42 states see rising cases; Fauci blasts vaccine critics
Forty-two states saw an increase in COVID-19 cases last week from the week before, a sign that the pandemic is not yet over in the United States.
Only Alaska, Delaware, Iowa, Maine, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota and West Virginia saw a decline in cases from the previous week over the seven-day period that ended Saturday.
The rate of vaccinations has slowed, and fewer than half of all Americans, 47.9%, are fully vaccinated, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said more than 99% of COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. in June were among unvaccinated people. In addition, preliminary data indicates that over the past six months, nearly all of the COVID-19 deaths in various states have occurred in unvaccinated people, she said.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, a top Biden administration adviser, said Sunday that it was “horrifying” to see people at the Conservative Political Action Conference cheering because the government has not been able to get more of the country vaccinated.
“They are cheering about someone saying that it’s a good thing for people not to try and save their lives,” Fauci said. “It’s almost frightening.”
The U.S. has had more than 33.8 million confirmed COVID-19 cases and more than 607,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University data.
The global totals: more than 186 million cases and more than 4 million deaths.
White House calls out critics of door-to-door vaccine push
For months, the Biden White House refrained from criticizing Republican officials who played down the importance of coronavirus vaccinations or sought to make political hay of the federal government’s all-out effort to drive shots into arms. Not any longer.
With the COVID-19 vaccination rate plateauing across the country, the White House is returning fire at those it sees as spreading harmful misinformation or fear about the shots. When South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster tried this week to block door-todoor efforts to drive up the vaccination rate in his state, White House press secretary Jen Psaki did not mince words in her reaction.
“The failure to provide accurate public health information, including the efficacy of vaccines and the accessibility of them to people across the country, including South Carolina, is literally killing people, so maybe they should consider that,” she said.
Common colds making a return
After a historically mild flu season, a resurgence of common colds and other common viruses in New Jersey signals what might be in store for the rest of the country as pandemic restrictions continue to be eased.
While influenza and respiratory syncytial virus dipped to record lows during the pandemic, the state health department in New Jersey said the overall level of respiratory viruses has been “higher than would typically be expected for this time of year.”
“We’re in a different world now,” said Dr. Ashwin Jathavedam, an internist with Leonia Medical Associates and chief of infectious diseases at Englewood Health. “Most of these are mild infections, things that, pre-pandemic, you wouldn’t have thought twice about.”
Increased testing to rule out the coronavirus has detected viruses that previously might have been shrugged off. And the relaxation of social-distancing requirements and reduction of mask-wearing have brought back conditions that enable viruses to flourish.
The CDC recently alerted health officials in Southern states about reports of increasing respiratory infections outside the normal fall and winter season.
Couples flock to Las Vegas to tie the knot
Thousands of couples are flocking to Las Vegas as the pandemic wanes and vaccinations increase. And with COVID-19 restrictions on large gatherings loosened, Las Vegas wedding chapels, venues and planners said they’re about as busy as ever.
After 30 years of marriage, Don and Cindy Couse made the cross-country trip from New York to renew their wedding vows at the Graceland Wedding Chapel. Friends and family back home watched and cheered through Zoom during the ceremony. The two met in Albany, New York, in 1971 in kindergarten and have had a bond ever since. The trip was good timing for couple, who are both 51 and work in IT.
“Really, it was just great to be back out doing things,” she told the Las Vegas Review-Journal, part of the USA TODAY Network.
Other top headlines
A small but worrisome coronavirus cluster has been linked to the Southern Baptist Convention’s annual meeting in Nashville in June. About eight to 10 infections have been detected.
The Navajo Nation’s largest casino is preparing to reopen Monday for the first time since the pandemic began. The Twin Arrows Resort Casino east of Flagstaff has been closed since March 2020.