Coronavirus news, updates, hotspots and information for 3-30-2021

This is Coronavirus 411, the latest COVID-19 info and new hotspots… Just the facts… for March 30th, 2021.   The World Health Organization and China did a study together that, according to an advance copy obtained by the Associated Press, says the virus originating from a leak at the lab in Wuhan is “extremely unlikely.” It concludes transmission happened from bats to humans through another animal, like a pangolin, mink, or cat.   The U.S. government now has data from real-world usage of COVID vaccines and their effectiveness was found to be nearly as robust as it was in controlled studies. Pfizer and Moderna — highly effective at 90% after two doses. In testing, the vaccines were about 95% effective. The data also shows the vaccines are 80% effective for two weeks or more after just one dose.   But the Director of the CDC apparently sees “impending doom.” Dr. Rochelle Walensky gave a dire press briefing yesterday in which she said, “I’m going to reflect on the recurring feeling I have of impending doom. Right now, I’m scared.” The country saw a 16% uptick of new cases per day over the prior week. Walensky says the trajectory of infections looks like what Europe saw a few weeks ago before experiencing significant surges.   Record daily case numbers, increasing variant cases, and signs of exponential growth led British Columbia to lock down yesterday until at least April 19. This as Canada suspends use of the AstraZeneca vaccine for people under 55 due to pervasive blood clotting concerns. It has yet to get emergency use authorization in the U.S., but the U.S. government was donating the AstraZeneca vaccine to Canada and Mexico. Canada’s facing a slow vaccine rollout, with only 1.8% of its population fully vaccinated.   Daily national surveys by Carnegie Mellon shows vaccine uptake has increased, but the proportion of adults reluctant to get it is unchanged. Concerns are especially high among females, Black and Hispanic adults, and those with certain health conditions. Overall vaccine hesitancy remains steady at 23%.   In the United States cases were up 15%, deaths are down 29%, and hospitalizations down 6% over 14 days. The 7-day average of new cases has been trending up since March 22.    There are now 6,961,375 active cases in the United States. The current top 5 states by number of active cases: California, New York, Virginia, Florida, and Maryland.   The top 10 counties with the highest number of recent cases per capita according to The New York Times: Bacon, GA. Lewis, MO. Marion, MO. Dimmit, TX. Webster, NE. Hitchcock, NE. Big Horn, MT. Kingsbury, SD. Shelby, MO. And Huron, MI.   The five states with the highest risk levels and most daily new cases per capita over 7 days are Rhode Island, New Jersey, Michigan, New York, and Connecticut.   There have been 549,892 deaths in the US reported as Covid-related, with a current national fatality rate of 1.82%.   The states with the most new deaths reported as COVID-related: New York 122. California 97. Florida and North Carolina 57. Georgia 36. Louisiana 35. Texas 32. Pennsylvania 22. Virginia 21. And Connecticut 18.   The top 3 vaccinating states by percentage of population that’s had at least one dose, New Mexico at 37.1%, South Dakota at 34%, and Connecticut at 33.7%. The bottom 3 vaccinating states are Georgia and Alabama at 22.6%, and Mississippi at 23.7%.   Globally, cases were up 30% and deaths up 12% over 14 days, with the 7-day average trending up since March 5.     There are now 21,987,849 active cases around the world.   The five countries with the most new cases: The United States 59,707. India 56,119. Brazil 42,666. Turkey 32,404. And Poland 16,965.   There have now been 2,790,109 deaths reported as Covid-related worldwide.   For the latest updates... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.