This is Vaccine 411, the latest coronavirus vaccine information for November 4th, 2021.

A new policy for the U.S. puts the burden of vaccination on employers. A temporary emergency rule mandates that businesses that employ 100 or more people make their employees get vaccinated or test them regularly. It’s the first time a federal standard deemed a respiratory virus an occupational hazard outside of health care. Some unknowns remain, such as how employers are supposed to enforce the mandate.

There’s concern from England’s deputy chief medical officer that too many people think the pandemic is over. He says there are hard months to come in the winter. He pointed out the current increasing numbers of deaths showed infections are penetrating into older age groups.

Colorado is experiencing its worst COVID surge in a year, so its hospitals have been given permission to turn patients away. Many of those hospitals report being at over 90% capacity. From October 3 to yesterday, the state has seen an almost 50% increase in virus hospitalizations.

So many reasons you don’t want to be in charge of a COVID response. In the Philippines, the President said local government officials will be punished if they fall behind their targets for vaccinations. He didn’t say exactly what that punishment would be but did say there’s no reason with supplies in hand vaccinations can’t be ramped up. The Philippines has fully immunized only a little over a third of its population.

A COVID related scandal in the NFL. Green Bay Quarterback Aaron Rodgers tested positive and will miss one, maybe two games. The scandal part is he had said he’d been immunized, but apparently that didn’t mean he’d been vaccinated. Rodgers pursued homeopathic treatment to raise his antibody levels and sought an exemption from COVID-19 protocols, which was denied. Critics are saying he’s been less than transparent about his vaccination status.

In the United States cases were down 8%, deaths are down 18%, and hospitalizations are down 16% over 14 days. The 7-day average of new cases has been trending flat since October 25. 

There are 9,218,010 active cases in the United States.

With not all states reporting daily numbers, the five states with the greatest increase in hospitalizations per capita: Vermont and New Mexico 18%, Colorado 15%, New Hampshire 14%, and Maine 8%.

The top 10 counties with the highest number of recent cases per capita according to The New York Times: Nome Census Area, AK. Park, MT. Grant, NM. Goshen, WY. Inyo, CA. Carbon, UT. Montrose, CO. Emery, UT. Rolette, ND. And Humboldt, NV.

There have been at least 750,410 deaths in the U.S. recorded as Covid-related.

The top 3 vaccinating states by percentage of population that’s been fully vaccinated: Vermont at 71.4%, Rhode Island at 71%, and Connecticut at 70.8%. The bottom 3 vaccinating states are West Virginia at 41%, Wyoming at 44.1%, and Alabama at 44.8%. The percentage of the U.S. that’s been fully vaccinated is 58.1%.

The top five countries that had a 24-hour increase in the number of fully vaccinated people; Taiwan up 3%, Jamaica 2%, and The Philippines, Pakistan, and Ukraine 1%.

Globally, cases were up 6% and deaths were up 6% over 14 days, with the 7-day average trending up since October 15.

There are 18,338,443 active cases around the world.

The five countries with the most new cases: The United States 76,526. Russia 39,008. The U.K. 33,699. Turkey 29,796. And Ukraine 19,455.

There have been at least 5,021,129 deaths reported as Covid-related worldwide.

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