused by the coronavirus, though this is an undercount.
The Ohio Department of Health announced on March 2 that it was dropping efforts to track deaths in a timely manner. It said the change would delay death reporting by up to six months in some cases. The health department is now awaiting details from the federal Centers for Disease Control for all deaths.
Illustrating how far the paperwork now lags, the state has reported just 56 deaths occurring in April, with none since April 13 and only four on April 11 or later.
The state has reported 473 deaths occurring in March, 1,330 in February, 3,638 in January and 5,470 in December.
Though Cuyahoga County has the most deaths (2,069) of any county in the state, its death rate of 1.68 per 1,000 residents is just slightly above the statewide rate of 1.62 per 1,000. The counties with the highest rates are Monroe (3 per 1,000), Putnam (2.92) and Tuscarawas (2.61).
Ohio coronavirus deaths by month.Rich Exner, cleveland.com
Among the dead are at least 7,198 patients of nursing homes and other long-term care facilities, according to the last weekly update on Wednesday, April 14. This is up from 7,167 reported a week earlier.
However, the actual number is unclear. Before the state changed its death reporting methods, it had reported 7,462 nursing home deaths in early March.
The health department said Wednesday there were 291 current cases involving nursing home patients, and 319 involving nursing home staff. This was down from 476 and 329 the previous week.
In mid-December, there were 5,155 patient cases and 3,271 staff cases. Case details by nursing home can be found at this link.
The number of Ohio nursing home patients with the coronavirus has shrunk below 300, according to the Ohio Department of Health.Rich Exner, cleveland.com
The state updates school data each Thursday. It reported 1,171 new student cases last week, and 146 new staff cases across Ohio. These totals reported on April 15 cover new cases discovered from from April 5 to April 11.
The student case total was up sharply from 635 the previous week, when there also were 119 staff cases.
School-by-school details can be found at this link.
Three-in-four of the deaths have been to people age 70 and older, breaking down this way: under age 20 (7), in their 20s (24), in their 30s (101, in their 40s (266), in their 50s (961), in their 60s (2,741), in their 70s (5,095) and at least 80 years old (9,796).
Those age 80 and up have accounted for 52% of the known coronavirus deaths, in comparison to 44% of all known Ohio deaths for all causes in 2018.
Those in their 70s have accounted for 27% of the coronavirus deaths, in comparison to 21% of all Ohio deaths in 2018 ahead of the virus.
But for hospitalizations, the cases are more spread out age-wise: under age 20 (1,347), in their 20s (2,207), in their 30s (2,927), in their 40s (4,390), in their 50s (7,982), in their 60s (11,846), in their 70s (12,806) and at least 80 years old (11,511).
Hospitalizations have decreased sharply among older age groups since the start of vaccines. Older people were the first focus of vaccine efforts.
For the deaths in which race was reported, 86% of the people are white, and 13% are Black. For total cases, 75% are white and 13% Black.
Ohios overall population is 82% white and 13% Black. But among Ohioans at least 70 years old - the age group accounting for three-quarters of the deaths - Ohio is 89% white and 9% Black.
The first three cases were confirmed on March 9, 2020. The total topped 100,000 on Aug. 9, 250,000 on Nov. 8, 500,000 on Dec. 8, and 1 million on March 22.
Among the cases reported to date are 165,913 listed as probable, those cases included by a wider variety of tests or identified through non-testing evidence. This total is up from 157,804 last week.
The state reported 11,582,295 tests to date, including 218,694 in the last week, in comparison to 237,471 and 187,537 the previous weeks. During parts of January, more than 340,000 tests were conducted during seven-day periods.
Rich Exner, data analysis editor for cleveland.com, writes about numbers on a variety of topics. Follow on Twitter @RichExner. See other data-related stories at cleveland.com/datacentral.
Previous coverage
Heres what it would take to cut Ohios coronavirus cases in half
Ohio gains 12,700 jobs in March; remains down 295,000 since before coronavirus pandemic
How much would you save under the Ohio income tax cut proposed by House Republicans? Likely a few dimes every week
What can a consumer do about forced-arbitration clauses on cell phone, car and other deals? - Thats Rich!
All adults in Philly region can now get a COVID-19 vaccine; local experts rank the risk of activities once you The Philadelphia Inquirer
According to the California Department of Public Health, as of Sunday, April 18, 10.1 million vaccine doses have been administered in the state and 25.1% of residents have been fully vaccinated.
According to end-of-day totals from California public health websites for Sunday, there were 1,143 new cases of the coronavirus reported in across the state, bringing the total number of cases there have been to 3,691,833.
There were 18 new deaths reported statewide Sunday, for a total 60,660 people who have died from the virus.
Hospitals saw a decrease of 41 patients on Sunday, lowering the total number of people hospitalized with coronavirus-related illness to 2,099.
Sources: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Johns Hopkins University, the World Health Organization, the California Department of Public Health, The Associated Press, reporting counties and news sources
Binghamton University has received a $1.25 million New York State Education Department (NYSED) contract that will expand the work of the Central/Western Community Schools Technical Assistance Center (CSTAC), which facilitates the development and sustainability of community schools in the region.
Total awards have been made in the amount of $2.5 million in administrative funds from CARES Act funding to both Binghamton University and Fordham University to launch the New York State Cares for Communities (NYSCFC) initiative, designed to leverage support in identified communities most adversely impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. NYSCFC will build upon existing resources and the experience of community-based and faith-based partners supporting regional capacity to address the needs of families related to the pandemic.
The coronavirus has had a major impact on those who are economically disadvantaged within our communities, and this contract will help us continue to support families and students within our schools, said Laura Bronstein, dean of Binghamton Universitys College of Community and Public Affairs (CCPA). Bronstein is the principal investigator for the contract and oversees Binghamton University Community Schools.
The COVID-19 pandemic has deeply impacted New Yorks students, who have suffered from protracted social isolation, struggled with remote learning, experienced personal and community loss of connection, witnessed ongoing civil unrest, been impacted by economic hardship and for many, lost loved ones. Through partnerships with community-based and faith-based agencies, NYSCFC will support the distribution of CARES Act funds so that services and support for students and families can be put in place without further undue suffering and lost instruction.
NYSCFC will partner with and convene community and faith-based organizations as well as school districts to leverage the resources and experience of community-based partners to build capacity for parent and family support, support school districts and build local capacity, and meet the social-emotional and mental health needs of students, families and staff members, with particular focus placed on addressing the needs of special populations and demographic groups most adversely impacted by the coronavirus. In addition to the distribution of CARES Act funds within communities, NYSCFC will work closely with the CSTACs to provide social-emotional and mental health professional development and training to school staff and community providers to further enhance this effort. Resources will be available through a NYSCFC portal on the CSTACs website.
This grant also provides support to the entire state, including the Southern Tier according to NYS Cares for Communities Director at Binghamton University Luann Kida. With a primary focus on supporting students and their families around academic enrichment, social-emotional learning, mental health, digital literacy and family engagement, workshops and tools related to the needs students and families are facing during this pandemic will be available free of charge and readily accessible, Kida said.
Regions eligible for NYSCFC support were identified based on economic disadvantage and the adverse impacts of the coronavirus. NYSCFC at Binghamton University will serve the following counties: Erie, Monroe, Niagara, Orleans, Madison, Oneida, Onondaga, Albany, Columbia, Dutchess, Greene, Orange, Putnam, Rockland, Schenectady, Sullivan, Ulster and Westchester.
NYSCFC will expand the variety of services already provided through the NYSED CSTACs. With the goal of increasing statewide capacity to support effective Community School strategies, the CSTACs continue to serve all of NYS through consultation, training and support to school districts and community providers in three regions: the Central-Western CSTAC led by Binghamton University; the Eastern CSTAC led by Rockland 21C; and the New York City CSTAC led by Fordham University. For more information about this grant and the free services available through the NYSED CSTACs, visit nyscommunityschools.org.
For more information, contact Luann Kida, director of NYSCFC at Binghamton University, at 607-777-9282 or lkida@binghamton.edu; or Bronstein at 607-777-5572 or lbronst@binghamton.edu.
CONNECTICUT Gov. Ned Lamont announced coronavirus business restrictions will be fully lifted May 19 in Connecticut.
There will be two more reopening phases. On May 1, business curfews will be moved back to midnight. Outdoor restrictions will also be lifted, so alcohol can be served without food and there will be no table size limit. Outdoor mask mandates will be lifted so long as social distancing can be maintained.
On May 19, all business restrictions will be lifted. Indoor mask mandates will remain in effect, but there may be exceptions for fully vaccinated people, Lamont said. The state Department of Public Health will also issue guidance on large indoor and outdoor events.
"I think these are all the ways that we've earned the right to get back to our new normal and I think you see on May 1 it's going to be a little more outside fun which I appreciate as long as we're careful," Lamont said during a news conference.
Individual businesses will still be able to mandate more restrictive rules than what the state mandates, Lamont said.
School mask use rules will stay in effect until at least the end of the school year, Lamont said.
The Connecticut Restaurant Association hailed Lamont's decision.
"More than a year after this pandemic began, local restaurant owners and employees can finally see light at the end of the tunnel," said Scott Dolch, executive director of the Connecticut Restaurant Association. "Today's news gives restaurants a plan and a timeline for recovery. It's possible because of the incredible job Connecticut has done fighting COVID, from the tireless work of local business owners and employees to put safety first, to the nation-leading efforts by Gov. Lamont and his team to get our population vaccinated."
Lamont said he will have to talk with the state Legislature post-May 20 when his emergency powers expire. Things like mask mandates will have to be taken up by the Legislature.
CLEVELAND, Ohio - While coronavirus cases continue to drop among the oldest Ohioans - the group most extensively vaccinated to date - cases are up this month over March for younger people.
In fact, the drop in cases for Ohioans age 60 and up has been so sharp since December as vaccines were getting started that if rates for other age groups had fallen as sharply, there would be just half as many new coronavirus cases this month.
In comparing the first 15 days of December ahead of vaccination efforts to the first 15 days of April, coronavirus cases have dropped 90% for those age 60 and older, cleveland.com found in an analysis of case reports from the Ohio Department of Health.
If all age groups had dropped at that same rate, Ohio would have had 13,778 cases with an onset of symptoms from April 1 through April 15.
Instead, Ohio had 27,082 during that time period, records through Sunday show. This is because while the drop off from near the peak in December to April was 90% for for those age least 60 years old, it was just 82% for those age 40 to 59, and 74% for those under the age of 40.
The trends by age group were amplified in the last month, as cases edged up overall in Ohio.
Here are the number of Ohio coronavirus cases by age group the first 15 days of each month this year, based on the date symptoms began.Rich Exner, cleveland.com
The 3,490 cases for those age 60 and up over the first 15 days of April represented a 3% drop from the first half of March.
But among those age 40 to 59, cases were up 15% to 7,614. And for those under the age of 40, cases were up 31% to 15,978.
Younger people were the last to become eligible for vaccines and those age groups are still playing catchup. Through Sunday, the state reported vaccines started for:
* 74% of those age 80 and up (68% completed all doses).
* 75% age 75 to 79 (68% completed).
* 78% age 70 to 74 (69% completed).
* 72% age 65 to 69 (62% completed).
* 62% age 60 to 64 (49% completed).
* 50% age 50 to 59 (35% completed).
* 41% age 40 to 49 (23% completed).
* 34% age 30 to 39 (17% completed).
* 26% age 20 to 29 (12% completed).
* 4% under age 20, though only those age 16 and up are eligible for shots under federal rules (1% completed).
Rich Exner, data analysis editor for cleveland.com, writes about numbers on a variety of topics. Follow on Twitter @RichExner. Find data-related stories at cleveland.com/datacentral. Find previous census 2020 at this link.
Previous coverage
Why using population estimates instead of census 2020 is a bad idea for drawing new congressional districts: Analysis
How much would you save under the Ohio income tax cut proposed by House Republicans? Likely a few dimes every week
What can a consumer do about forced-arbitration clauses on cell phone, car and other deals? - Thats Rich!
Ohio gains 12,700 jobs in March; remains down 295,000 since before coronavirus pandemic
