Coronavirus news, updates, hotspots and information for 5-12-2021

This is Coronavirus 411, the latest COVID-19 info and new hotspots… Just the facts… for May 12th, 2021.

The New York Times reported the CDC was relying on a faulty study in declaring a 10% chance of the transmission of Covid-19 outdoors in support of outdoor mask mandates. The CDC now says it’s more like 1% or less. Critics are now asking how a key component of the U.S. Covid response was not only wrong, but never questioned.

In a related story Dr. Kavita Patel said she thinks the CDC’s credibility is eroding, and that’s bad because we need workplace and school guidance. Patel served in the Obama Administration as Director of Policy for Public Engagement. She said in the absence of guidance, we’re making it up, which puts more people at risk. Dr. Amesh Adalja, infectious disease specialist at Johns Hopkins also said the CDC is not being nearly as aggressive as it should be with guidance.

CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky says the pandemic is more severe than ever worldwide, and India’s a reminder the virus can quickly outstrip efforts to contain it. She reiterated double-layered masking, physical distancing, and not traveling must all be continued. The Chief Science Officer at HHS also said he’s expecting a significant number of cases and deaths this summer.

A horrifying scene in India. Scores of dead bodies have been found floating down the Ganges River in eastern India. Health officials working through the night Monday retrieved 71 bodies. More corpses were found floating in the river Tuesday, washing up in a neighboring state. It’s believed bodies are going in the water because villages are running out of wood to cremate them. 

If you’re worried the vaccine will hurt you, this woman in Italy might be an inspiration. She accidentally got six doses of the Pfizer vaccine all at once, with no serious side effects. The nurse thought the vial had already undergone dilution, but it hadn’t. All six doses were still in it. It’s not the first time either. In April, 77 inmates at the Iowa State Penitentiary all got up to six times the normal dose due to human error.

In the United States cases were down 29%, deaths are down 10%, and hospitalizations are down 16% over 14 days. The 7-day average of new cases has been trending down since April 14.  

There are now 6,395,031 active cases in the United States. The current top 5 states by number of active cases: California, Virginia, New York, Maryland, and Kentucky. 

The top 10 counties with the highest number of recent cases per capita according to The New York Times: Gilmer, WV. Adams, MS. Chattahoochee, GA. Calhoun, WV. Conejos, kow-NEI-hows CO. Guadalupe, NM. Baraga, MI. Jackson, LA. Charlton, GA. And Moore, TX. 

The five states with the highest risk levels and most daily new cases per capita over 7 days are Rhode Island, Michigan, Colorado, Maine, and Minnesota.

There have been 582,791 deaths in U.S. recorded as Covid-related, with a current national fatality rate of 1.79%.

The states with the most new deaths reported as COVID-related: Michigan 102. Florida 64. New York and Texas 55. Pennsylvania 52. California 41. New Jersey 31. Illinois 27. And Georgia and Kentucky 23. 

The top 3 vaccinating states by percentage of population that’s had at least one dose, Vermont at 61.9%, Massachusetts at 60.6%, and Hawaii at 58.8%. The bottom 3 vaccinating states are Mississippi at 32%, Louisiana at 33.5%. and Alabama at 33.8%. The percentage of the U.S. that’s been fully vaccinated is 34.8%

Globally, cases were down 14% and deaths down 7% over 14 days, with the 7-day average trending down since April 23. 

There are now under 19 million active cases around the world at 18,934,804.

The five countries with the most new cases: India 348,499. Brazil 71,018. The United States 34,904. Argentina 25,976. And...
 

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