Coronavirus, COVID-19, coronavirus variants, and vaccine updates for 8-18-2021

This is Coronavirus 411, the latest COVID-19 info and new hotspots… Just the facts… for August 18th, 2021.

Not all nations are reluctant to lock down, and New Zealand's one of them. The entire nation was put into strict lockdown for at least three days yesterday after discovery of one single case of infection. The Prime Minister said, "We’ve seen what happens elsewhere if we fail to get on top of it. We only get one chance.”

Round three. The U.S. government is reportedly about to offer booster shots to all Americans as soon as next month. The recommendation is expected to be that booster shots are needed only eight months after the second dose of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. 

Life for the unvaccinated will start getting a bit tougher to enjoy. People at New York City's restaurants, museums, gyms, pretty much anywhere indoors, had to show proof yesterday of at least partial inoculation. And in Chicago everyone 2 and older, both vaccinated and unvaccinated, must again wear masks when indoors in public starting Friday. In both cities businesses will be held responsible for enforcement. 

Customs and Border Protection seized thousands of fake vaccine cards in dozens of shipments this fiscal year, including one recently from China to New Orleans. That one was just one of 15 shipments in one night going to several different cities. Officials say they’re so bad, most are very easy to spot. 

Debate the professional ethics of this amongst yourselves, but a doctor in Mobile, Alabama is refusing to see any more patients who aren’t vaccinated. Dr. Jason Valentine is making the policy effective October 1. He says, “COVID is a miserable way to die and I can’t watch them die like that.”

In the United States cases were up 52%, deaths are up 87%, and hospitalizations are up 60% over 14 days. The 7-day average of new cases has been trending up since July 5.  

There are 6,966,500 active cases in the United States.

Keeping in mind several states stopped reporting daily case numbers, the five states with the most new cases: Florida 21,669. Texas 20,161. California 14,940. Georgia 7,639. And New York 3,834. 

The top 10 counties with the highest number of recent cases per capita according to The New York Times: Neshoba, MS. Clay, KY. Cook, GA. Columbia, FL. Tift, GA. George, MS. Attala, MS. Crockett, TN. Stone, MS. And Berrien, GA.

There have been at least 623,283 deaths in U.S. recorded as Covid-related.

The top 3 vaccinating states by percentage of population that’s been fully vaccinated: Vermont at 67.1%, Massachusetts at 64.9%, and Maine unchanged at 64.6%. The bottom 3 vaccinating states are Alabama at 35.6%, Mississippi at 35.8%, and Wyoming unchanged again at 37.3%. The percentage of the U.S. that’s been fully vaccinated is 50.8%.

The 5 countries with the largest recent 24-hour increase in the number of fully vaccinated people: Kyrgyzstan up 5%. Trinidad & Tobago, Africa, and Nepal 4%. And Malaysia 3%. 

Globally, cases were up 6% and deaths were up 1% over 14 days, with the 7-day average trending up since June 21. 

There are 17,333,486 active cases around the world.

The five countries with the most new cases: The United States 137,307. Iran 50,228. Brazil 38,218. India 35,201. And France 28,114.    There have now been at least 4,380,611 deaths reported as Covid-related worldwide. 

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