After a levelling off for a few weeks….
The virus numbers for infections, tests, deaths and hospital’s are dropping…
Virus shots have slowed though …
Washington Post…
In the past week in the U.S. …
New daily reported cases fell 14.3%
New daily reported deaths fell 6.7%
Covid-related hospitalizations fell 8%
Among reported tests, the positivity rate was 4.6%.
The number of tests reported fell 7.4% from the previous week.
Since Dec. 14, more than 232,407,000 doses of a coronavirus vaccine have been administered in the U.S.
More than 96,747,000 people have completed vaccination, or about 29.14% of the population. Read more in our vaccination tracker.
Wash Post Link….
Note….
This week …..
Mask usage outdoors relaxed….
Additional vaccine coming for CDC ok…
Governor’s continue opening their states up….
The US will send Astra/Zeneca vaccines abroad….
The so called “fourth wave” never really occurred.
There was a mini wave in a few states,notably Michigan .
I think this hurt the CDC somewhat .The CDC Director just a few weeks ago was speaking in apocalyptic terms about this “Wave that wasn’t.”
Now that vaccines are plentiful I hear increasing talk among vaccinated people about these continuing CDC”Guidelines.” I’ve heard sentiments like the following:
“ I was told that I still needed to wear a mask ,mainly to protect those not vaccinated.That was when vaccines were limited and people were having trouble accessing it.Now?Essentially anyone can get vaccinated at just about anytime .Walk in clinics ,with no appointment necessary ,is the new norm.So explain to me again why I must wear a mask to protect someone who rejects protecting themselves?”
It’s hard to answer that question.
Yes on the mask thing
Here in NY?
You HAVE TO WEAR a mask inside..
But as soon as most people get out they rip their mask off vaccinated or not.
The J & J issues renewed doubts for some..
The good news is the numbers have resumed downward
“Specific directions showing how to forge Covid-19 vaccination cards have proliferated on conspiracy, pro-Trump and anti-vaccination forums throughout the internet in recent weeks, as users have exploited a largely makeshift verification system,” NBC News reports….
Due to the India infection situation US will restrict travel from that country….
New info:Per Washington Post…
Vaccinated people have a .0005% chance of being hospitalized with Covid and a .0001% chance of dying from the virus.
This is less than chances of being hospitalized or dying from the seasonal flu or even driving a car.
Actually I believe covid is the 3rd worst cause of health deaths in the past year…
Yup….
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has concluded that dozens of Johnson & Johnson vaccine recipients experienced adverse physical reactions because of anxiety and not the vaccine itself, according to a report published Friday.
The agency investigated clusters of anxiety-related events, with a total 64 incidents out of 8,624 doses administered, reported to the CDC by five mass vaccination sites across five different states.
Researchers said that these anxiety-related cases “can occur after any vaccination” if a person has a physical reaction within 15 minutes of inoculation due to their worries about getting the shot…
More…
In wear mine going into and at stores and work…
President Biden sought to send the message this week that the nation is in a new phase of the pandemic when he strode away from a podium outside the White House without a mask after announcing guidance that the vaccinated no longer need face coverings when outdoors.
But days later, Biden was spotted with a mask while walking outside to Marine One with first lady Jill Biden, even though both have been vaccinated and no others were around.
The president again donned a mask at a Georgia drive-in rally while his wife spoke a few feet away, despite nobody else being on stage….
More…
You can now walk into most CVS stores and get a virus or flu shot now in NY….
They also do testing…
The redicare (Doctor) offices no longer have lines….
States and cities are experimenting with offering incentives and privileges for residents to get vaccinated for COVID-19 as concerns have mounted over the slowdown in vaccinations across the U.S.
Officials are turning to initiatives such as giving vaccine recipients payments through savings bonds, free drinks or gift cards to motivate Americans to get their COVID-19 shot. Public health and psychology experts said these programs have the potential to bring in more people willing to get the vaccine and that incentives are worth a try to close the country’s gap in vaccinations….
More…
President Biden sets new goal for 70% of adults to have one Covid-19 shot by July 4; pharmacies directed to offer walk-in vaccinations.,.
WSJ
White House officials on Tuesday told states that if they do not order their full allocation of vaccine doses in the coming weeks, those doses will be reallocated as the administration shifts how it gets the shot to areas most in need….
The Hill
President Biden kick-started a new phase in the fight against COVID-19 Tuesday, but it’s one that could prove tough for his administration.
Biden, who trumpeted the rapid progress in vaccinations up to now, is turning his focus toward those who are reluctant to get shots even when eligible.
The president never used the term “vaccine hesitancy.” Yet, according to independent experts, that phenomenon is now the biggest barrier to the nation’s recovery from a pandemic that has claimed more than 575,000 lives in the United States….
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When the pollsters asked whether people would get a vaccine when one became available to them, 38 percent said they had already been vaccinated and an additional 23 percent said they would get one if they could. But 15 percent said they were not sure, and 25 percent answered with a definitive “no.”
Among Republican voters, more than 1 in 3 — 36 percent — said they would not take the vaccine.
Biden sought to make the case for further vaccination in as nonpartisan a way as he could on Tuesday.
He noted that two of the vaccinations currently in use were approved during former President Trump’s time in the White House and thanked “prominent conservatives” who have advocated for vaccination, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).
The administration is introducing a new system where states can decline to take their full allotment of vaccines on a weekly basis. The surplus would then go into a national pool and could be distributed to states facing a more acute need….
More…
“The challenge for the president, and the federal government in general, is you’re having to set standards for the entire country and role-model for the entire country, and what might be appropriate in one place is not what’s appropriate everywhere,” said Celine Gounder, an epidemiologist at New York’s Bellevue Hospital and a member of Biden’s coronavirus transition task force. “The problem is we don’t know necessarily who around us is fully vaccinated.”…
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“The light at the end of the tunnel is actually growing brighter and brighter,” Biden said. “We need you to bring it home. Get vaccinated.”
The White House also told states Tuesday that coronavirus vaccine doses they choose not to order will become available to other states — the most significant shift in domestic vaccine distribution since Biden took office and part of his effort to account for flagging demand in parts of the country.
To help accomplish that, Biden announced a change in strategy to focus more sharply on hesitant and rural Americans — directing pharmacies to offer walk-in appointments, allocating funding for pop-up clinics and sending more doses to rural health clinics, among other moves….
…
Biden said he will focus on three areas in the coming weeks: vaccinating adolescents between 12 and 15, if the Food and Drug Administration determines the vaccines are safe for them; making it more convenient for everyone to get vaccinated, especially those in rural and hard-to-reach locations; and persuading individuals who are hesitant to get vaccinated.
“We know there are millions of Americans who need a little bit of encouragement to get the shot,” Biden said. That persuasion effort, he added, will in some ways be easier than the massive logistical effort it took to produce enough vaccine in the first place, but “in another sense it’s harder, because it’s beyond my personal control.”
More….
Rush hour traffic is back. Noise complaints are picking up. And it’s once again difficult to score a reservation at your favorite brunch spot.
When the pandemic emptied New York City’s streets last year, some declared it dead. But after a terrible, painful year, the city is now defying those declarations — and getting its mojo back.
More than half of adult New Yorkers have had at least one vaccine shot, and Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations are dropping sharply. Museums are back to 50% capacity, and movie theaters are at 33%. You can finally sit at the bar for a drink starting Monday, and subways will return to 24-hour service on May 17, Governor Andrew Cuomo said. “Shakespeare in the Park” is coming back, albeit with an abridged schedule…
…
While thousands of New Yorkers are still suffering from the long-term health and economic effects of the pandemic, and offices are still mostly empty, in many little ways, things are returning to normal. That’s making people optimistic about the future of the city that took one of the hardest, and earliest, hits in the U.S. from the novel coronavirus.
More than 40% of all New Yorkers — and that includes children who aren’t eligible — have already gotten at least one shot, according to Bloomberg’s vaccine tracker. After a few months when vaccination appointments were scarce and difficult to schedule, people can now just walk in to any city- or state-run site to get a shot….
More…
President Joe Biden said his administration is “ready to move immediately” if and when the US Food and Drug Administration authorizes the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine for use in youths ages 12-15.
More…
Covid cases are down. Deaths are down. States are opening up. Governors are getting creative to encourage younger Americans to get the shot – with $100 checks or beer.
Some experts are wondering if the US will ever reach herd immunity, but everyone is trying to figure out how to normalize life anyway…
…
The US may never reach herd immunity. But! Most people will still be able to get back to their pre-pandemic lives if case numbers continue to fall, Dr. Ashish Jha, dean of the Brown University School of Health, told CNN on Monday.
“We may not get to zero, we probably won’t,” Jha said. “But if we can get the infections at very low levels, most of us can get back to our lives in normal ways. I think we can probably live with that.”
Israel has achieved extremely low case rates with a 50% vaccination rate. The more vaccinations, the closer the experts say we’ll be to normal, even if it’s not technically controlled.
More…
Only 3.6% of Palestinians have been vaccinated, but Israel is considering throwing away its unused vaccines over giving them to the Palestinian Authority.
Over 50% of Israeli’s on the whole HVE been vaccinated ….
A new Covid vaccine is in the works based on RNA as first two where…
But no mention in the below linked piece in how effective it is….
…
The German company CureVac hopes its RNA vaccine will rival those made by Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech. It could be ready next month.
CureVac’s product belongs to what many scientists refer to as the second wave of Covid-19 vaccines that could collectively ease the world’s demand. Novavax, a company based in Maryland whose vaccine uses coronavirus proteins, is expected to apply for U.S. authorization in the next few weeks. In India, the pharmaceutical company Biological E is testing another protein-based vaccine that was developed by researchers in Texas. In Brazil, Mexico, Thailand and Vietnam, researchers are starting trials for a Covid-19 shot that can be mass-produced in chicken eggs.
Vaccines experts are particularly curious to see CureVac’s results, because its shot has an important advantage over the other RNA vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech. While those two vaccines have to be kept in a deep freezer, CureVac’s vaccine stays stable in a refrigerator — meaning it could more easily deliver the newly discovered power of RNA vaccines to hard-hit parts of the world….
More…
Even from the most-selfish and craziest beyond-Zionist Jewish-nationalist, anti-Arab, point of view, it would be madness (especially for the settlers on Arab land) to do anything to reduce the infectiousness of Palestinians.
Why would the Israelis discard unused vaccines?
Self-correction (beware multiple negatives):
Even from the most-selfish and craziest beyond-Zionist Jewish-nationalist, anti-Arab, point of view, it would be madness (especially for the settlers on Arab land) to
do anythingrefuse to do everything possible to reduce the infectiousness of Palestinians.https://www.timesofisrael.com/israel-may-toss-millions-of-vaccines-why-wont-it-give-them-to-the-pa-instead/
This is fucked up….
Thanks, Zreebs, that was very informative.