US death toll far outpaces other nations
Plans to mark the 500,000th death from COVID-19 in the United States included a moment of silence and candle-lighting service Monday evening at the White House with President Joe Biden.
The U.S. reached the somber milestone, once considered unthinkable, faster than any other country in the world, according to Johns Hopkins University data.
After the U.S., Brazil has recorded more than 246,000 deaths while Mexico has reported more than 180,000, followed by 156,000 in India.
In Britain, where more than 121,000 people have died, the government unveiled its plan Monday for unwinding one of the world’s strictest lockdowns. American public health officials were watching closely as the more transmissible COVID-19 variant originally identified in Britain continues spreading in the U.S.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the slow rollback, beginning March 8 with children in England returning to class and people being allowed to meet a friend outside. Shops and hair dressers, and outdoor eating and drinking at pubs and restaurants, will follow on April 12.
The U.S. had recorded more than 28.1 million confirmed coronavirus cases as of Monday.
Variants to become dominant in U.S.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention believes that by April, B.1.1.7 – the more transmissible coronavirus variant first detected in Britain – is likely to be the dominant one within U.S. borders. The U.S. is now reporting more than 1,687 cases of coronavirus variants that can spread more easily, dodge some treatments and immunities, or both.
A steady decline in U.S. coronavirus cases that has brought levels back to where they were in late October could be threatened by the “rapid take-off of B.1.1.7.,” said Trevor Bedford, an epidemiologist at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, in a recent Twitter thread.
There is evidence that the B.1.1.7 variant “will reach 50% frequency in the U.S. perhaps by late March,” he said.
There is an emerging body of evidence suggesting that the B.1.1.7 variant is not only more contagious but also more lethal, a possibility initially raised by British scientists, said Simon Clarke, a professor in cellular microbiology at the University of Reading. But the currently authorized vaccines have proven effective against the variant.
Hopkins expert says pandemic could be ‘mostly gone’ by April
Marty Makary, who teaches at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine and Bloomberg School of Public Health, says the pandemic could be “mostly gone” by April.
Makary, in an opinion piece published in the Wall Street Journal, points to the fast-declining rate of infection across the nation and suggests that COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. indicate “much broader immunity than recognized.” He also notes that former Food and Drug Administration commissioner Scott Gottlieb estimates 250 million vaccine doses will have been delivered to about 150 million people by the end of March.
Speeding up vaccine distribution and continuing to wear masks and social distance will be key factors in curbing the pandemic, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the Biden administration’s top health adviser, said Sunday.
Fauci, speaking on CNN’s “State of the Union,” said the country could be “approaching a degree of normality” by the end of the year but that Americans may still need to wear masks in 2022.
CDC study of infections in schools
A new study finds that teachers may be more important drivers of COVID-19 transmission in schools than students.
The paper released Monday by the CDC studies nine COVID-19 transmission clusters in elementary schools in the Atlanta suburb of Marietta in December and January. In only one cluster was a student clearly the first documented case. The CDC again advises that schools need to pursue multifacted strategies to prevent the spread of the virus, including cutting down on teacher-to-teacher meetings, making sure masks are worn correctly, and increasing physical distancing.
The CDC says it might be desirable to vaccinate teachers, but the agency restates teacher vaccination isn’t required to reopen.
Other top headlines
• The number of patients in California hospitals with COVID-19 has fallen below 7,000, a drop of more than a third over two weeks, state health officials said. The story is similar in Texas, where state data on Sunday showed the lowest number of hospitalizations (7,146) since mid-November.
• White House press secretary Jen Psaki said about 2 million of the 6 million vaccine doses delayed by last week’s winter weather were delivered over the weekend. As for the rest, “We expect to rapidly catch up this week,” Psaki said.