Coronavirus, COVID-19, coronavirus variants, and vaccine updates for 10-04-2021

This is Coronavirus 411, the latest COVID-19 info and new hotspots for October 4th, 2021.   More pressure on vaccinated citizens in Israel to go ahead and get their booster shot. Only those who do will be eligible for the "green pass" needed to get into restaurants, gyms, and other venues. They started giving boosters to everyone 12 and up at the end of August. For some unexplained reason, places like museums and libraries are exempt from the green pass requirement.   Still a rough go of it in Russia. That country yesterday reported a record daily death toll from COVID for the fifth time in a week. 890 more deaths and the number of new infections in the past day was the second highest of the year. Overall, Russia has Europe's highest death toll, nearly 210,000 people.   Happy holidays from your friends at the CDC. They issued new guidelines for how you should decrease the risk of infection or transmission during the upcoming holiday season. They suggest outdoor or virtual celebrations only, staying 6 feet away from each other, wearing a mask at all times if unvaccinated, putting fans in open windows to keep air circulating, and no traveling unless fully vaccinated and masked on public transportation. Kinda makes you feel all warm inside.   Another story about just how determined anti-vaxxers are to avoid vaccines at all costs. A woman recounted on Twitter how her 52-year-old unvaccinated husband wound up in ICU with a ventilator and ECMO from severe COVID. He needed a blood transfusion, but she wouldn’t allow it for fear he’d get vaccinated blood. Well, he died, but she says it wasn’t because he was unvaccinated.   It’s hard to believe since many of us are surrounded by them every day, but COVID has created a clown shortage. It’s particularly bad in Northern Ireland because many circus clowns went back to their home countries after the initial lockdown. Others found work in countries with more relaxed restrictions. Big recruiting drives for new clowns are underway but applicants have big shoes to fill. I said they have big shoes to fill.   In the United States cases were down 27%, deaths are down 6%, and hospitalizations are down 17% over 14 days. The 7-day average of new cases has been trending down since September 13.    There are 9,860,357 active cases in the United States.   With not all states reporting daily numbers, the five states with the greatest increase in hospitalizations per capita: North Dakota 21%, Pennsylvania 19%, Montana 17%, Maine 16%, and West Virginia 13%.   The top 10 counties with the highest number of recent cases per capita according to The New York Times: Kodiak Island Borough, AK. Green, KY. McCreary, KY. Waynesboro, VA. Matanuska-Susitna Borough, AK. Fairbanks North Star Borough, AK. Bethel Census Area, AK. Custer, MT. Lewis, WV. And Harlan, KY.   The number of deaths in the U.S. recorded as Covid-related has crossed over 700,000, at at least 701,169.   The top 3 vaccinating states by percentage of population that’s been fully vaccinated: Vermont at 69.5%, Connecticut at 68.7%, and Maine unchanged at 68.5%. The bottom 3 vaccinating states are West Virginia still unchanged at 40.4%, and Wyoming and Idaho at 41.6%. The percentage of the U.S. that’s been fully vaccinated is 55.6%.   The 5 countries with the largest recent 24-hour increase in the number of fully vaccinated people: South Korea up 2%. And Finland, Argentina, Australia, and Azerbaijan 1%.   Globally, cases were down 18% and deaths were down 11% over 14 days, with the 7-day average trending down since August 27.   There are 18,321,109 active cases around the world.   The five countries with the most new cases: The U.K. 30,439. Turkey 27,351. The United States 26,933. Russia 25,769. And India 21,684.   The number of deaths reported as... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.