Coronavirus news, updates, hotspots and information for 4-23-2021

This is Coronavirus 411, the latest COVID-19 info and new hotspots… Just the facts… for April 23rd, 2021.   Vaccines are now available to all US adults. But vaccinations are declining. Counties across the country have begun turning down shipments of doses. 34% of U.S. adults have been fully vaccinated. A recent Kaiser Family Foundation survey showed 20% said they definitely wouldn’t get a vaccine or only get one if it was required. An additional 17% are in "wait and see" mode.   The CDC is said to be thinking about changing its recommendations about mask usage outdoors. Many states are already moving ahead with looser restrictions. Some health experts say there's very little transmission outdoors, except in particularly crowded circumstances. In fact, researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, found less than 10% of transmission occurs outdoors.   Disturbing news out of Michigan; there’s been a record-breaking spike in child hospitalizations, hitting a high of 70 this week. That’s twice the number during the worst days of the wave in November. As of April 17, the 10-19 age group had Michigan's highest rate of new cases. For kids under 10, the average was 400 new cases per day.   On the other end of the spectrum, nationwide, hospitalizations among older Americans have plunged more than 70% since the beginning of the year. Deaths have dropped as well. Since seniors were given priority with the vaccines, it offers dramatic evidence vaccinations are working.   The EU is fighting mad when it comes to the AstraZeneca vaccine. It’s asked member countries to back legal action against the company by the end of the week for allegedly violating its contractual obligations to supply vaccine. Opponents of that move worry this will only further undermine confidence in the vaccine.   In the United States cases were down 7%, deaths are down 2%, and hospitalizations were up 7% over 14 days. The 7-day average of new cases has been trending down since April 14.    There are now 6,848,237 active cases in the United States. The current top 5 states by number of active cases: California, New York, Virginia, Maryland, and Florida.   The top 10 counties with the highest number of recent cases per capita according to The New York Times: Dimmit, TX. Caroline, VA. Grant, OR. Coos, NH. St. Clair, MI. Newaygo, MI. Ferry, WA. Grayson, VA. Cheboygan, MI. And Macomb, MI.   The five states with the highest risk levels and most daily new cases per capita over 7 days are Rhode Island, Michigan, New Jersey, Delaware, and Pennsylvania.   There have been 570,312 deaths in the US reported as Covid-related, with a current national fatality rate of 1.8%.   The states with the most new deaths reported as COVID-related: Michigan 121. California 92. Florida 86. Texas and New York 68. Pennsylvania 56. Georgia 46. Illinois 38. New Jersey 30. And North Carolina 25.   The top 3 vaccinating states by percentage of population that’s had at least one dose, New Hampshire at 58.8%, Connecticut at 50.3%, and Maine and Massachusetts at 50%. The bottom 3 vaccinating states are Mississippi at 29.7%, Alabama at 30.7%, and Louisiana at 31.2%.   Globally, cases were up 18% and deaths up 6% over 14 days, with the 7-day average trending down since April 21.   There are now 18,928,051 active cases around the world.   The five countries with the most new cases: India 332,503. The United States 67,070. Turkey 54,791. Brazil 49,344. And France 34,318.   There have now been 3,068,314 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.