‘Two Kinds Of America’: Fauci Urges Leaders To Reach Out To Unvaccinated
Dangerous covid trends in many regions of the U.S. “is an issue predominantly among the unvaccinated,” Dr. Anthony Fauci said in a Sunday morning interview, “which is the reason why we’re out there, practically pleading with the unvaccinated people to go out and get vaccinated,”
CNN:
Fauci: ‘We’re Going In The Wrong Direction’ On Covid-19 Cases
Dr. Anthony Fauci said Sunday that the US is “going in the wrong direction” as the number of Covid-19 cases continues to rise, particularly among unvaccinated Americans. “If you look at the inflection of the curve of new cases and, as you said in the run-in to this interview, that it is among the unvaccinated. And since we have 50% of the country is not fully vaccinated, that’s a problem,” Fauci told CNN’s Jake Tapper on “State of the Union” when asked about a model projecting a worst case scenario of 4,000 deaths a day in the US from Covid-19, if vaccination rates do not improve. (Duster, 7/25)
Politico:
Leaders In Under-Vaccinated Areas Should ‘Speak Out’ Amid Virus Surge, Fauci Says
Anthony Fauci, the country’s top infectious disease expert, on Sunday said more leaders in areas that are lagging in vaccination against the coronavirus should “speak out” to persuade people to get inoculated as the Delta variant surges. Fauci’s comments, made in an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union,” came after Alabama’s Republican governor, Kay Ivey, publicly blamed unvaccinated people for the disease’s spread. (O’Brien, 7/25)
Fox News:
Fauci Says Virus Has ‘Peaked’ For The Vaccinated: ‘We Have Two Kinds Of America’
Dr. Anthony Fauci said there seem to be “two kinds of America” as some people remain skeptical of COVID-19 vaccines even in the face of the more severe delta variant. The delta variant has ripped through the unvaccinated population in America, with Centers for Disease Control Director Rochelle Walensky claiming the variant is “spreading with incredible efficiency and now represents more than 83% of the virus circulating the United States.” (Aitken, 7/25)
In news about covid’s origin —
Roll Call:
Experts Weigh In On Risky Wuhan Study That Fauci, Paul Debated
Several experts say Anthony Fauci was correct this week when he described an experiment funded by the National Institutes of Health in Wuhan, the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic, as not being “gain of function” research. But the reason is unlikely to reassure Americans concerned about the lab’s risky work. The virus under study in 2017 at the Wuhan Institute of Virology didn’t “gain the function” of becoming more deadly and contagious to humans through experimentation. That’s because that virus, known as WIV1, already posed a danger to humans before any of the Wuhan lab’s engineering. (Kopp, 7/23)
Politico:
‘The Virus Is Winning’: China’s Rebuff Of WHO’s New Covid Probe Alarms Experts
Leading U.S. infectious disease experts are warning that China’s rejection of a World Health Organization plan for another Covid-19 investigation inside the country threatens to deny the world critical data needed to identify and head off future pandemics. And experts told POLITICO that the denial of access to Wuhan, the original epicenter of the virus outbreak, deepens growing suspicion the Chinese government is attempting to cover up the possibility that the virus was intentionally engineered. (Kine, Paun and Heath, 7/25)
Also —
The New York Times:
Fauci Wants To Make Vaccines For The Next Pandemic Before It Hits
Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, is promoting an ambitious and expensive plan to prepare for such nightmare scenarios. It would cost “a few billion dollars” a year, take five years for the first crop of results and engage a huge cadre of scientists, he said. The idea is to make “prototype” vaccines to protect against viruses from about 20 families that might spark a new pandemic. Using research tools that proved successful for Covid-19, researchers would uncover the molecular structure of each virus, learn where antibodies must strike it, and how to prod the body into making exactly those antibodies. (Kolata, 7/25)
CDC Weighs Whether It’s Time To Tell Vaccinated To Mask Back Up
Federal health officials are actively considering whether to again revise guidance on face coverings, as covid cases rapidly rise. And some experts believe that the quality of masks needs to be upgraded, too.
Axios:
Fauci: New Masking Guidelines For Vaccinated Americans Under “Active Consideration”
NIAID director Anthony Fauci told CNN’s “State of the Union” Sunday that health officials are considering revising masking guidelines for vaccinated Americans. Fauci said that the United States is “going in the wrong direction” as cases surge across the country, driven by the more contagious Delta variant. “If you look at the inflection of the curve of new cases and, as you said in the run-in to this interview, it is among the unvaccinated. And since we have 50% of the country that not fully vaccinated, that’s a problem,” Fauci said. (Saric, 7/25)
USA Today:
CDC Considering Revising Mask Guidance As COVID Cases Rise In US
Dr. Anthony Fauci says the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are weighing revising their COVID-19 guidelines to recommend that even fully vaccinated individuals wear masks in public. Fauci, the nation’s top government infectious disease official, told CNN’s “State of the Union” that he’s taken part in conversations about altering the guidelines, something he described as being “under active consideration. ”In the last two weeks, COVID-19 cases have increased 171% nationally, fueled by the delta variant. The death rate is up 19% over the week before. (Aspegren, 7/26)
The Washington Post:
Why Some Experts Recommend Upgrading To N95 Masks To Help Fight The Delta Variant
The debate over masks is heating up again, with increasing calls for all Americans, regardless of coronavirus vaccination status, to return to wearing face coverings in indoor public places to help thwart the spread of the highly contagious delta variant. But some experts say the recommendations should specify the kind of masks people should be using. “Delta is so contagious that when we talk about masks, I don’t think we should just talk about masks,” Scott Gottlieb, former commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, said during a recent appearance on CBS’s “Face the Nation.” “I think we should be talking about high-quality masks,” such as N95 respirators. (Chiu, 7/24)
Another health expert warns against going to bars, restaurants if you’re unvaccinated —
CNN:
If You Are Not Vaccinated Against Covid-19, You Shouldn’t Go Into A Bar Or Restaurant, Expert Says
Less than half of the US population is fully vaccinated against Covid-19 — and with cases on the rise, experts are urging a return to precautions reminiscent of the earlier days of the pandemic. “What I would say bluntly is: If you are not vaccinated right now in the United States, you should not go into a bar, you should probably not eat at a restaurant. You are at great risk of becoming infected,” CNN Medical Analyst Dr. Jonathan Reiner, professor of medicine and surgery at George Washington University, told CNN’s Fredricka Whitfield. (Holcombe, 7/26)
Mask Mandate Back In Effect In St. Louis; Debate Flares In Other Areas
Starting today, masks are once again mandatory in indoor public places and on public transportation, no matter vaccination status. Wearing masks outdoors is encouraged, St. Louis County officials said.
St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
St. Louis, St. Louis County To Reinstate Mask Mandate, Some Of First In US
Faced with a rising tide of COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations, St. Louis and St. Louis County leaders announced Friday that they will reinstate a mask requirement, for vaccinated and unvaccinated residents alike. It is one of a few regions in the country to mandate masks again. “We’ve lost more than 500 St. Louisans to COVID-19, and if our region doesn’t work together to protect one another, we could see spikes that overwhelm our hospital and public health systems,” St. Louis acting health director Dr. Fredrick Echols said in a statement. (Merrilees, 7/24)
St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
Elected Officials Lead Backlash To Renewed Mask Mandate In St. Louis, St. Louis County
Political opposition to a new mask mandate in St. Louis and St. Louis County appears to be building, with several state and local elected officials vowing to stop the public health orders set to go into effect on Monday. … Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt, Wildwood Mayor Jim Bowlin, and St. Louis County Councilmen Tim Fitch, R-3rd District, and Mark Harder, R-7th District, are among officials politicians voicing opposition to the new orders. (Robertson, 7/25)
In other news about mask-wearing —
The New York Times:
Debate Continues Across U.S. About Requiring Covid Vaccinations
Many other local health authorities around the country are recommending that people mask indoors, as Philadelphia’s health department did on Thursday. New Orleans announced an “indoor mask advisory” the day before. Officials in other cities, including New York, have been more reluctant to call for greater mask use. One of the earliest U.S. epicenters of the pandemic, New York logged more than 33,000 deaths connected to the virus, and about two million adults there are still not vaccinated. A statewide mask mandate for vaccinated residents was lifted last month. (Paybarah, Slotnik and Jiménez, 7/25)
ABC News:
Provincetown Implements Indoor Mask Mandate After COVID-19 Cluster Grows To 551 Cases
Officials in Provincetown, Massachusetts, voted unanimously during an emergency town meeting Sunday night to reimplement the town’s indoor mask mandate, amidst rapidly rising COVID-19 infections and community spread. Since data was last updated last week, the cluster has grown to a cumulative total of at least 551 confirmed cases following a busy July Fourth weekend. Of these cases, 394 individuals are Massachusetts residents, 171 of whom reside in Provincetown, while the remaining individuals who tested positive reside in other states or jurisdictions. (Mitropoulos, 7/25)
Oklahoman:
Stitt: No School Mask Mandates, ‘Not Planning’ COVID Emergency Order
Gov. Kevin Stitt on Friday said he won’t implement another state of emergency for the COVID-19 pandemic, ruling out the possibility of mask mandates in Oklahoma schools. Despite calls from some health leaders to make the declaration, Stitt said he is “not planning on declaring an emergency,” a measure that is now a prerequisite for public schools to require masks. “This is about personal responsibility,” Stitt said at a press conference in Tulsa. “This is about freedoms.” (Martinez-Keel and Branham, 7/23)
Newsweek:
Pastor Greg Locke Vows To Remove Anyone Wearing Mask In Church, Blasts ‘Godless Democrats’
Right-wing pastor Greg Locke used his Sunday morning sermon to ridicule any attempt by the government to vaccinate Americans or to enforce a “round two” of pandemic lockdown. He also declared he’ll kick anyone out who wears a mask. The Tennessee-based Baptist pastor offered his latest tirade against “godless Democrats” and the Biden administration, claiming the federal government only wants “compliance,” and not improved public health, among Americans. (Fearnow, 7/25)
As Delta Surges, So Does Frustration Over Vaccine Holdouts
As projections forecast that a fourth wave of covid cases in the U.S. could last months, Republican Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey expressed a growing, but touchy sentiment: “It’s time to start blaming the unvaccinated folks, not the regular folks. It’s the unvaccinated folks that are letting us down.” And another worrying trend: while infections surge again, some states are trimming their covid reporting.
Politico:
Alabama Governor Says ‘It’s Time To Start Blaming The Unvaccinated Folks’ As Pandemic Worsens
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey issued an impassioned plea for residents of her state to get vaccinated against Covid-19, arguing it was “time to start blaming the unvaccinated folks” for the disease’s continued spread. “I want folks to get vaccinated. That’s the cure. That prevents everything,” Ivey, a Republican, told reporters in Birmingham, Ala., on Thursday. “Why would we want to mess around with just temporary stuff?” she said. “We don’t need to encourage people to just go halfway with curing this disease. Let’s get it done. And we know what it takes to get it done.” (Forgey, 7/23)
USA Today:
COVID-19 Surge Could Go On For Months, Projection Says
New projections released by a COVID-19 research consortium forecast the current surge of cases lasting through the fall and peaking in mid-October, accelerated in part by the rapid spread of the delta variant. Justin Lessler, an epidemiologist from the University of North Carolina who helps run the COVID-19 Scenario Modeling Hub, told NPR in the most likely scenario, of the four scenarios included in the ensemble projection, only 70% of eligible U.S. residents get vaccinated and the delta variant becomes 60% more transmissible. Lessler said this trajectory would climax with approximately 60,000 COVID-19 cases and 850 deaths each day in mid-October. (Santucci and Segarra, 7/24)
Stat:
A New Way To Visualize The Surge In Covid-19 Cases In The U.S.
The month of July has seen Covid-19 cases in the United States increase at the fastest pace since last winter, marking the start of the latest wave of infections to afflict the nation. A new STAT analysis of Covid-19 case data reveals this new wave is already outpacing the spring and summer waves of 2020. There are many metrics that governments, scientists, and media outlets have used to try and reckon with the Covid-19 pandemic. One of the most popular ways of visualizing Covid data has been to track the weekly average of new cases. This is pictured below. (Parker, 7/26)
AP:
States Scale Back Virus Reporting Just As Cases Surge
Several states scaled back their reporting of COVID-19 statistics this month just as cases across the country started to skyrocket, depriving the public of real-time information on outbreaks, cases, hospitalizations and deaths in their communities. The shift to weekly instead of daily reporting in Florida, Nebraska, Iowa and South Dakota marked a notable shift during a pandemic in which coronavirus dashboards have become a staple for Americans closely tracking case counts and trends to navigate a crisis that has killed more than 600,000 people in the U.S. (Funk, 7/24)
In other updates on the covid surge across the U.S. —
The New York Times:
17 People Were Infected After Attending A Michigan Music Festival.
At least 17 people were infected with the coronavirus after they attended a country music festival in Michigan, health officials have said. The event, called the Faster Horses Festival, held July 16 to 18 in Brooklyn, Mich., was the state’s first major music festival since the pandemic began. Some of the people were at the festival while they were infectious, a statement from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services said. (Delkic and Median, 7/26)
San Francisco Chronicle:
An Unvaccinated Person Became Marin County’s 1st COVID Fatality Since May
An unvaccinated Marin County resident who had been hospitalized with respiratory problems died on Wednesday, becoming the county’s first COVID-19 fatality in more than two months. Public health officials announced the death on Friday to underscore the virulent threat of the Delta variant and the importance of containing it through the one medical tool available. “This latest death has two lessons for us,” Dr. Matt Willis, Marin County public health officer, said in a statement. “The first is how good the Delta variant is at finding unvaccinated people, and the second is that unvaccinated people lack protection against severe illness and death.” (Hosseini, 7/24)
AP:
Arizona: More Than 1K New COVID-19 Cases For 7th Day In Row
Health officials in Arizona on Sunday reported 1,508 new COVID-19 cases and one additional death. It marked the seventh consecutive day with at least 1,000 cases, the longest such streak since early March. The latest numbers pushed the state’s totals to 917,168 coronavirus cases since the pandemic began more than a year ago and 18,171 deaths. (7/25)
Houston Chronicle:
COVID Hospitalizations In Texas Hit 4,000 For First Time Since March
The number of lab-confirmed COVID hospitalizations in Texas broke 4,000 on Friday for the first time since March, a worrying sign of the pandemic’s quick resurgence since the Delta variant was discovered in the state. The milestone comes amid rising COVID cases and hospitalizations across the country, especially in states with below-average vaccination rates. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, told CNN’s “State of the Union” Sunday that unvaccinated Americans were driving infection numbers “in the wrong direction.” (Gill and Schuetz, 7/25)
KHN:
Journalists Dig In On Delta Variant Risks And Opioid Overdose Deaths
KHN Midwest correspondent Lauren Weber discussed outbreaks caused by the covid-19 delta variant in Missouri and elsewhere on Newsy on Thursday. … KHN correspondent Aneri Pattani discussed opioids and the rise in overdose deaths on Newsy’s “Morning Rush” on July 16. (7/24)
Also —
AP:
Man Who Made Fun Of Vaccination Efforts On Social Media Dies Of Covid
A man who mocked Covid-19 vaccinations died this week at a Los Angeles-area hospital after contracting the virus.Stephen Harmon was 34.Harmon died on Wednesday at Corona Regional Medical Center, about an hour’s drive east of Los Angeles. Stephen Harmon posted photos of himself in his hospital bed, wrote that he had pneumonia and critically low oxygen levels and was going to be intubated. In a tweet Wednesday, Harmon wrote: “Don’t know when I’ll wake up, please pray,” KCBS-TV reported. Three days before his death, Harmon tweeted: “If you don’t have faith that God can heal me over your stupid ventilator then keep the Hell out of my ICU room, there’s no room in here for fear or lack of faith!” (7/24)
The Washington Post:
Alabama Mother Who Lost Son Curt Carpenter To Covid-19 Says Not Getting Vaccine Is Her Biggest Regret
These days, Christy Carpenter finds strength in her family and faith. But on some days, one question keeps ringing in her head: “Why?” After weeks of battling through oxygen treatments, her 28-year-old son died in the hospital two months after being diagnosed with covid-19. … “It took watching my son die and me suffering the effects of covid for us to realize we need the vaccine,” the mother said. “We did not get vaccinated when we had the opportunity and regret that so much now.” (Paul, 7/25)
AP:
Unvaccinated Snow Leopard At San Diego Zoo Catches Covid-19
An unvaccinated snow leopard at the San Diego Zoo has contracted Covid-19.Caretakers noticed that Ramil, a 9-year-old male snow leopard, had a cough and runny nose on Thursday. Later, two separate tests of his stool confirmed the presence of the coronavirus, the zoo said in a statement Friday. (7/24)
###[ad_2]
Originally Appeared Here