At Thursday’s coronavirus briefing, the top infectious disease expert in government said that “Quantitatively you will see more kids in the hospital.” Fauci stated that at least 117 countries are currently facing the delta variant of coronavirus, which is twice as transmittable than the earlier strain. Fauci stated that it is not yet clear if the delta variant causes more severe illness in children.
Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that vaccinations are the best way to protect children under five years old who are not eligible for them. The CDC is also looking into so-called “long COVID,” which is a condition that affects children. Walensky stated that although early data suggest that these lingering symptoms may not be as common in children as they are in adults, more research is necessary.
Here’s WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING.
WASHINGTON — The Biden Administration applauds the efforts of state governments, private employers and universities to require COVID-19 vaccination.
The federal government won’t allow for a registry of vaccine-covered people. Experts believe this would be a great way to verify that individuals have been vaccinated.
At Thursday’s briefing, White House coronavirus response coordinator Jeff Zients stated that there will not be a federal database. He added that the information would be kept at the state or local level as with all vaccines.
Zients thanked employers, hospitals, colleges and government agencies that require vaccine mandates earlier in the briefing.
Zients stated that vaccination requirements have been increasing in the United States. “Employers can help stop the pandemic,” Zients said.
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NEW YORK — According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, federal officials are ready to approve an additional dose coronavirus vaccine for people who have weakened immune systems.
Dr. Rochelle Wilensky said that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration may allow another dose to patients with cancer, recipients of organ transplants, and other conditions.
According to Walensky, Friday’s meeting will see a CDC advisory committee discuss the matter “following FDA’s decision.”
There is growing evidence that an additional dose may be beneficial for those who have received the recommended doses of Moderna and Pfizer vaccines. She says that the FDA is working with both companies to offer third shots to patients most at risk for COVID-19.
She stated that only a very small number of people are eligible for extra doses, less than 3%.
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CHICAGO — Chicago health officials claim they have 203 cases coronavirus linked to Lollapalooza. However, they aren’t reporting any deaths or hospitalizations.
About 385,000 people attended the four-day music festival that began two weeks ago. Critics were skeptical of the event’s ability to draw large crowds during the pandemic.
Officials from the city have however defended their decision and stated that there were sufficient safety protocols in place. Festival-goers were required to prove proof of vaccinations or that they had passed a COVID-19 test.
Dr. Allison Arwady, Department of Public Health Commissioner, says that the high number of cases is not surprising or that it was a “superspreader”.
According to city officials, 138 of those who tested positive were Illinois residents, while 58 were from Chicago and seven were out-of-state. Arwady reports that nearly 80% of the people who tested positive were younger than 30 and 62% were white.
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LONDON — Britain recorded 33,074 coronavirus new cases on Thursday. This is the highest daily rate since July 23, 2003.
The delta variant is the dominant in the U.K. Experts say Britain must have a higher level of vaccination to combat the disease. Around 60% of the U.K.’s population have been fully vaccinated.
The average number of cases has risen to around 25,000 per day, which is more than 10 times the rate in May. Coronavirus-related hospital admissions are about eight times more than May’s seven-day average, and deaths are fifteen times higher.
British scientists warn the public to not be complacent. They say that high levels of coronavirus infection could lead to another spike this fall.
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JACKSON (Miss.) On Thursday, Mississippi recorded its highest single-day number of coronavirus infections at 4,412
It surpassed the record set just two days before, which indicates that there will be more difficulties in the coming days for already-strained hospital facilities.
On Tuesday, the state Health Department reported that there were 3,488 cases. Wednesday’s numbers also surpassed 3,000. The state has a population of just 3 million.
Dr. Alan Jones, Associate Vice-Chancel for Clinical Affairs at the University of Mississippi Medicine Center, said that the rapid rise in cases is putting pressure on the state hospital system. Mississippi has few ICU beds.
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ST. PAUL (Minn.) — Minnesota has reached the milestone where 70% of its population aged 16 or older is vaccinated with at least one dose of GOVID-19.
Gov. Tim Walz’s office cited data provided by the CDC that showed Minnesota is currently leading the Midwest in terms of the number of people who have received their vaccine series, at 54.4%.
According to the office, there has been a rise in vaccination rates due to concerns about the highly contagious coronavirus delta variant. The $100 reward was also offered for those who receive their first shot prior August 15. After a dip in the number of doses per week, it is now up. In April, Minnesota saw the highest number of new vaccinations.
Walz announced Wednesday that state agency employees must be vaccinated or have weekly testing before they can return home.
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LAGOS (Nigeria) — Nigeria has received 177,600 doses the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccination as it aims to vaccinate even more people.
These doses are part a total of almost 30 million that the country purchased from the AFREXIM bank through the African Union.
The National Primary Healthcare Development Agency (which coordinates Nigeria’s vaccination efforts) announced that the J&J vaccine would be administered to people who might not be able to obtain a two-dose vaccine. These include elderly people and rural residents in difficult-to-reach places.
Four days before the planned rollout in Nigeria of the second COVID-19 vaccination batch, the new supplies arrived. This includes the 4 million that were received from the U.S. via the COVAX facility.
According to data from Nigeria Center for Disease Control, Wednesday’s number of confirmed infections was 790, which is the highest level since February. According to data, less than 2% of 200 million citizens in Nigeria have been vaccinated against coronavirus.
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WASHINGTON — Federal Department of Health and Human Services has mandated that all employees who care for patients receive their COVID-19 shots.
HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra’s order will impact more than 25,000 clinicians as well as researchers, contractors, trainees, and volunteers at the National Institutes of Health and the Indian Health Service.
This applies to employees who are regularly in touch with patients or have duties that could involve them. As the aggressive delta variant spreads across the country, vaccine mandates are being issued by both government agencies and private businesses.
HHS’s decision follows the Veterans Affairs order that last month its health care workers be vaccinated and the Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin’s recent announcement that U.S. military personnel will need to have their COVID-19 shots in order to remain ready for combat.
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TOKYO — Japan’s prime Minister’s key medical advisor says that rising infections in Tokyo are seriously affecting the health of the country’s medical system. He is asking the government for stricter measures to reduce the activity.
Japan’s capital has seen an increase in new infections. Daily cases tripled during the Olympics, which ended Sunday. On Thursday, Tokyo saw 4,989 new infections. Hospital beds are quickly filling up.
Nearly 20,000 people suffering from milder symptoms are now being admitted to the hospital to make way for those who are seriously ill or have fallen ill.
According to Johns Hopkins University, Japan has 11.2 new cases per 100,000 people. This is compared to 2.8 in India and 37 in the United States, respectively.
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ROME — Approximately 65% of Italians aged 12 or older who are eligible for the COVID-19 vaccination have been fully vaccinated. Another 5% have received their first dose.
According to official figures, 35 million people are fully vaccinated out of the 60 million population of Italy. Italy is home to one of the oldest countries in the world. Over 91% of people over 80 years old and 86% of those aged 70-plus – a range that includes many of the 128,000 victims of the pandemic in Italy – are fully vaccinated.
General Francesco Paolo Figliuolo from the army, is the government’s vaccine czar. He says that the campaign is now focusing on young people and students before schools reopen following summer break.
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BERLIN — German authorities have stated that more than 8,500 people must be vaccinated again following investigations which revealed that a nurse in northern Germany might have used a saline solution to vaccinate people instead of COVID-19.
Public Television ARD reported that she initially believed that she had given saline rather than vaccines in at most six cases in Friesland, northern Germany, in April. Investigators claim she told investigators that the vial containing the vaccine was broken. She then filled the syringes instead with saline solution out of fear of losing her job.
Local authorities stated that it was possible to rule out the possibility that the woman had previously vaccinated people using saline solution. They reached out to 8,557 people who had been vaccinated between March 5 and April 20 for another shot.
ARD reports that a lawyer representing the nurse refuted the allegations. The broadcaster reported that police had also found online anti-vaccination posters by the suspect.
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O’FALLON (Mo. According to the Missouri state health department, COVID-19 has claimed more than 10,000 lives in Missouri.
The dashboard displayed 20 additional deaths, which brings the total to 10,002 since onset of pandemic. The coronavirus has claimed the lives of more than 615,000.
The delta variant has been causing an increase in deaths in recent weeks. This is especially true in southwestern Missouri. According to the Springfield-Greene County Health Department, 82 people were killed in Greene County between July 1, and August 10, 2010.
Hospitalizations and new cases are at their highest levels since winter.
There were 2,675 cases added and 2,013 confirmed cases. Hospitalizations increased by 68 to 22,288, which is the highest level since January. Missouri hospitals have 17% and St. Louis has 14% of the available intensive care units.
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WASHINGTON — Dr. Anthony Fauci recommends an additional COVID-19 booster shot for people who have been vaccinated but are weakened.
On Thursday, he told NBC’s Today that he expected the booster recommendation to be made “immediately.”
There are many reasons people may have compromised immune systems, such as organ transplants, cancer, or other conditions. Federal Drug Administration would authorize any additional booster shots.
Fauci said that data is being collected for other vaccined groups, such the elderly, to determine when their protection falls “below a crucial level”. “That’s when you will be hearing about boosters for others.”
According to the nation’s most prominent infectious disease expert, “at this time, other than those with compromised immune systems, we are not going to give boosters.”
Fauci states that “inevitably there will come a time where we’ll need to get boosts,” because “no vaccine (at least not in this category) is going to provide an indefinite amount protection.”
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LONDON — Officials claim that the British economy grew 4.8% in the second quarter 2021 after lockdown restrictions were lifted.
According to the Office for National Statistics, the British economy experienced a 1% increase in June. This is the fifth consecutive month of growth. Recent months have seen growth thanks to the lifting of pandemic restrictions after the rapid rollout vaccines in the U.K.
In July, all legal restrictions on contact were lifted, including social distancing rules, and limits on the number allowed to meet. Although confirmed cases of the virus have increased due to greater social contact, economists anticipate further growth over the coming months.
Uncertainty surrounds how the economy will adapt to the end of the furlough program. The furlough program was established at the beginning of the pandemic in March last year to prevent unemployment from rising significantly after lockdown restrictions were placed. The government paid 80% for the salaries of workers who were unable to work due to lockdown measures.
The program, which ended at the end September, supported more than 11,000,000 people. The number of people supported is now below 2 million, as many sectors have reopened. It also kept the unemployment rate at below 5%.
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MOSCOW — Russian COVID-19 daily deaths have reached a record 808 after a sudden surge in coronavirus infections.
The previous record of 799 was reported by Russian authorities four times in the last four weeks, including Tuesday.
Russia was hit hard by an epidemic of infections last month, which officials blame on the spread and severity of the delta variant. The number of confirmed cases rose from 9,000 per day in June to 25,000 per day by mid-July.
Although the daily cases have decreased to around 21,000 per day, the daily death toll remains high.
Officials are trying to increase vaccine uptake in Russia, which is still lower than many Western countries. On Friday, 39 million Russians received at least one dose. That’s 26.7% of the country’s 146-million population. Over 30 million people, or 20% of the population, have been fully vaccinated.
Russia’s state coronavirus taskforce has reported more than 6.5 million coronavirus-related deaths and over 6.5million coronavirus cases. Rosstat, Russia’s statistical service, has reported a higher number of coronavirus-related deaths.
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CANBERRA (Australia) — The Australian capital will be locked down for a week starting Thursday, after a single COVID-19 case was discovered. The virus was found in water supplies.
Canberra joins Sydney and Melbourne, as well as other cities in New South Wales that are protected by the delta variant.
Canberra residents cannot leave their homes unless they are required to do so. General retail stores and hospitality outlets will close at 5 p.m. Thursday. An Australian Capital Territory government statement stated that take-out will not be sold in these venues. Students who are unable to stay home will have their schools open.
This is the first case of local acquired infection in the city of 460,000 residents since July 10. Canberra’s Chief Health Officer Kerryn Coleman stated that a Canberra man in his 20s had been infected in Canberra since Sunday. He tested positive for the infection on Thursday.
The lockdown begins on the last day of the Federal Parliament’s two-week session.
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OTTAWA — Canada’s immigration minister has announced that fully vaccinated Canadians can soon obtain a government document that will certify the validity of their COVID-19 vaccination history in order to travel internationally.
It is expected that the document will be available by fall. Marco Mendicino, Immigration Minister, says the document will contain data about the types of vaccines received and their dates.
Dominic LeBlanc, Intergovernmental Affairs Minister, says that the program must be implemented in collaboration with the provinces and territories as they have the necessary data. He said that if the provinces wish to use the same passport within their respective provinces, this could be possible.
Quebec will soon introduce a provincial passport that will be required to enter public events, visit the gym, or frequent a bar or restaurant.
