This is Vaccine 411, the latest coronavirus vaccine information for November 22nd, 2021.

In many of our minds, the year 2020 stands out as the most difficult where COVID-19 is concerned. However, in the United States, the number of 2021 coronavirus deaths have surpassed the total for 2020. And that is with the nation’s government and public health leaders having access to vaccines. The number will most definitely rise in the remaining weeks of the year.

But the country’s answer is, more vaccine. The FDA and CDC did as expected and expanded eligibility for booster shots to all adults Friday, offering additional protection for all those 18 and above who had their second shot of Pfizer or Moderna at least six months prior. Boosters had already been approved for J&J’s one-dose vaccine, for two months after the primary dose.

New and renewed restrictions in several European countries resulted in protests, some of them violent, and some leading to dozens of arrests. These are not small demonstrations, ranging from hundreds of participants in some cities to tens of thousands in Belgium.

Few people are wearing masks, political rallies, concerts, and home gatherings have resumed, and people busily shop in crowded marketplaces. This is in Zimbabwe. And the same is happening across much of Africa, which is less than 6% vaccinated. The World Health Organization says infections have been dropping there since July, and Africa makes up just 3% of the global total of COVID-deaths. The Americas account for 46% of them. So seriously, what is going on? Scientists have absolutely no clue. Some say it’s the continent’s relative youth, some say the populations are more spread out and are outdoors more, some say it’s genetics or past infections with parasitic diseases.

For those who still think we should find out how all this happened, US government documents newly released under the Freedom of Information Act show the Wuhan Institute of Virology was studying coronaviruses found in bats from Laos and Yunnan, China in the months before the outbreak. This means the bat origin and lab escape origin theories might both be true. US-funded researchers were sending viral samples from the bats to the lab according to leaked emails between EcoHealth Alliance and US government funders. Records of both genetic sequences were removed from an online database at the Institute in September of 2019.

In the United States cases were up 29%, deaths are down 9%, and hospitalizations are up 5% over 14 days. The 7-day average of new cases has been trending up since November 3. 

The five states that had the most daily deaths per 100,000 are Wyoming, Montana, West Virginia, Kentucky, and Idaho.

There are 9,336,118 active cases in the United States.

The five states with the greatest increase in hospitalizations per capita: New Hampshire 61%, Michigan 45%, Massachusetts 39%, Minnesota 37%, and Illinois 31%.  

The top 10 counties with the highest number of recent cases per capita according to The New York Times: Nome Census Area, AK. Big Horn, MT. Scurry, TX. Bethel Census Area, AK. Dodge, MN. Mason, MI. Shiawassee, MI. San Juan, NM. Roseau, MN. And Jackson, MI.

There have been at least 771,118 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 72.4%, Rhode Island at 72%, and Maine at 71.9%. The bottom 3 vaccinating states are West Virginia unchanged at 41.5%, Wyoming at 45.2%, and Alabama at 45.7%. The percentage of the U.S. that’s been fully vaccinated is unchanged at 58.9%.

Globally, cases were up 18% and deaths were up 1% over 14 days, with the 7-day average trending up since October 15.

There are 19,908,663 active cases around the world.

The five countries with the most...

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