Coronavirus, COVID-19, coronavirus variants, and vaccine updates for 9-7-2021

Coronavirus 411 podcast - news, alerts, and updates on the corona virus COVID 19

This is Coronavirus 411, the latest COVID-19 info and new hotspots… Just the facts… for September 7th, 2021.
Like healthcare workers, they are most at risk. And like many healthcare workers, they are reluctant to get the vaccine. No national statistics show the vaccination rate for America's entire population of first responders, but police and fire departments report figures far below the national rate of adults who have had at least one dose. Increasingly, mandates are putting jobs at risk for refusal to take the shots.
You really have to wonder what’s going on behind the scenes. Now, the CDC says masks are no longer required indoors or outdoors in most settings if you’re fully vaccinated. The news came as a shock after a steady drumbeat of guidance that the fully vaccinated can get Covid, spread Covid, and host new variants of Covid. Regardless, the White House is promoting the new guidance on social media.
There are reports researchers recently discovered antibodies that can neutralize a range of variants and coronaviruses. This could lead to better post-infection treatments if true. They studied survivors, looking for antibodies that may be resistant to losing their effectiveness against variants and new viruses. One antibody showed a high breadth of effectiveness. Another bound well with all respiratory viruses and prevented COVID-19 infections in animal subjects.
How bad is the nursing shortage? Right now, close to 15,000 RN positions are available in North Carolina alone. And there are 5,500 job openings for nursing assistants and LPNs. There’s also a shortage of school nurses. In fact, that was happening even before the pandemic. The CDC says there should be a nurse for every 750 students, but nearly a fourth of all schools in the US don’t have one at all.
You want to get tough on people who put others at risk of the virus but, do you want to get communist country tough? Vietnam put a 28-year-old man in jail for five years Monday for breaking quarantine rules. His trial lasted one day. Despite that severity, Vietnam’s outbreak is worsening, with the vast majority of its 13,385 deaths happening in the last few months.
In the United States cases were down 12%, deaths are up 31%, and hospitalizations are up 9% over 14 days. But keep in mind that for this and most of today’s statistics, there’s an artificial dip due to lack of reporting over the Labor Day holiday. The 7-day average of new cases has been trending up since July 5.
There are 8,863,957 active cases in the United States.
With not all states reporting daily numbers, the five states with the biggest 14-day increase in hospitalizations: North Dakota up 379%. South Dakota 79%. West Virginia 52%. Tennessee 50%. And Maine 42%.
The top 10 counties with the highest number of recent cases per capita according to The New York Times: Rusk, TX. Dorchester, SC. Taylor, FL. Russell, KY. Uvalde, TX. Hendry, FL. Butte, SD. Hardee, FL. Pike, OH. And Wayne, MS.
There have been at least 649,023 deaths in the U.S. recorded as Covid-related.
The top 3 vaccinating states by percentage of population that’s been fully vaccinated: Vermont at 68.1%, Connecticut at 66.4%, and Massachusetts at 66.3%. The bottom 3 vaccinating states are Alabama at 39.1%, Wyoming at 39.3%, and Idaho at 39.5%. The percentage of the U.S. that’s been fully vaccinated is 53%.
The 5 countries with the largest recent 24-hour increase in the number of fully vaccinated people: Panama up 3%. And Oceana, Bangladesh, Argentina, and India 2%.
Globally, cases were down 16% and deaths were down 10% over 14 days, with the 7-day average trending down since August 27.
There are 18,811,819 active cases around the world.
The five countries with the most new cases: The U.K. 41,192. The United States 39,644. India 30,184. Iran 27,579. And the Philippines 22,415.
There have now been at least 4,574,419 ...