US States Ignore Covid Peak Warnings – Coronavirus Fact Vs Fiction

by

“The continued relaxation of prevention measures while cases are still high and although variants are spreading rapidly across the United States, poses a serious threat to the progress we have made as a nation,” said Dr. Rochelle Walensky, Director of the Centers for Disease. Control and prevention, at a White House briefing.

It wasn’t the first time Walensky raised such concerns, and a chorus of other health experts has made a similar point: While vaccination rates continue to rise, safety precautions will be critical in the coming weeks to dismiss any new potential wave as dangerous. curb. variants spread across the country.

“It really is a race,” said Dr. Peter Hotez, Dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, to CNN’s Christina Maxouris. “It can go either way,” he said. Hotez added that a combination of relaxing measures, allowing people to travel, and new variants circulating in the country, were all threats to success.

In Indiana, a face-covering mandate will become a state mask advisory in most public places starting April 6, Governor Eric Holcomb said Tuesday. Site capacity decisions will be in the hands of local officials and customers in restaurants, bars and nightclubs will no longer need to sit. In Virginia, the limits for indoor and outdoor gatherings will increase and certain sports and entertainment venues will be able to operate with additional capacity.

YOU ASKED. WE ANSWER.

Q: When are children and teens vaccinated against Covid-19?

A: Most countries are not yet looking at large-scale vaccination of children against Covid-19, with priority being given to adults, who are generally at higher risk of getting sick from the virus. But for Americans, at least it’s a reasonable question, given that more than 44 million people in the country are now fully vaccinated against Covid-19.

Covid-19 vaccines in the US are only available for adults, except for the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine, which is approved for people 16 and older. While there’s a chance that a vaccine will be available for high school and high school kids by this fall, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), has said younger kids may need to wait until the first quarter of 2022. Read more here.
Send your questions hereAre you a health professional fighting Covid-19? Send us a message on WhatsApp about the challenges you are facing: + 1347-322-0415.

WHAT IS IMPORTANT TODAY

AstraZeneca defends data as questions swirl about its latest snafu

The British-Swedish pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca has defended its data after the US NIAID raised concerns that the company may have included outdated information that gives an “incomplete picture” of the vaccine’s efficacy. The company released glowing clinical trial results Monday, showing that the vaccine was 79% effective in preventing symptomatic Covid-19 and 100% effective in preventing hospitalization or serious illness.
AstraZeneca said Tuesday it would provide more recent data to the institute within 48 hours, but the error has raised questions about the company’s management. Several vaccine advisers in the US said the company can expect a lot of questions if it applies for a license there. The company was accused of creating confusion last year after combining data from differently designed clinical trials with different dosing regimens.

Can the EU block vaccine exports to the UK?

European Union leaders unveil a proposal on Wednesday to amend existing export regulations for Covid-19 vaccines, days after senior officials threatened to block exports of the Dutch-made vaccine to the UK. The EU and UK have been at odds for months with a limited supply of vaccines, particularly those from AstraZeneca.

AstraZeneca had set delivery targets for both the UK and the EU, but failed to make up for tens of millions of doses to the 27-country bloc, which is struggling to roll out vaccination programs that will help reopen its economies. The company has said it is prioritizing the UK with doses produced in that country, but Brussels is upset that doses made in the EU are being sent across the Channel.

German leader Merkel apologizes and walks back on the Easter blockade

Chancellor Angela Merkel said she’s declaring an order to label several days during Easter as “quiet” days, in effect, scrapping a five-day hard lockdown she announced in the early hours of Tuesday after a marathon session with state leaders. The country is facing a wave of infections.

Her initial orders were based on good intentions, she said at a hastily organized press conference at the German Chancellery on Wednesday, acknowledging that the changes needed were not possible with so little notice. Merkel asked the nation for forgiveness, saying the Easter confusion was “my fault, and nothing but”.

ON OUR RADAR

  • To shave or not to shave? Growing a beard may seem harmless, but for some, choosing not to shave can reduce the effectiveness of wearing a mask.
  • ‘Like juggling with bowling pins and chainsaws’: Kaylah Dessausure talks about the challenges of living as a single parent during the pandemic.
  • Platoons and iPads: To keep employees happy amid the stress and exhaustion of the pandemic, some Wall Street banks are handing out toys, gifts, and perks.
  • After living in a motor home for a year to protect her family, this doctor has finally moved home.
  • Hong Kong and Macao have suspended the roll-out of their BioNTech coronavirus vaccine due to a packaging error, as a precaution after receiving a letter from the company and its Chinese partner indicating there was a problem with the sealing of individual vials in one batch.

BEST ADVICE

For many parents whose children spend most of a year attending school online, mass vaccinations can bring a brighter future. So how should parents prepare their children for a return to school? Plan ahead, says Dr. Neha Chaudhary. Talk to school staff about what kids should bring and make contingency plans for slipping, such as when those masks fall on a dirty floor or when kids forget to wash their hands. Read more tips here.

TODAY’S PODCAST

“This pandemic was essentially about ethics. It’s ethics at the forefront. It’s ideas about freedom, ideas about sharing, ideas about who goes first.” Arthur Caplan, director of bioethics at NYU’s Grossman School of Medicine

If you are not yet a candidate for the vaccine, should you still try to get the injection early? Sanjay Gupta, CNN’s Chief Medical Correspondent, speaks with Caplan about when line jumping is defensible and other ethical decisions about vaccine distribution in the US. Listen now. Listen now.

Source