HUDSONVILLE, MI SpartanNash is hosting two vaccine clinics at its former Family Fare grocery store at 5221 Cherry Ave. in Hudsonville.
The clinics are scheduled from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Friday, April 2 and Tuesday, April 6, the company said in a news release.
Appointments can be scheduled online and are available three days prior to each clinic. Both clinics are open to anyone 16 and older. To receive the vaccine, customers must have an appointment and complete a health screening.
Receiving a COVID-19 vaccination is the best way to help stop this virus and pandemic, Lori Raya, executive vice president and chief merchandising and marketing officer at SpartanNash, said in a statement. Getting vaccinated adds one more layer of protection for you, your coworkers, your family and your loved ones. SpartanNash and our family of retail pharmacies are here for our local communities, and we are committed to providing them with a safe, clean environment to receive this important vaccine.
Our pharmacists have and will continue to play an important role in the fight against the coronavirus, and we look forward to administering more than 2,200 total vaccines in the next week and beyond.
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Syracuse, N.Y. The St. Josephs Health primary care offices placed an order Jan. 11 for 1,200 Covid-19 vaccines for patients at its six physicians offices.
On Friday, the first batch of 600 doses finally arrived, and theyll all be gone by this week.
Over the past week, Central New York doctors offices have received the first shipment of vaccines to directly administer in their offices. The hundreds of doses are a trickle compared to the state-run mass vaccination sites that give thousands of shots a day, but its a big relief for patients intimidated by online signups and sprawling, busy clinics like the state fairgrounds.
This is reaching patients who want to get it from their physician directly, said Julianne Himes, chief executive officer of St. Josephs Physicians. Some of our older patients feel more comfortable having it from somebody theyre familiar with, from the nurse who always gives them their shots.
Many elderly patients also dont drive or have other transportation issues, and they are often uncomfortable going to the big vaccination sites like the OnCenter or fairgrounds.
They see them as big and daunting, and theyre worried about parking, said Himes, a physician assistant.
Doctors have been clambering for the vaccines since the first doses were released in December. The state Department of Health chose instead to funnel the vaccine to large sites capable of giving thousands of shots a day. In a 48-hour period earlier this month, the Expo Center clinic at the state fairgrounds administered more than 18,600 Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson vaccines.
While doctors waited for doses in February and March, Onondaga County allotted a selected number of vaccine appointments to doctors offices to get their most vulnerable patients vaccinated. The St. Josephs practice got 100 slots, so they worked the phones to schedule patients, Himes said.
Having the doses in the office gives patients more comfort and flexibility, doctors say. Marcellus Family Medicine this week got its first 100 doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccines, and theyre already spoken for.
Its not much, but its definitely been able to allow us to vaccinate people who have not been able to get signed up, said Dr. John Alley, one of two doctors at the Marcellus practice. Its also allowed us to vaccinate some of our homebound, at-risk patients who cannot get to a vaccination center.
Alley drove to the homes of two patients to administer their shots.
We make house calls, he said.
The Johnson & Johnson vaccine makes those house calls a little easier because its just one shot, unlike the Pfizer and Moderna, which each require two injections given weeks apart.
Giving Covid-19 shots in the office is a logistical challenge. A vial of Moderna, the vaccine being used by St. Josephs, contains 10 doses that must be used within six hours of opening. To make sure doses dont go to waste, St. Josephs created a separate area and dedicated staff to in-office vaccination clinics at its busiest locations, Liverpool and Fayetteville.
There have been a handful of no-shows, Himes said, but those extra doses were given to other patients who met the states eligibility criteria, she said.
We have pulled patients from the practice who were there for a visit with their doctor and asked if they wanted to receive the vaccine, she said. In all cases we were able to use our doses from those.
Medical practices said they dont know when theyll get more vaccines. Demand is likely to increase next week, when the state opens eligibility to all New Yorkers 16 years and older.
While family doctors are giving few shots now, they may become increasingly important as the supply of vaccine exceeds those who want or are willing to get one. Some experts fear that vaccine hesitancy the reluctance or refusal of people to get what some consider a rushed or incompletely tested medicine could slow efforts to bring the pandemic under control.
Through trusted relationships with patients, doctors can chip away at that hesitancy, said Dr. Mitchell Brodey, chief executive officer of the Family Medical Care Group.
When you go to your doctor, you trust the doctor, said Brodey, whose sprawling group started giving vaccines last week. If your doctor says do it, youll do it.
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Millions of adults vaccinated against Covid-19 have little to prove it beyond a paper card they received at inoculation sites.
The U.S. has no central database for immunizations. States maintain an incomplete patchwork of records. Nor is there standard proof of Covid-19 vaccinations like the yellow-fever cards that are required for travel to many countries where that disease remains prevalent.
With some countries and businesses preparing to make digital proof of vaccination a requirement for entry and travel, the paper cards may be the only ticket to access those platforms. Proof is already being requested on some first dates and at weddings.
Im glad we prioritized getting shots in arms, said Ami Parekh, chief medical officer at digital healthcare company Grand Rounds Inc., which acts as a kind of medical concierge for patients. But putting in rules about being vaccinated without giving people a way to properly track it is a little bit backwards.
The cards themselves are a patchwork of formats. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has designed a version, which many locations use, but it isnt required. State and local authorities and even individual sites are devising their own cards to hand out. With no official standard, it may be hard to say what constitutes proof.
On the evening of March 24, AstraZeneca announced its Covid-19 vaccine is 76 percent effective at preventing symptomatic disease, based on its Phase III trial of over 32,000 participants mostly in the United States. The results concluded a whirlwind of news stories about the AstraZeneca vaccine in March.
At this point, the vaccine has been approved for use in the United Kingdom and several European Union countries since December. It has not yet been approved in the U.S. because the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) asked the company to provide results from a large-scale trial, Umair Irfan reports for Vox. Experts have expected the data to show that the vaccine is safe and effective, but worry how AstraZenecas recent hurdles might impact its reputation around the world.
I think the way that the ship will be righted is by having the FDAs scrutiny, says biostatistician Stephen Evans of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine to Smriti Mallapaty and Ewen Callaway at Nature. Evans expects the vaccine will be approved when the FDA is able to review the raw data.
On March 18, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) completed its review of the AstraZeneca vaccine, which is made in partnership with Oxford University, and concluded that it is safe and effective, BBC News reports. The E.U.s medical regulation agency had revisited the vaccines safety because, out of about 17 million people who had gotten the shot by early March, 37 people developed unusual blood clots.
More than 20 countries suspended use of the vaccine while the EMA reviewed the cases, Kai Kupferschmidt and Gretchen Vogel report for Science magazine. Most countries resumed vaccine use after the EMA concluded that it is safe, but last week Friday, Norway extended its suspension of the vaccine until April 15, Gwladys Fouche and Terje Solsvik report for Reuters. Norwegian officials hope more data about the cause of the blood clots will become available soon.
On March 22, AstraZeneca released its initial results of the Phase III trial, which showed slightly higher effectiveness at preventing Covid-19 than the latest results. The results were long-awaited. The FDA asked the company to conduct a larger trial in order to get clearer data than they gathered in their first rounds of testing. In the first trials in the U.K., some participants unexpectedly received half-doses of the first shot in the vaccine, and the early trials did not include enough people older than 65, reports the Washington Post.
By the morning of March 23, officials at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases released a letter from its data and safety monitoring board that's been examining the AstraZeneca trial, Andrew Joseph reports for STAT News. The letter stated that AstraZeneca had used outdated data to reach its efficacy number. The move was unprecedented; usually, monitoring boards keep their correspondence with companies private.
We just felt we could not remain silent. Because if we did remain silent, we could be understandably accused of covering something up. And we definitely didnt want to be in that position, says Anthony Fauci, director of the NIAID, to STAT News. In my mind, its an unforced error by the company.
AstraZeneca explained the initial results included data gathered until February 17, per Nature.
Within 48 hours, AstraZeneca released its revised results with updated data. According to the statement, the vaccine has 76 percent efficacy at reducing symptomatic Covid-19 overall, and 85 percent efficacy in people 65 years old and older. A specific review of the 32,000 participants in the U.S. trial found no cases of the unusual blood clots that caused hesitation in Europe, per STAT News.
The benefits of these results will mainly be for the rest of the world, where confidence in the AstraZeneca vaccine has been eroded, said Evans to the New York Times.
AstraZeneca plans to submit the data for emergency use authorization in the coming weeks and then the FDA additional time to review the data and make its decision.
The AstraZeneca vaccine may not have a large role in vaccinating people in the United States because the three companies already approved to supply vaccines in the country agreed to provide enough doses for anyone who wants one this year. But AstraZeneca is participating in the COVAX program to provide doses to low- and middle-income countries for no profit, and FDA approval is a global gold-standard for safety of medications.
At the end of the day, the FDA looks at the data, not the press releases, says the FDAs former chief scientist Jesse Goodman to Vox. Looking at that data and doing their own analysis is whats going to determine whether this vaccine gets an [emergency use authorization], whether the benefits outweigh the risk.
The WHO Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE) on Immunisation has issued Interim recommendations for the use of the Janssen Ad26.CoV2.S vaccine against COVID-19.
Here is what you need to know.
This article provides a summary of the interim recommendations; the interim recommendations and the background document are also available.
While COVID-19 vaccine supplies are limited, health workers at high risk of exposure and older people should be prioritised for vaccination.
Countries can refer to the WHO Prioritization Roadmap and the WHO Values Framework as guidance for their prioritization of target groups.
The vaccine is safe and effective in people with known medical conditions associated with increased risk of severe disease, such as hypertension, chronic lung disease, significant cardiac disease, obesity, and diabetes.
Persons living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) are at higher risk of severe COVID-19 disease. This population group was included in clinical trials and no safety concerns were observed. It is recommended that known HIV-positive vaccine recipients be provided with information and counselling prior to vaccination. Further studies are needed to assess vaccine efficacy for persons with HIV; it is possible that the immune response to the vaccine may be reduced which would lower the vaccines effectiveness.
The J&J vaccine can be offered to people who have had COVID-19 in the past. But individuals may wish to defer their own COVID-19 vaccination for up to six months from the time of SARS-CoV-2 infection, to allow others who may need the vaccine more urgently to go first.
This vaccine can be offered to a breastfeeding woman who is part of a group recommended for the vaccination (e.g. health workers); discontinuing breastfeeding after vaccination is not currently recommended.
While pregnancy puts women at higher risk of severe COVID-19, very little data are available to assess vaccine safety in pregnancy.
Pregnant women may receive the vaccine if the benefit of vaccinating a pregnant woman outweighs the potential vaccine risks.
For this reason, pregnant women at high risk of exposure to SARS-CoV-2 (e.g. health workers) or who have comorbidities which add to their risk of severe disease, may be vaccinated in consultation with their health care provider.
Who is the vaccine not recommended for?
Individuals with a history of anaphylaxis to any component of the vaccine should not take it.
Anyone with a body temperature over 38.5C should postpone vaccination until they no longer have a fever.
The vaccine is not recommended for persons younger than 18 years of age pending the results of further studies in that age group.
SAGE recommends the use of Janssen Ad26.CoV2.S as one dose (0.5 ml) given intramuscularly.
There should be a minimum interval of 14 days between the administration of this vaccine and any other vaccine against other health conditions. This recommendation may be amended as data on co-administration with other vaccines become available.
How does this vaccine compare to the dual dose vaccines already in use?
We cannot compare the vaccines head-to-head due to the different approaches taken in designing the respective studies, but overall, all of the vaccines that have achieved WHO Emergency Use Listing are highly effective in preventing severe disease and hospitalization due to COVID-19.
SAGE has thoroughly assessed the data on quality, safety and efficacy of the vaccine and has recommended its use for people aged 18 and above.
This vaccine has also undergone review by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and found to be safe for use.
28 days after inoculation Janssen Ad26.CoV2.S was found to have an efficacy of 85.4% against severe disease and hospitalisation.
A dose of Janssen Ad26.COV2.S was found in clinical trials to have an efficacy of 66.9% against symptomatic moderate and severe SARS-CoV-2 infection.
SAGE has reviewed all available data on the performance of the vaccine in the settings of the variants of concern. In clinical trials this vaccine has been tested against a variety of SARS-CoV-2 virus variants, including B1.351 (first identified in South Africa) and P.2 (first identified in Brazil), and found to be effective.
SAGE currently recommends using this vaccine, according to the WHO Prioritization Roadmap, even if variants of concern are present in a country. As new data becomes available, WHO will update recommendations accordingly.
There is currently no substantive data available related to the impact of Ad26.COV2.S on transmission of virus that causes COVID-19 disease.
In the meantime, we must maintain and strengthen public health measures that work: masking, physical distancing, handwashing, respiratory and cough hygiene, avoiding crowds and ensuring good ventilation.
For Immediate Release: March 31, 2021
Following recent U.S. Food and Drug Administration actions to support test development, the FDA took swift action this week to get more tests for screening asymptomatic individuals on the market. Today, the agency authorized several tests for over-the-counter (OTC) use without a prescription when used for serial screening. In addition to the tests authorized for OTC use, one serial screening test was authorized for use in a point-of-care (POC) setting without a prescription, and an additional screening test was authorized for POC use with a prescription. The addition of the OTC and POC tests for screening will give schools, workplaces, communities and others several options for serial screening tests that are accurate and reliable. These authorizations follow the FDAs recent actions to advance OTC and other screening test development.
Screening testing, especially with the over-the-counter tests authorized today, is an important part of the countrys pandemic responsemany schools, workplaces, communities, and other entities are setting up testing programs to quickly screen for COVID-19. With the FDAs authorization of multiple tests, the public can be assured these tests have met our scientific standards for emergency use authorization. As weve said all along, if its a good test, well authorize it, said Jeff Shuren, M.D., J.D., director of the FDAs Center for Devices and Radiological Health. The FDA has taken many steps to support test development throughout the pandemic, including authorizing tests quickly, offering many avenues for test developers to work with us to get their tests on the market, if shown to be accurate and reliable, and issuing enforcement policies for COVID-19 tests. As the pandemic has progressed, we have worked with test developers wishing to add screening claims.
In total, the FDA has authorized three tests with serial screening claims (testing asymptomatic individuals multiple times on a routine basis). Specific tests authorized this week:
These tests had been previously authorized by the agency (some under different names) to test those with COVID-19 symptoms, but the actions this week authorize testing of asymptomatic individuals when used for serial testing.
These authorizations follow the agencys multiple steps to streamline the process for test developers interested in authorization for screening with serial testing to increase consumer access to testing, as well as information the FDA has issued to help schools, workplaces, communities, and others establish screening programs.
The FDA, an agency within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, protects the public health by assuring the safety, effectiveness, and security of human and veterinary drugs, vaccines and other biological products for human use, and medical devices. The agency also is responsible for the safety and security of our nations food supply, cosmetics, dietary supplements, products that give off electronic radiation, and for regulating tobacco products.
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03/31/2021
Commuters wait to board a suburban train on Tuesday at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus prior to the night curfew that has been introduced to curb the spread of COVID-19 in Mumbai. Rajanish Kakade/AP hide caption
Commuters wait to board a suburban train on Tuesday at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus prior to the night curfew that has been introduced to curb the spread of COVID-19 in Mumbai.
MUMBAI India on Wednesday recorded its biggest jump in COVID-19 deaths so far this year, as authorities in worst-hit Mumbai commandeered private hospitals and nursing homes amid an unprecedented wave of coronavirus infections.
Wednesday's death toll from the coronavirus was 354 the highest since mid-December. India's confirmed caseload has more than quintupled from some 9,000 cases in late January to 53,000 today. The increase follows a marked decline in cases from their peak in September 2020 that scientists are still trying to understand.
The commercial capital Mumbai, hard-hit in the virus' first wave last spring, has once again emerged as South Asia's epicenter. It's now seeing its highest caseload since the pandemic began. The surrounding state of Maharashtra is reporting about 10 times more cases than any other Indian state.
Scientists are scrambling to figure out which parts of the population are now most affected. "Are these people who were not infected before? Or are these cases of reinfection?" asks Dr. Gagandeep Kang, a virologist at the Christian Medical College in Vellore, India.
Last summer, a survey of serologic tests in Mumbai found that 57% of the city's slum-dwellers had antibodies suggesting prior exposure to the coronavirus. But in wealthier areas, the percentage of people with antibodies was much lower. So Kang and other medical experts believe this wave may be among people who weren't infected the first time around.
"People who were previously able to isolate themselves and stay away from getting infected are now out and about and more likely to be infected," Kang explains.
She says private hospitals, which cater to affluent Indians, appear to be more strained this time around than public ones. The opposite was true during India's first wave last spring.
Kang believes a combination of factors is likely fueling new cases.
"Protection from a first infection is time-limited, and now we've reached a state where previously infected people cannot ward off infection anymore," she says.
Another possibility is infection by the virus' new variants.
Last week, India's health ministry said it had identified several coronavirus variants in the country, including one it called a "double mutant" because it has two mutations. But the ministry said it was too early to tell whether that variant was to blame for the latest spike in infections.
Infections are also surging in neighboring Pakistan, following a similar previous pattern of decline. On Tuesday, the country confirmed its highest single-day toll of the year, with 100 new deaths.
Prime Minister Imran Khan tested positive on March 20, and President Arif Alvi announced Monday that he had, too. Lagging in vaccine supplies, Pakistan said this week that it would import raw materials from China's CanSino Biologics, to assemble an additional 3 million vaccine doses.
In a circular published Monday, Mumbai put all hospitals and nursing homes under temporary government control. It ordered them to discharge asymptomatic patients who don't have comorbidities, and instructed private hospitals to reserve all intensive care units for COVID-19 patients.
India is the world's biggest vaccine producer, and it's trying to ramp up inoculations quickly. On Thursday, it plans to open eligibility to anyone 45 or older. India has administered about 63 million vaccinations so far. But with a population of nearly 1.4 billion, only a tiny fraction of people have gained protection.
"While our absolute vaccination numbers are high, for our population, if you look at the percentage, it's very, very low," says Dr. Vineeta Bal, an immunologist at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research. "Is the virus going to win, or is vaccination going to protect us? This race is really against time."
NPR producer Sushmita Pathak contributed reporting from Mumbai.
DETROIT The number of confirmed cases of the coronavirus (COVID-19) in Michigan has risen to 672,259 as of Wednesday, including 16,092 deaths, state officials report.
Wednesdays update includes a total of 6,311 new cases and 10 additional deaths. Its the first time Michigan has reported 6,000 cases in a single day since Dec. 5.
On Tuesday, the state reported 665,948 total cases and 16,082 deaths.
Testing has been steady around 35,000 diagnostic tests reported per day on average, with the 7-day positive rate above 13% as of Wednesday, the highest since early December. The state has reported an up-tick in hospitalizations over the last several weeks.
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Michigans 7-day moving average for daily cases was 4,945 on Wednesday -- the highest since December. The 7-day death average was 22 on Wednesday and has been flat for several weeks. The states fatality rate is 2.4%. The state also reports active cases, which were listed at 88,500 on Wednesday -- the highest since late January. More than 569,000 have recovered in Michigan.
Michigan has reported more than 4.2 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine administered as of Wednesday, with 33.8% of residents having received at least one dose.
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More: Whitmer says Michigan plans to combat rising COVID cases with masks, vaccines -- not new restrictions
According to Johns Hopkins University, more than 30.4 million cases have been reported in the U.S., with more than 552,000 deaths reported from the virus.
Worldwide, more than 129 million people have been confirmed infected and more than 2.8 million have died. More than 72 million have recovered, according to Johns Hopkins University. The true numbers are certainly much higher, because of limited testing, different ways nations count the dead and deliberate under-reporting by some governments.
Michigan COVID-19 vaccinations: How to find appointments, info on phases
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VIEW: Tracking Michigan COVID-19 vaccine doses
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Gov. Gretchen Whitmer released a statement Tuesday after White House officials announced that there will increase COVID-19 vaccine doses available for Michigan starting next week.
According to a press release, next weeks shipment will increase by 66,020 bringing the total number of doses to 620,040 -- a weekly record for the state. Officials said the allocation includes 147,800 doses of the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
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This comes after Whitmer recently requested for more vaccines as the state is seeing a rise in COVID numbers.
The CDC said that Michigan is leading the country in new cases of COVID-19 per population.
On Tuesday, officials reported 5,177 new COVID cases and 48 additional deaths, including 20 from a Vital Records review. On Monday, the state reported 660,771 total cases and 16,034 deaths.
Local 4s Dr. Frank McGeorge said hes seen a very clear increase in COVID patients at the hospital where he works.
Many of them need to be hospitalized. I would honestly say, this feels worse to me here in Southeast Michigan than it was during the wave that started in November. Now, the most concerning trend is the number of middle-aged people with severe COVID, McGeorge said.
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All Detroiters 16 and older are now eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine, the city announced Monday.
Any Detroit resident age 16 or older can now call to schedule an appointment to be vaccinated at the TCF Center.
Appointments can be made by calling 313-230-0505. Anyone living outside of the city of Detroit, but reporting to work each day in the city, also are eligible to schedule an appointment.
Johnson & Johnson vaccine site opened at Northwest Activities Center 9-1 this Saturday.
Chief Public Health Officer Denise Fair also announced that the Detroit Health Department has been informed it will receive its first allocation of Johnson and Johnson vaccine this week. Detroiters wanting the one dose J&J vaccine can call 313-230-0505 for an appointment to receive at the Northwest Activities Center, located at 18100 Meyers from 9-1 this Saturday.
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The state of Michigan announced Friday that all residents age 16 and up will become eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine on April 5, nearly a month before the May 1 date pledged by President Joe Biden.
People age 16 to 49 with certain medical conditions or disabilities will qualify starting March 22, when 50- to 64-year-olds can begin getting shots under a previous announcement. Two days later, March 24, a federally selected regional mass vaccination site will open at Detroits Ford Field to administer an additional 6,000 doses a day for two months.
Learn more here.
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The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services announced that the first case of the COVID-19 variant B.1.351 has been identified in a child in Jackson County.
The health department did not say how the boy was infected but a case investigation is underway to determine close contacts and if there are additional cases associated.
This new variant was originally detected in South Africa in October 2020 and shares some mutations with the B117 variant. The first case of the B117 variant -- originally detected in the United Kingdom -- was identified in Washtenaw County.
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The state of Michigan has loosened its COVID-19 restrictions on bars and restaurants, including the capacity limit and nightly curfew.
On Tuesday, March 2, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services announced the restrictions on indoor dining have been revised.
Starting Friday, March 5, Michigan restaurants and bars will be allowed to fill up to 50% capacity, with a maximum of 100 people, according to the state.
Im proud that we are able to take this positive step without compromising public health, Whitmer said.
Since Feb. 1, restaurants had been capped at 25% capacity. From mid-November through the end of January, no indoor dining was allowed at bars or restaurants.
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The number of the confirmed cases of a more contagious COVID-19 variant in Michigan increased by more than 100 this week, suggesting there is undetected spread in the community.
Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, the chief medical director for the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, said the state has confirmed 422 cases of the COVID-19 B117 variant.
That number increased from 314 cases identified as of six days prior (Feb. 24).
Through a partnership with SMART, Macomb County is offering a new vaccination location in Sterling Heights.
The vaccination site is at the Sterling Heights Senior Center on Utica Road, between Schoenherr and Van Dyke roads.
Appointments are required. Eligible residents and workers can call the SMART Macomb Vaccine line at 586-421-6579.
Wayne County announced it will open several vaccination clinics for residents 65 and older.
According to county Executive Warren Evans, the vaccination clinics will begin Feb. 23.
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Im pleased Wayne County is now in a position to begin vaccinating seniors, Evans said. I know everyone is eager to safely get back to normal. Our team is working hard to ensure all of our residents can get their COVID shot as quickly as the vaccine is available.
There are no walk-up appointments and seniors must make an appointment by calling the number for the site in their communities.
The full list of clinics and how to register can be found here.
Michigan COVID-19 daily reported cases since March 1:
March 1 -- 785 new cases
March 2 -- 1,067 new cases
March 3 -- 1,536 new cases
March 4 -- 1,526 new cases
March 5 -- 1,486 new cases
March 6 -- 1,289 new cases
March 7 -- 980 new cases
March 8 -- 980 new cases
March 9 -- 954 new cases
March 10 -- 2,316 new cases
March 11 -- 2,091 new cases
March 12 -- 2,403 new cases
March 13 -- 1,659 new cases
March 14 -- 1,571 new cases
March 15 -- 1,572 new cases
March 16 -- 2,048 new cases
March 17 -- 3,164 new cases
March 18 -- 2,629 new cases
March 19 -- 3,730 new cases
March 20 -- 2,660 new cases
March 21 -- 2,400 new cases
March 22 -- 2,401 new cases
March 23 -- 3,579 new cases
March 24 -- 4,454 new cases
March 25 -- 5,224 new cases
March 26 -- 5,030 new cases
March 27 -- 4,670 new cases
March 28 -- 4,101 new cases
March 29 -- 4,101 new cases
March 30 -- 5,177 new cases
March 31 -- 6,311 new cases
Michigan COVID-19 daily reported deaths since March 1:
March 1 -- 6 new deaths
March 2 -- 24 new deaths (12 from vital records)
March 3 -- 5 new deaths
March 4 -- 37 new deaths (29 from vital records)
March 5 -- 10 new deaths
March 6 -- 56 new deaths (48 from vital records)
March 7 -- 2 new deaths
March 8 -- 2 new deaths
The global tally for the coronavirus-borne illness rose above 128.9 million on Thursday, according to data aggregated by Johns Hopkins University, with the U.S. accounting for a quarter of that number at more than 30.4 million. The death toll rose above 2.8 million with the U.S. accounting for about a fifth, or 552,073. The U.S. added at least 68,162 new cases on Wednesday, according to a New York Times tracker, and at least 1,138 people died. The U.S. has averaged 64,396 cases a day for the last week, up 17% from the average two weeks ago, as cases continue to rise despite the vaccination program, a trend experts say is due to states reopening and dropping restrictions on movement and overall pandemic fatigue. Johnson & Johnson Inc. JNJ, -0.40% on Wednesday acknowledged a batch of its COVID-19 vaccine produced by one of its manufacturing partners did not meet quality standards, and said it will provide more experts to oversee production.Outside of the U.S., Brazil is second globally in cases at 12.7 million and also second with a death toll at 321,515. India is third worldwide in cases with 12.2 million and fourth in deaths at 162,927. Mexico is third by deaths at 203,210 and 13th highest by cases at 2.2 million. The U.K. has 4.4 million cases and 126,955 deaths, the highest in Europe and fifth highest in the world.
Congressional leaders held a candlelight vigil outside the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. on February 23, 2021 to mark the more than 500,000 U.S. deaths due to the COVID-19 pandemic. COVID-19 was the third leading underlying cause of death in 2020, according to a study published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Wednesday. Al Drago/Getty Images hide caption
Congressional leaders held a candlelight vigil outside the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. on February 23, 2021 to mark the more than 500,000 U.S. deaths due to the COVID-19 pandemic. COVID-19 was the third leading underlying cause of death in 2020, according to a study published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Wednesday.
COVID-19 was the third-underlying cause of death in 2020 after heart disease and cancer, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed on Wednesday.
A pair of reports published in the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report sheds new light on the approximately 375,000 U.S. deaths attributed to COVID-19 last year, and highlights the pandemic's disproportionate impact on communities of color a point CDC Director Rochelle Walensky emphasized at a White House COVID-19 Response Team briefing on Wednesday.
She said deaths related to COVID-19 were higher among American Indian and Alaskan Native persons, Hispanics, Blacks and Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander persons than whites. She added that "among nearly all of these ethnic and racial minority groups, the COVID-19 related deaths were more than double the death rate of non-Hispanic white persons."
"The data should serve again as a catalyst for each of us [to] continue to do our part to drive down cases and reduce the spread of COVID-19, and get people vaccinated as soon as possible," she said.
The reports examine data from U.S. death certificates and the National Vital Statistics System to draw conclusions about the accuracy of the country's mortality surveillance and shifts in mortality trends.
One found that the age-adjusted death rate rose by 15.9% in 2020, its first increase in three years.
Overall death rates were highest among Black and American Indian/Alaska Native people, and higher for elderly people than younger people, according to the report. Age-adjusted death rates were higher among males than females.
COVID-19 was reported as either the underlying cause of death or a contributing cause of death for some 11.3% of U.S. fatalities, and replaced suicide as one of the top 10 leading causes of death.
Similarly, COVID-19 death rates were highest among individuals ages 85 and older, with the age-adjusted death rate higher among males than females. The COVID-19 death rate was highest among Hispanic and American Indian/ Alaska Native people.
Researchers emphasized that these death estimates are provisional, as the final annual mortality data for a given year are typically released 11 months after the year ends. Still, they said early estimates can give researchers and policymakers an early indication of changing trends and other "actionable information."
"These data can guide public health policies and interventions aimed at reducing numbers of deaths that are directly or indirectly associated with the COVID-19 pandemic and among persons most affected, including those who are older, male, or from disproportionately affected racial/ethnic minority groups," they added.
The other study examined 378,048 death certificates from 2020 that listed COVID-19 as a cause of death. Researchers said their findings "support the accuracy of COVID-19 mortality surveillance" using official death certificates, noting the importance of high-quality documentation and countering concerns about deaths being improperly attributed to the pandemic.
Among the death certificates reviewed, just 5.5% listed COVID-19 and no other conditions. Among those that included at least one other condition, 97% had either a co-occurring diagnosis of a "plausible chain-of-event" condition such as pneumonia or respiratory failure, a "significant contributing" condition such as hypertension or diabetes, or both.
"Continued messaging and training for professionals who complete death certificates remains important as the pandemic progresses," researchers said. "Accurate mortality surveillance is critical for understanding the impact of variants of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, and of COVID-19 vaccination and for guiding public health action."
Officials at the Wednesday briefing continued to call on Americans to practice mitigation measures and do their part to keep themselves and others safe, noting that COVID-19 cases continue to rise even as the country's vaccine rollout accelerates.
The 7-day average of new cases is just under 62,000 cases per day, Walensky said, marking a nearly 12% increase from the previous 7-day period. Hospitalizations are also up at about 4,900 admissions per day, she added, with the 7-day average of deaths remaining slightly above 900 per day.
Dr. Celine Gounder, an infectious disease specialist at New York University who served as a COVID-19 adviser on the Biden transition team, told NPR's Morning Edition on Wednesday that she remains concerned about the rate of new infections, even as the country has made considerable progress with its vaccination rollout.
She compared vaccines to a raincoat and an umbrella, noting they provide protection during a rainstorm but not in a hurricane
"And we're really still in a COVID hurricane," Gounder said. "Transmission rates are extremely high. And so even if you've been vaccinated, you really do need to continue to be careful, avoid crowds and wear masks in public."
