New coronavirus infections are down 56.8% nationwide since the delta variant surge peaked in the first week of September, a USA TODAY analysis of Johns Hopkins University data shows.
Cases are down in every region – the South, in the Mid-Atlantic, most of New England, the Midwest, the West. Some of the states hit hardest in the delta wave – Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, South Carolina and Tennessee – are reporting cases at a rate about one-sixth of where they were less than two months ago. Arkansas and Louisiana cases have fallen by more than three-quarters since then, too.
But there are some warning signs from states, mostly in colder climes and often with low vaccination rates in some communities. Compared to the week of Sept. 4, the pace of new cases is up about 85% in Alaska, 63% in Michigan and 56% in Montana. They’re even up 39% in Vermont, which was an early leader in vaccination.
The U.S. has seen sharp declines in the past, only to see cases rise again. Winter could drive social gatherings indoors, where infections can spread more easily.
Melissa Nolan, an assistant professor of epidemiology and biostatistics at the University of South Carolina Arnold School of Public Health, remains cautiously optimistic.
“Our models continue to predict a decline and stabilization of cases through the rest of the calendar year,” Nolan said. “That is assuming we do not see another new variant take hold in our population.”
– Mike Stucka
Also in the news:
►An order barring the president of the Chicago police union from making public statements encouraging members to disobey the city’s vaccine mandate expired after a judge denied a request to extend it.
►The North Dakota Department of Health on Tuesday switched off comments on its social media accounts, saying it was doing so to combat the spread of misinformation. The comment ban “will be applied to all posts, and not be specific to any particular topic,” the agency said.
►Maine health care centers are facing a staffing crunch, but vaccination mandates are not the cause, the chief of the state’s largest health network said Tuesday. Maine Health CEO Andrew Mueller blamed an aging workforce and employees leaving the industry because of the stress of working during the pandemic.
►Green Bay Packers wide receiver Davante Adams, who ranks second in the NFL in catches and third in receiving yards, tested positive for COVID-19 and will likely miss Thursday’s game against the unbeaten Arizona Cardinals. Adams says he’s vaccinated.
Today’s numbers: The U.S. has recorded more than 45 million confirmed COVID-19 cases and nearly 738,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University data. Global totals: More than 244 million cases and 4.9 million deaths. More than 190 million Americans – 57% of the population – are fully vaccinated, according to the CDC.
What we’re reading: Research during the pandemic has shown those with mental health disorders are more vulnerable to COVID-19, but it wasn’t until last week that the CDC added them to the list of underlying medical conditions associated with a higher risk of severe disease
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If you had COVID and were double vaccinated you may not need a booster
Research suggests COVID infection plus vaccination provides the strongest protection against a wide range of variants, possibly for a long time.
Just The FAQs, USA TODAY
COVID-19 isn’t the only viral disease children are catching this year. Influenza, which sends thousands of children to the hospital each season, is predicted to ramp up in the coming months. USA TODAY analyzed data and spoke to pediatric specialists around the country to understand the risks of COVID-19 in children relative to other common viral diseases.
Dr. David Buchholz, a professor of pediatrics at Columbia University’s Irving Medical Center, says the flu, which is dormant through the summer, is not a simple comparison to COVID-19, which infects year-round. What’s clear, he says, is that the risk of COVID-19 outweighs that of the flu during a typical season. Respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, is particularly dangerous, killing 100 to 500 children a year, he said.
“If you have an infant or toddler you should be a lot more worried about RSV than COVID. A lot more children die of RSV than COVID, particularly children under 2.”
A St. Louis County councilwoman says a Lyft driver pulled a gun on her husband when he asked the driver to wear a mask. Councilwoman Lisa Clancy tweeted at Lyft saying, “one of your drivers just cocked a gun on my husband when he asked him to wear a mask (which is your policy).” Clancy said her husband wanted to report the incident, but the driver canceled the trip and erased records of the transaction.
“Lyft is working with police and also has suspended the driver,” she tweeted and Lyft and police confirmed. “We are satisfied with how Lyft is handling this.”
A panel of Food and Drug Administration advisers will vote Tuesday on whether to authorize the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine for use in children 5 to 11. Once the advisory committee has approved the vaccine, three steps remain before it would be available to children: The FDA will have to sign off, an independent CDC advisory panel will review the data, and then the CDC director would have to sign off. Children are far less likely than adults to be hospitalized with COVID-19 or suffer long-term consequences from the disease, putting a higher burden on the vaccines to prove safe and effective to justify their risks.
Meanwhile, Moderna announced Monday that its vaccine for children ages 6 to 11 shows a “robust” immune response in a study of more than 4,500 youths. Moderna said it plans to submit the data to the FDA “in the near term.”
In response to Auburn University’s recently announced vaccine mandate for all employees, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey issued an executive order of her own Monday, instructing all state agencies to not enforce the federal vaccine mandate issued by President Joe Biden that applies to companies employing 100 or more people.
In a tweet, Ivey said: “The federal government’s overreach has given us no other option.” Auburn announced Friday that all university employees have to be vaccinated by Dec. 8.
First-year Auburn football coach Bryan Harsin, who contracted COVID in August and missed 10 days of preseason practice, declined to answer reporters’ questions Monday on whether he was vaccinated. The university said as of Oct. 21, at least 82% of employees with university-sponsored benefits were fully or partially vaccinated.
– Bennett Durando, Montgomery Advertiser
Unvaccinated Americans reentering the country will face stricter rules beginning Nov. 8, when the U.S. will again open its doors to foreign travelers – as long as they’re fully vaccinated against COVID-19. American citizens without proof of vaccination “will have to produce documentation of a negative test within one day of departure” to be allowed back in the U.S., the White House said Monday. The current rule allows the test to be conducted within three days of travel.
Fully vaccinated Americans will still have a three-day window for COVID-19 testing with negative results as long as they can show proof of vaccination.
– Bailey Schulz and Eve Chen
Long-term COVID-19 side effects could include memory loss and other cognitive dysfunctions commonly labeled as “brain fog,” according to a study that examined 740 patients in the Mount Sinai Health System. The study was published in the peer-reviewed medical journal JAMA Network Open.
Another study that documented “brain fog” was published by Oxford University and the National Institute for Health Research earlier this month. Cognitive symptoms were seen in about 8% of patients and are more common among the elderly. The study also found common lingering symptoms, such as trouble breathing, abdominal ailments, fatigue, pain, anxiety and depression.
– Michelle Shen
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is pushing for the state Legislature to authorize $5,000 bonuses and other incentives to lure police officers from other states. More specifically, DeSantis is aiming to recruit those from jurisdictions with vaccine requirements who don’t want to comply, encouraging them to relocate to the mandate-less Sunshine State. In many parts of the nation, police officers and their unions have steadfastly resisted the requirement. DeSantis has raised his national profile, particularly among the Republican base, by fiercely opposing mask and vaccine mandates throughout the pandemic.
“In the next legislative session, I’m going to hopefully sign legislation that gives a $5,000 bonus to any out-of-state law enforcement that relocates in Florida,” DeSantis said Sunday in a Fox interview. “So NYPD, Minneapolis, Seattle, if you’re not being treated well, we’ll treat you better here.”
Contributing: The Associated Press
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