CT positivity rate increases to 2.9%

Had the United States adopted strategies similar to those in the other countries studied, at least 130,000 fewer people would have died, according to the study’s authors.

Here are the most important things to know about the coronavirus in Connecticut:

On Friday, Connecticut announced 679 new cases, eight more deaths and one new hospitalization. The positivity rate (the percentage of total tests that are positive) has increased to 2.9 percent from 2.2 percent Thursday. In the last seven days, the positivity rate has fluctuated, but shown a general uptick when on six of those seven days the positivity rate is above 2 percent.

WHO: No normalcy for at least a year

The World Health Organization’s chief science officer this week said the world won’t go back to some measure of normalcy for at least a year, even if a vaccine is approved and administered. “We’re looking at 2022, at least, before enough people start getting the vaccine to build immunity,” Dr. Soumya Swaminathan said during a media briefing. “So, for a long time to come, we have to maintain the same kind of measures that are currently being put in place with physical distancing, the masking and respiratory hygiene.”

Oxford vaccine creates ‘strong response’ to COVID-19

The coronavirus vaccine being developed by Oxford University creates a “strong immunity” response, according to researchers at the University of Bristol, as British news source Metro reported. Vaccines usually inject tiny bits of a pathogen — in this case, the vaccine instructs the body to create the relevant protein itself, and it appears to work. “This is an important study as we are able to confirm that the genetic instructions underpinning this vaccine, which is being developed as fast as safely possible, are correctly followed when they get into a human cell,” said David Matthews, from Bristol’s School of Cellular and Molecular Medicine.

Researchers: Age does not determine if you contract COVID-19

Agroup of Japanese researchers have determined that age has nothing to do with susceptibility to the coronavirus, according to research published in the journal Nature. Their mathematical model shows that age does affect severity of infection, but how old you are has nothing to do with whether you catch the virus in the first place.

Study: ‘Mismanagement’ of pandemic led to more deaths

Astudy from the National Center for Disaster Preparedness at Columbia University estimated how many deaths the United States “could have prevented if it had mirrored the policies and responses” in six other high-income nations, namely South Korea, Japan, Australia, Germany, Canada and France. In the U.S., the death rate is 66.33 for every 100,000 people. Had the United States adopted strategies similar to those in the other countries studied, at least 130,000 fewer people would have died, according to the study’s authors. “By contrasting the U.S. proportional mortality rate with that of six other high-income countries, this report highlights the stark reality that is the United States’ continued mismanagement of the pandemic response,” the study says.