Coronavirus news, updates, hotspots and information for 4-09-2021

This is Coronavirus 411, the latest COVID-19 info and new hotspots… Just the facts… for April 9th, 2021.   Australia yesterday became the latest country to restrict use of the AstraZeneca vaccine. They recommend it not be given to anyone under 50 and are recommending the Pfizer vaccine be adopted for those folks. Meanwhile North Carolina stopped giving the Johnson & Johnson vaccine at a mass vaccination site in Raleigh and some other clinics after at least 26 people experienced adverse reactions, including fainting. The CDC says that’s not uncommon.   Iran hit a new coronavirus infection record yesterday for the third straight day. This severe spike follows the Persian New Year holiday in which millions defied guidance about gathering and travel. The new cases push Iran's pandemic total to over 2 million.   A different story in Britain as the vaccination program there starts to break the link between infection and serious illness or death. Researchers at Imperial College London found infections dropped about 60% in March, with older people least likely to be infected from being prioritized early for vaccination.   It’s a different story in Israel too as that country will be fully reopened in a month provided there’s no new sudden rise in cases. The education system is moving toward returning to normal. No word yet on if the main airport there will be fully reopening to international travel.   Here’s a first. A country is asking for the vaccines it provided back. Russia wants Slovakia to return its Sputnik V vaccines because of multiple contract violations. Russia claims Slovakia’s drug regulator is trying to sabotage the vaccine with improper testing and a disinformation campaign. The Slovakians say 80% of the data they’ve asked for to assess the vaccine’s risks and benefits have not been provided.   In the United States cases were up 14%, deaths are down 31%, and hospitalizations were up 6% over 14 days. The 7-day average of new cases has been trending flat since March 30.    There are now 6,870,679 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: Chattahoochee, GA. St. Clair, MI. Galax, VA. Huron, MI. Caldwell, KY. Otsego, MI. Sanilac, MI. Lake of the Woods, MN. Tuscola, MI. And Macomb, MI.   The five states with the highest risk levels and most daily new cases per capita over 7 days are Michigan, Rhode Island, New Jersey, New York, and Minnesota.   There have been 560,084 deaths in the US reported as Covid-related, with a current national fatality rate of 1.81%.   The states with the most new deaths reported as COVID-related: California 143. Texas 98. Florida 78. Michigan 77. Georgia 69. New York 57. Illinois and Pennsylvania 38. New Jersey 34. And Arizona 32.   The top 3 vaccinating states by percentage of population that’s had at least one dose, New Hampshire at 43.6%, New Mexico at 41.4%, and Connecticut at 39.7%. The bottom 3 vaccinating states are Mississippi and Alabama at 26.3%, and Georgia at 27.6%.   Globally, cases were up 16% and deaths up 12% over 14 days, with the 7-day average trending up since March 5.     There are now over 23 million active cases around the world, at 23,289,918.   The five countries with the most new cases: India 131,893. Brazil 89,293. The United States 80,161. Turkey 55,941. And Poland 27,887.   There have now been 2,900,922 deaths reported as Covid-related worldwide.   For the latest updates, subscribe for free to Coronavirus 411 on your podcast app or ask your smart speaker to play the Coronavirus 411 podcast.     Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.