Continue reading “99% of COVID infections Delta variant – WHO”
White House Chief Medical Advisor Anthony Fauci said the United States could be at the beginning of a new COVID-19 wave and called on Americans to get vaccinated or receive booster shots if eligible. He pointed out the rising numbers of coronavirus infections across Europe, attributing the surge to the decision to end restrictive measures in most countries. Fauci warned cases in the US are “creeping up into the 80,000 per day,” explaining that the rise is “entirely predictable when you have about 60 million people who are eligible to be vaccinated who have not gotten vaccinated.”
Waterford, in southeastern Ireland, epitomizes the country’s coronavirus conundrum. Why is there an increase in COVID-19 in a nation where about 92% of adults are fully vaccinated? A massive 99.5% of adults over the age of 18 in Co Waterford are double-jabbed. That’s thought to be one of the highest rates of any region anywhere in the world. But, according to the Health Protection Surveillance Centre, the county now tops the national infection league table, with a 14-day incidence rate of 1,294 per 100,000. Tom Gallagher can’t believe his native Waterford City is the current epicentre of Ireland’s fourth COVID wave. Earlier in the pandemic, he was nearly killed by the disease. Tom spent 66 days in the local hospital, including two stints on a ventilator in intensive care. His brother and sister also caught the disease. “I walk past the hospital all the time”, he tells Sky News. “I look up at it and just think…there are still people in there with this virus.” Tom now suffers from long COVID, and scans have shown his lungs are scarred from his bout with the disease. The 55-year-old agrees that almost everyone he knows in Waterford has been fully vaccinated, but thinks that that has led to a degree of behavioural complacency setting in.
As the Delta variant became the dominant strain of the coronavirus across the United States, all three COVID-19 vaccines available to Americans lost some of their protective power, with vaccine efficacy among a large group of veterans dropping between 35% and 85%, according to a new study. Researchers who scoured the records of nearly 800,000 U.S. veterans found that in early March, just as the Delta variant was gaining a toehold across American communities, the three vaccines were roughly equal in their ability to prevent infections.But over the next six months, that changed dramatically.
By the end of September, Moderna’s two-dose COVID-19 vaccine, measured as 89% effective in March, was only 58% effective.
The effectiveness of shots made by Pfizer and BioNTech, which also employed two doses, fell from 87% to 45% in the same period.
And most strikingly, the protective power of Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose vaccine plunged from 86% to just 13% over those six months. Continue reading “Study shows dramatic decline in effectiveness of all three COVID-19 vaccines over time”
LONDON/MILAN (Reuters) – Europe has become the epicentre of the pandemic again, prompting some governments to consider re-imposing unpopular lockdowns in the run-up to Christmas and stirring debate over whether vaccines alone are enough to tame COVID-19.
Europe accounts for more than half of the average 7-day infections globally and about half of latest deaths, according to a Reuters tally, the highest levels since April last year when the virus first swept into Italy. Continue reading “COVID-19’s epicentre again: Europe faces fresh reckoning”
Thanksgiving air travel is on track to exceed pre-pandemic levels, signaling a busy holiday season for airlines, according to a new analysis. Bookings for Thanksgiving flights are up 78 percent from last year and 3.2 percent from 2019, according to data from Adobe Digital Insights, which tracked online reservations at major airlines through Nov. 7. “After a year where many were unable to see their friends and families for Thanksgiving, we are expecting busy airports this month,” said Vivek Pandya, lead analyst at Adobe Digital Insights. “The holiday uptick is also driving up prices online, and consumers should start thinking about Christmas travel pretty soon.” The analysis found that September and October bookings were 13 and 10 percent lower than pre-pandemic levels, respectively. But air travel has rebounded in recent weeks as COVID-19 cases decline. The surge of travelers will present a key test for airlines and airports, which have struggled with delays and cancellations this year amid workforce shortages and technical issues. Multiple airlines have cut down on their November schedule to reduce disruptions. Airlines are also expecting an influx of international travelers after the U.S. lifted its 18-month ban on international flights to the U.S. on Monday. Fully vaccinated international travelers can fly to the U.S. as long as they show proof of vaccination and a recent negative COVID-19 test.
Vermont reports higher than ever COVID-19 case rates, state health officials have been trying to understand why. How can a state that did so well during the first part of the pandemic — even garnering national recognition — be doing so much worse now? “There is not one simple answer,” said Vermont Health Commissioner Dr. Mark Levine during a news conference Tuesday. “But, there are clearly factors that have come together to create the situation that we’re in now. “Slowing the spread is critical right now to prevent Vermont’s hospitals from being overwhelmed with people sick with the virus, Levine said. He encouraged Vermonters to take the same preventative steps that have been preached throughout the pandemic: wearing masks, practicing physical distancing, staying home when sick and getting vaccinated. “There’s not one single solution to stop it,” Levine said. “We do need to live with it, taking the simple and common sense actions for protecting one another as much as we can.” Positive cases have been climbing in Vermont in recent weeks despite the state’s having one of the highest vaccination rates against the virus in the U.S. Cases rose last year around this time as well as people spent more time indoors, but the state still enjoyed one of the lowest case rates in the country then. Cases in Vermont have increased by about 55% over the last 14 days, according to a modeling report by Financial Regulation Commissioner Mike Pieciak. Some recent days have seen daily cases spike above 400 — the highest Vermont has seen since the beginning of the pandemic. Continue reading “Highly-vaccinated Vermont has more COVID-19 cases than ever. Why is this happening?”