Coronavirus, COVID-19, coronavirus variants, and vaccine updates for 8-03-2021

This is Coronavirus 411, the latest COVID-19 info and new hotspots… Just the facts… for August 3rd, 2021.

It’s a month late from the US administration’s goal but 70% of U.S. adults have had at least one shot of a vaccine, according to the CDC. Some health officials say it’s a big step toward reaching so-called herd immunity, while others say herd immunity is misleading and the best we can do is reduce the impact of and learn to live with COVID -19.

The seven-day average of daily cases in the U.S. has now surpassed the peak seen this time last summer when there were no vaccines at all. Data from the CDC is at odds with Johns Hopkins in terms of if new cases are trending up or down. The seven-day average of daily deaths of 300 per day though is far below last summer’s peak of more than 1,100 daily.

In a big change from last month, a Gallup poll shows more Americans now say the pandemic in the U.S. is getting worse rather than better. As recently as June, 89% said things were getting better. Americans now expect societal disruptions to persist at least through the end of the year, or longer, and concern about getting COVID-19 has grown. However, there’s little evidence people are altering their behavior to avoid exposure.

Japanese researchers say the Lambda variant is not being taken nearly seriously enough. Their studies show it to be highly infectious and more resistant to vaccines than the original version. They found three mutations in Lambda's spike protein help it resist neutralization by vaccine-induced antibodies. It is not clear if the variant is more dangerous than the Delta variant.

More than 385,000. That’s how many attended the 4-day Lollapalooza festival in Chicago this weekend. The head of Chicago’s health department said she expects to see cases associated with the event rise. But Democrat Mayor Lori Lightfoot defended the festival, saying, “We’ve been able to do it because of the vaccinations,” but only about 52% of all Chicagoans are fully vaccinated.

In the United States cases were up 149%, deaths are up 14%, and hospitalizations are up 86% over 14 days. The 7-day average of new cases has been trending up since July 5. 

There are now 5,548,581 active cases in the United States.

Keeping in mind that several states have stopped reporting their daily case numbers, the five states with the most new cases: California 8,639. Texas 5,687. Louisiana 3,704. New York 2,427. And South Carolina 2,399.

The top 10 counties with the highest number of recent cases per capita according to The New York Times: Sabine, TX. Tangipahoa, LA. Stone, MS. East Feliciana, LA. Ascension, LA. Gulf, FL. Livingston, LA. Lafourche, LA. Nassau, FL. And St. Charles, LA.

There have been at least 613,670 deaths in U.S. recorded as Covid-related.

The top 3 vaccinating states by percentage of population that’s been fully vaccinated: Vermont at 67.6%, Massachusetts at 64%, and Maine at 63.5%. The bottom 3 vaccinating states are Alabama at 34.4%, Mississippi at 34.5%, and Arkansas at 36.5%. The percentage of the U.S. that’s been fully vaccinated is 49.6%.

The 5 countries with the largest recent 24-hour increase in the number of fully vaccinated people: Vietnam up 6%. Nepal and Zambia 4%. And Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Malaysia, and Georgia 3%.

Globally, cases were up 14% and deaths were up 13% over 14 days, with the 7-day average trending up since June 21.

There are 15,265,233 active cases around the world.

The five countries with the most new cases: The United States 56,369. Iran 37,189. India 30,031. Russia 23,508. And Turkey 22,898.

There have now been at least 4,234,771 deaths reported as Covid-related worldwide.

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