CDC chief fears losing ground with rollbacks
After new COVID-19 cases fell in recent weeks from their record-high peak in January, President Joe Biden’s top public health officials warned Monday that the U.S. could “lose the hard-earned ground we have gained” if cases plateau at their current level.
Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said that she was “deeply concerned” as new case counts stall but states continue their rollbacks of virus-related restrictions.
“We cannot be resigned to 70,000 cases per day, 2,000 daily deaths,” Walensky said.
Sunday marked the first time in more than a month that most states reported rising case counts, and more cases were recorded in the latest week than a week earlier, a USA TODAY analysis of Johns Hopkins University data shows.
On Monday, new rollbacks also took effect in states, including Virginia removing a midnightto-5 a.m. curfew and increasing capacity for outdoor gatherings; Wyoming lifting all restrictions on personal care businesses; New Jersey opening large entertainment venues at 10% capacity indoors; and Massachusetts easing restrictions for restaurant capacity and allowing a number of indoor venues to reopen with restrictions.
Globally, infections increased last week after six consecutive weeks of declining totals. World Health Organization head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said part of the reason was the “relaxing of public health measures.”
The U.S. has more than 28.6 million confirmed coronavirus cases and 513,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University data. The global totals: More than 114.2 million cases and 2.53 million deaths. More than 96.4 million vaccine doses have been distributed in the U.S. and about 75.2 million have been administered, according to the CDC.
Variant cases quintupled in February
The U.S. reported 306 new coronavirus variant cases Sunday, a record increase for viruses that can spread more easily, dodge some treatments and immunities, or both.
Nearly all the new cases were in three states: Florida, up 104 cases to 605; Michigan, up 85 cases to 421; and Texas, up 41 cases to 102.
Among those, Florida added four cases to its previous one case of P.1, a dangerous variant first detected in Brazil, and the state’s first reported case of B.1.351, a variant first detected in South Africa.
The vast majority of cases – new and existing – are of B.1.1.7, a variant first seen in the United Kingdom that the CDC says could become America’s predominant version later this month. In February, known variant cases leaped from 471 to 2,463 even as total coronavirus infections were dropping from a peak in January.
Florida’s oldest residents lag in vaccinations, state report shows
When Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis in December limited inoculations to seniors 65 and older, he said, “The vaccines are going to be targeted where the risk is greatest, and that is in our elderly population.”
But as vaccinations ramp up statewide, Florida’s oldest residents are not getting the share of immunizations equivalent to the risk they bear from the coronavirus, especially recently.
Florida seniors 75 and older make up 62% of the 30,734 residents killed by COVID-19, but only 32% of the 1,642,800 people who have received their second dose of the two-shot vaccine, a state report released Saturday shows. Seniors who are 65 to 74, meanwhile, account for 21% of the resident death toll and about 41% of the immunized.
Other top headlines
● Nearly 4 million doses of Johnson & Johnson’s vaccine are expected to be equally distributed this week among all states and territories. Jeff Zients, the White House COVID-19 response coordinator, said Monday that J&J’s distribution will slow after this week as its entire inventory is sent out but that it would provide 16 million additional doses by the end of the month.
● The number of hospitals reporting full intensive care units has fallen by nearly 50% nationwide since early January, according to a USA TODAY analysis of Department of Health and Human Services data.
● In the first two months of 2021, the U.S. reported more deaths – 160,209 people – than it had in the first six months of the pandemic.
● California Gov. Gavin Newsom and state lawmakers have reached a deal that would provide $2 billion in incentives for public schools to bring back some students by March 31. School districts in counties in the second most restrictive tier of the state’s reopening plan would be eligible for extra funding if they reopen all elementary schools and at least one grade of middle or high schools.
● Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, told NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday that elementary school children may start being vaccinated at the end of the year or early 2022. High schoolers may start getting their doses in the fall, he said.