Coronavirus, COVID-19, coronavirus variants, and vaccine updates for 9-16-2021

This is Coronavirus 411, the latest COVID-19 info and new hotspots for September 16th, 2021.

A tough statistic for the “it’s like the chicken pox” crowd. 19 months into the pandemic, 1 in 500 American residents has died from COVID-19. The death rate for certain demographics age 40-64 is even more stark; for black Americans, 1 in 480 has died, for Hispanics, 1 in 390, and 1 out of every 240 Native Americans have died.

Public health officials in Los Angeles County will begin requiring proof of at least one dose of a vaccine by October 7 for customers and employees at indoor bars, wineries, breweries, and nightclubs. By November 4, full vaccination will be required. 

Government guidelines in England say healthcare staff can decide whether children 12-15 get a vaccine against their parents’ wishes. School headmasters worry this virtually guarantees disruptive protests are right around the corner. Shots will be administered by School Age Immunization Service teams and if parents don’t give their consent but the child is deemed able to make an informed decision and wants the vaccine, the parents will be overruled. 

There was a time it was believed when someone an anti-vaxxer knew personally died of COVID, it would change their minds. A new Pew poll says maybe not. 72% of American adults know someone who’s been hospitalized or killed. The death count in America is now a few thousand away from surpassing the 1918 Spanish Flu as the single largest death toll from a pandemic in the U.S. 

It's probably the saddest aspect of the vaccine debate, friends and family ripping themselves apart and ending relationships over their disagreements. A Harris poll shows 33% of vaccinated Americans have stopped seeing people they know because they haven’t been vaccinated. 8% don’t intend to ever socialize with them again even if they do eventually get vaccinated. 

In the United States cases were down 8%, deaths are up 37%, and hospitalizations are down 4% over 14 days. The 7-day average of new cases has been trending down since September 13.  

There are 9,523,673 active cases in the United States.

With not all states reporting daily numbers, the five states with the greatest increase in hospitalizations over 14 days are Montana up 47%, Ohio 40%, West Virginia 34%, Alaska 31%, and Idaho and New Hampshire 29%.  

The top 10 counties with the highest number of recent cases per capita according to The New York Times: Knox, KY. Perry, KY. Monroe, KY. Martin, KY. Powell, KY. Whitley, KY. White, IL. Lincoln, MT. Russell, KY. And Lewis, WV. 

There have been at least 666,598 deaths in the U.S. recorded as Covid-related.

The top 3 vaccinating states by percentage of population that’s been fully vaccinated: Vermont unchanged at 68.7%, Connecticut at 67.3%, and Maine at 67%. The bottom 3 vaccinating states are West Virginia at 40%, Wyoming at 40.2%, and Idaho at 40.3%. The percentage of the U.S. that’s been fully vaccinated is 54%.

The 5 countries with the largest recent 24-hour increase in the number of fully vaccinated people: Ethiopia up 102%. Kosovo 3%. And South America, Oceana, and Australia 2%.  

Globally, cases were down 17% and deaths were down 10% over 14 days, with the 7-day average trending down since August 27. 

There are 18,641,559 active cases around the world.

The five countries with the most new cases: The United States 164,509. The U.K. 30,597. India 30,361. Turkey 28,224. And Iran 19,731.  

There have now been at least 4,659,290 deaths reported as Covid-related worldwide. 

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