The United States has yielded to India a dark statistic of the global pandemic – the country with the highest single-day death toll. While daily U.S. infections, hospitalizations, and deaths slide, India’s Health Ministry reported 4,529 deaths Wednesday as the coronavirus spreads beyond cities into the vast countryside, where health systems are weaker. The number is considered an undercount by most health experts.
The ACCORDING TO DATA FROM JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY, the. Held the previous record for daily deaths at 4,475 on Jan. 12, act struggles with near-record infections and an increasing death count have India reeling. Dozens of bodies float daily in the Ganges River through poor, rural states. Hospitals and morgues are overwhelmed.
In the Uttar Pradesh village of Gahmar alone, 15-year-old Raju Chaudhry, who works on the fishing boats, told The Guardian he recently had seen “around 50 bodies a day washing up, over many days.” The U.S., meanwhile, has seen mask rules and other restrictions ease recently. However, the Department of Homeland Security limits restrictions on nonessential travel at land borders with Canada and Mexico through June 21. The boundaries had been set to expire Friday.
Also, in the news:
►Michigan will fully lift outdoor capacity limits on June 1 and, starting July 1, end indoor gathering caps put in place to curb the spread of COVID-19, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced Thursday.
►The archbishop of Detroit says face masks are no longer mandatory inside Roman Catholic churches in southeastern Michigan for people vaccinated against the coronavirus.
►The number of Americans seeking unemployment aid fell last week to 444,000, a new pandemic low and a sign that the job market keeps strengthening as consumers spend freely again.
►A study of 280 nursing homes in 21 states across the U.S. provides real-world confirmation of the COVID-19 vaccines’ effectiveness: About 1% of residents tested positive for the virus within two weeks of receiving their second dose, and only 0.3% did more than two weeks after being fully vaccinated, researchers reported Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine. Most of the cases did not produce any symptoms.
📈 Today’s numbers: The U.S. has more than 33.26 million confirmed coronavirus cases and 587,800 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University data. The global total: More than 164.6 million cases and 3.41 million deaths. According to the CDC, more than 349.2 million vaccine doses have been distributed in the U.S., and 277.2 million have been administered. Nearly 125.4 million Americans have been fully vaccinated — 37.8% of the population.
📘 What we’re reading: Japan continues to struggle with COVID-19 but is still scheduled to open its doors for the Summer Games. Why some are calling it a “ridiculous idea.” Keep refreshing this page for the latest updates. Want more? Sign up for our Coronavirus Watch newsletter for updates to your inbox, and join our Facebook group.
Still, the International Olympic Committee and Tokyo 2020 are barreling toward the Opening Ceremony on July 23. IOC Vice President John Coates promised science-based solutions to assuage pandemic concerns, promising to “draw upon the experience of hundreds of sports events that have taken place safely across the world over the past year, with minimal risk to participants and also, importantly, the local population.”
Almost 1M excess deaths in 29 wealthy countries linked to COVID-19
A new report in the British Medical Journal found that an estimated 979 000 “excess deaths” occurred in 2020 in 29 relatively wealthy countries as the pandemic swept around the globe. Italy, England, Spain, and Poland were among the countries with high excess deaths. The U.S. had the highest absolute number of deaths above what would have been expected – 458,000 – yet only reported about 340,000 coronavirus deaths.
A few countries, New Zealand, Norway, and Denmark, actually had fewer deaths than expected. Researchers said they don’t know why. “Excess deaths substantially exceeded reported deaths from COVID-19 in many countries, indicating that determining the full impact of the pandemic on mortality requires assessment of excess deaths,” the study found.
EU signs a deal for up to 1.8 billion Pfizer doses.
The European Union’s executive arm has signed a third vaccine contract with Pfizer and BioNTech through 2023 for an additional 1.8 billion doses of their COVID-19 shots. That’s enough for about four doses for everyone in the 27-nation collective.
The EU Commission says the deal includes 900 million doses of the current shots and a serum adapted to the virus’ variants, with an option to purchase an additional 900 million images. The deal with Pfizer-BioNTech stipulates production of doses must be based in the EU, and essential components are sourced from the region.
The EU has struggled with supply issues and is behind the U.S. and the United Kingdom in vaccinations. EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, 260 million vaccine doses will have been delivered across Europe by the end of this week.
rate since the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration established its Fatality Analysis Reporting System in 1975.
The association cited 6,721 pedestrian deaths in 2020, a 4.8% increase over the previous year. But it also represents a “shocking and unprecedented” 21% increase in the pedestrian death rate per mile traveled – Americans drove fewer miles because of the pandemic and the restrictions and lockdowns.
“We cannot allow ourselves to become numb to these unacceptable numbers of pedestrian deaths,” said Richard Retting of Sam Schwartz Consulting, who conducted the data analysis. – Eric D. Lawrence, Detroit Free Press
wear masks, and Iowa cities and counties cannot impose mask mandates under a law Gov. Kim Reynolds signed Thursday. Democrats denounced the measure, saying it could harm children and teachers, especially immunocompromised children, and overreach to local government decisions.
Reynolds, a Republican, said the state wanted to put parents back in control of their children’s education and protect the rights of Iowans to make their own healthcare decisions. “I am proud to be a governor of a state that values personal responsibility and individual liberties,” she said. – Ian Richardson, Des Moines Register
American public by allowing vaccine providers to receive, store, and administer the vaccine.
“Making COVID-19 vaccines widely available is key to getting people vaccinated and bringing the pandemic to an end,” says Dr. Peter Marks, director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics and Research.
nation’s largest unioThedemned the CDC’s decision to lift masking recreational Nurses United commendations for fully vaccinated people and urged the agency to bring them back. NNU News conference Wednesday tha NNU leaders argued the U.S. is still struggling with 35,000 new COVID-19 cases per day and the continued circulation of variants. They also said persisting unanswered questions about the vaccines — like how long protection lasts — highlight the need for masks.
The CDC’s new guidance could potentially harm those who have yet to be vaccinated, such as children under 12 years old and underserved communities, as well as immunocompromised people who don’t respond as robustly to the vaccines, said NNU president Jean Ross.
“As guardians of public health during the worst global pandemic of our lifetimes and as the essential care workers who have held this medical system together through this horrific past year and a half, we must speak up and advocate for what we know is in the best interest of people’s health,” she said. “The guidance the CDC issued on May 13 is disappointingly not in the best interest of public health.” – Adrianna Rodriguez.
The unusual case highlights yet another way the virus that causes COVID-19 can affect people. Beyond the more common respiratory symptoms and loss of taste and smell, the virus can trigger coagulation disorders, especially clots.
“This is of concern since, in 30% of these patients, the blood clot can travel to the lung and be possibly fatal,” said Dr. Payal Parikh, an assistant professor of medicine at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, who led the study along with Martin Blaser, director of the Center for Advanced Biotechnology and Medicine. “Other disabling complications include persistent swelling, pain, and arm fatigue.”
Those who have had deep vein thrombosis previously or have a medical condition that predisposes them to clots may be more vulnerable. Read here. – Lindy Washburn, NorthJersey.com
Contributing: The Associated Press.
