“More people in the United States are being vaccinated every day at an accelerated rate,” Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), said Monday at a Covid-19 briefing at the House. White.
“On the other hand, cases and hospitalizations are on the rise in some areas of the country, and cases among younger people who have not yet been vaccinated are also on the rise.”
In the past seven days, the United States has reported an average of more than 67,000 new Covid-19 infections daily, according to Johns Hopkins University. This is an increase of almost 25% compared to the average of seven days ago a month ago.
“People are tired,” Matthew Budd, director of personal and preventive health services in Jackson County, Michigan, told CNN. “We’ve been through all these blockages, we’ve been co-opted and … now that it’s warming up, people say, ‘You know, we’re just tired, we want to be outside, we want other people around.'”
John Fox, CEO of Beaumont Health – Michigan’s largest health care system – also recently told CNN that it didn’t help that states, including Michigan, recently relaxed Covid-19 restrictions.
In addition, Fox said, some people have deviated from safety measures that help reduce the spread of the virus.
“I think people have given up on infection control issues, not wearing their masks as much as they should, (or) social distance, hand hygiene,” Fox said.
What the CDC is recommending now for the J&J vaccine
To date, more than 132 million Americans – nearly 40% of the population – have received at least one dose of Covid-19 vaccine and more than 85 million – about 25.7% of the population – are fully vaccinated, according to CDC data.
These can include sudden and severe headaches, back pain, new neurological symptoms, severe abdominal pain, shortness of breath, swelling of the legs, tiny red spots on the skin, and new or slight bruising.
The recommendation to take a break came in six cases reported in the US of a rare and severe type of blood clot in more than 6.8 million Americans who received the J&J vaccine. While the vaccine is still licensed, the break gives scientists time to review the data and determine if the vaccine is actually related to blood clots and, if so, whether recommendations on who should receive it should be given. it changes.
The CDC says any adverse reactions should be reported through the vaccine adverse event reporting system.
Walensky said Monday that the agency is analyzing a “handful” of adverse events reported after using the J&J vaccine that were reported through the system.
“These were a handful of cases, not an overwhelming number of cases,” she said. “We work and judge them and see if they actually reflect a real case.”
Colleagues who need Covid-19 vaccinations in the fall
More than 40 have already announced the request, according to a CNN report.
Yale University officials said in a letter to the university community on Monday that all undergraduate students, graduates and professionals are expected to be vaccinated before they reach campus. If they cannot receive a vaccine before returning, the university said it will help take vaccination measures.
“Although the evolution of the COVID-19 pandemic in the coming months remains uncertain, vaccination is the most powerful tool for preventing the transmission of the virus,” said a letter from Yale University President Peter Salovey and Provost Scott Strobel.
“There is ample evidence of vaccine efficacy and growing confidence that vaccines will be widely available by early summer,” the letter added.
Columbia University made a similar announcement Monday, saying it will help provide vaccines to students who have not been vaccinated.
“We consider this decision to be essential to ensuring the health of students in Columbia and the wider university and the surrounding community, and also to limiting the spread of the virus to New York, one of the most affected locations in the country for the past 13 months.” , wrote a letter from Columbia’s senior executive vice president Gerry Rosberg and the university’s Covid director Donna Lynne.
The university said it has sites offering Pfizer and Moderna Covid-19 vaccines.
Another ban on Covid-19 vaccine passports
The university announcements are the result of ongoing debates in different parts of the country on whether vaccinations should be mandated in certain areas.
“Residents of our state should not be required by the government to share their private medical information,” the governor said in a statement. “While we strongly recommend that all Arizonans receive the COVID-19 vaccine, it is not mandatory in our state – and never will be. Vaccination depends on each person, not the government.”
“It is completely unacceptable for the government or the private sector to impose on you the requirement to show proof of the vaccine so that you can simply participate in normal society,” DeSantis said earlier.
CNN’s Deidre McPhillips, Elizabeth Stuart, Maggie Fox, Virginia Langmaid and Ryan Prior contributed to this report.