Coronavirus Alert | Everyday Health

TheJohns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Centermaintains an ongoing count of theCOVID-19cases and deaths in the United States and worldwide. As of 3:56 p.m. on July 22, 2021, the tally is:

Total cases worldwide: 192,343,125 (up from 191,800,548 Wednesday)

Total deaths worldwide: 4,131,804 (up from 4,123,206 Wednesday)

总在美国情况下:34,254,97 (up from 34,210,391 Wednesday)

Total deaths in the United States: 610,004 (up from 609,797 Wednesday)

Top Stories

Biden said full vaccine approval could come by end of August.On Wednesday, President Joe Biden told CNN’s Don Lemonduring a CNN Townhall that he expects COVID-19 vaccines could get full approval “quickly.” Biden predicted that “at the end of August, beginning September, October, they’ll get a final approval.” The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, however, has yet to disclose a timeline for when its work will be complete and data is still being reviewed. Some public health officials believe full approval will help boost vaccination rates.

Claims for unemployments benefits have risen.Figures released Thursday by the U.S. Department of Laborshowed that initial filings for jobless benefits jumped by 51,000 to 419,000 for the week ending July 17.The Wall Street Journalsaidthat the increase returned the level of claims to near levels recorded in early June, and the unexpectedly rise suggests that the economic recovery is uneven. TheJournaladded, however, that the labor market added 850,000 jobs in June, the largest gain in 10 months, and workers wages climbed, providing more signs of a strengthening labor market.

Cases among people in their twenties are at the highest level ever in Britain.Data analysis from theIndependentindicated that case rates among people in their twenties are at the highest point ever recorded for all age groups in England. Between July 12 and 18, a total of 1,154.7 infections per 100,000 people were recorded among those aged 20 to 29, according to data from Public Health England (PHE).

"It’s too late," a doctor told dying patients who begged for the vaccine.On Facebook this week, Brytney Cobia, MD, an internist at Grandview Medical Center in Birmingham, Alabama, posted about her recent experience admitting young patients with very serious COVID-19 infections. “One of the last things they do before they’re intubated is beg me for the vaccine,” wrote Dr. Cobia. “I hold their hand and tell them that I’m sorry, but it’s too late.” She added that the few who are vaccinated and still admitted to the hospital usually just need some oxygen and then they recover. The unvaccinated are not so lucky. “They [those dying of COVID-19] wish they could go back,” she said. “But they can’t.”

Public trust in Dr. Fauci and health officials is strong.Anew survey released by the Annenberg Public Policy Centerat the University of Pennsylvania found that the vast majority of Americans are confident in the information being provided by Anthony Fauci, MD, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and by federal health agencies. A total of 77 percent are confident that the FDA is providing trustworthy advice, while 76 percent are confident in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and 68 percent believe in information that comes from Fauci. The poll, which was conducted among 1,719 U.S. adult respondents from June 2 to June 22, 2021, noted that 78 percent of the U.S. public now believes it is definitely or probably true that COVID-19 vaccines are effective in preventing COVID-19 — a significant gain from 74 percent in April.

TheCDC’s COVID Data Trackercurrently shows that almost 60 percent of American adults are fully vaccinated and 68.4 percent have received at least one shot.

U.S. cases have tripled.New infections have nearly tripled in the United States over the last two weeks,according toUSA Today. Chad Neilsen, MPH, director of infection prevention at UF Health Jacksonville in Florida, told the newspaper that health workers “are thinking this is déjà vu all over again, and there is some anger because we know that this is a largely preventable situation, and people are not taking advantage of the vaccine.”

Infections in Florida have soared by 227 percent.Numbers fromThe New York Timeson Thursdayindicate that cases in Florida are skyrocketing. The state has seen a 227 percent increase in infections in two weeks.Analysis of state health data from the HuffPostshows that 20 percent of all new COVID-19 infections are now centered in Florida.

National News

The United States is seeing the largest drop in life expectancy since WWII.TheCDC published health data this weekshowing that life expectancy for the total U.S. population was 77.3 years, declining by 1.5 years from 78.8 in 2019. The decline was the biggest since 1942–43, when American experienced a life expectancy drop of 2.9 years.

Life expectancy at birth for males was 74.5 years in 2020, representing a decline of 1.8 years from 76.3 years in 2019. For females, life expectancy declined to 80.2 years, decreasing 1.2 years from 81.4 years in 2019.

The numbers were particularly striking among Hispanic and Black populations. Life expectancy declined by 3 years for the Hispanic population to 78.8 years and by 2.9 years for the non-Hispanic Black population to 71.8 years, while the non-Hispanic white population saw a 1.2 year decline to 77.6 years.

The United States is warning against travel to England.美国国务院和美国疾病控制和预防中心周一both issued their highest warnings against travel to the United Kingdom because of a rising number of COVID-19 cases in that country, asReuters reported. Recently, daily infections in England have been surpassing 50,000. Since March 2020, the United States has barred nearly all non-U.S. citizens who have recently been in the United Kingdom from entering the United States. Americans can visit Britain, however, if they quarantine for 10 days upon arrival and take two COVID-19 tests.

Actress and pop star Olivia Rodrigo will visit the White House on Wednesday to help push young people to get vaccinated against Covid-19.https://t.co/0GM9eWqk11
— NBC News (@NBCNews)July 13, 2021

State Update

Las Vegas employees are now required to wear masks.TheReno Journal Gazettereported on Tuesdaythat Clark County commissioners in Nevada are now mandating that all employees working indoors wear a mask. The mask policy does not apply to tourists or gamblers in Las Vegas and will stay in effect until at least August 17.

Scientists predict a "raging forest fire" of cases in Arkansas.Based on projections released Tuesday by the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, scientists there say that surging COVID-19 cases in the state, fueled by the delta variant, are creating “a raging forest fire that will grow in size and strength,” according to Kark.com.

Around the World

Indonesia’s daily case count has risen above India's and Brazil's.The Guardiansaid on Sundaythat Indonesia is tallying more daily COVID-19 infections than India and Brazil as the delta strain sweeps across southeast Asia. In Malaysia, shipping containers have been sent to hospitals because their morgues are so overwhelmed. In Thailand, field hospitals are being built at the capital’s two airports. Myanmar is desperately pleading on social media for oxygen.

A U.S. Olympic volleyball player has tested positive.AsNBC News reported on Wednesday, Taylor Crabb, a Team USA beach volleyball player who was expected to compete at the Olympics in Tokyo, has tested positive for the coronavirus, just days before the games begin on Friday. So far nearly 80 people connected to the Olympics, including a half-dozen athletes, have tested positive for COVID-19, according to a tally compiled by Reuters.

The Canadian border is set to reopen August 9.According to Politico贾斯汀总理特鲁多announced Monday that Canada will open its border to fully vaccinated U.S. travelers starting August 9. The 5,525-mile border between the United States and Canada has been closed to nonessential travel since March 2020. Canada will welcome fully vaccinated visitors from other countries starting September 7.

Vaccine and Research News

Johnson & Johnson's vaccine may not be as effective against the delta variant, a study says.A non-peer-reviewedstudy posted to bioRxiv on July 19suggested that the Johnson & Johnson vaccine may not be as effective as Pfizer and Moderna shots when it comes to fighting the delta variant. The authors concluded, “The data underscore the importance of surveillance for breakthrough infections that result in severe COVID-19 and suggest the benefit of a second immunization.” Some public health officials suggest that J&J vaccine recipients should eventually get a booster of a Pfizer or Moderna shot.

A study found the Pfizer vaccine highly effective against the delta variant.Research published inThe New England Journal of Medicineon July 21 demonstrated that two doses of the Pfizer vaccine had an 88 percent effectiveness rate against the delta variant. The full regimen was shown to 93.7 percent effective against the predominant variant (alpha) of the virus. “Only modest differences in vaccine effectiveness were noted with the delta variant as compared with the alpha variant after the receipt of two vaccine doses,” concluded the authors. “Absolute differences in vaccine effectiveness were more marked after the receipt of the first dose. This finding would support efforts to maximize vaccine uptake with two doses among vulnerable populations.”