This is Coronavirus 411, the latest COVID-19 info and new hotspots for September 17th, 2021. Idaho public health leaders yesterday expanded health care rationing statewide. Individual hospital systems in Alaska and Montana have also implemented rationing policies. Increases in COVID-19 patients are exhausting medical resources so those resources are allocated to those most likely to survive. A government watchdog says the Department of Homeland Security must improve its COVID-19 response at the ...
Sep 17, 2021•5 min
This is Coronavirus 411, the latest COVID-19 info and new hotspots for September 16th, 2021. A tough statistic for the “it’s like the chicken pox” crowd. 19 months into the pandemic, 1 in 500 American residents has died from COVID-19. The death rate for certain demographics age 40-64 is even more stark; for black Americans, 1 in 480 has died, for Hispanics, 1 in 390, and 1 out of every 240 Native Americans have died. Public health officials in Los Angeles County will begin requiring proof of at ...
Sep 16, 2021•5 min
This is Coronavirus 411, the latest COVID-19 info and new hotspots for September 15th, 2021. The CDC released a new study that examined hospitalizations and deaths from Covid over more than three months and found the unvaccinated are more than 10 times more likely to be hospitalized and 11 times more likely to die. The study also found that as the delta variant became more widespread, protection against initial infections fell slightly. Russian President Vladimir Putin went into self-isolation a...
Sep 15, 2021•5 min
This is Coronavirus 411, the latest COVID-19 info and new hotspots for September 14th, 2021. In a heartbreaking illustration of maxed out hospitals, the staff in one north Alabama hospital contacted 43 others across three states looking for a specialty cardiac ICU bed for patient Ray DeMonia. Most were full with COVID patients, which Ray was not. He wound up in Meridian, Mississippi, about 170 miles away, where he died of a cardiac event shortly after arriving. Looks like Americans are okay with...
Sep 14, 2021•5 min
This is Coronavirus 411, the latest COVID-19 info and new hotspots for September 13th, 2021. Guess who’s exempt from the US administration’s recently announced vaccine mandates for all federal employees and contractors? Congress, congressional staffs, and those in the federal court system. That’s because only the executive branch of government can be compelled under the executive order. Still, it creates an enormous layer of hypocrisy and suspicion that probably will not help reassure Americans ...
Sep 13, 2021•5 min
This is Coronavirus 411, the latest COVID-19 info and new hotspots… Just the facts… for September 10th, 2021. In the U.S., the administration announced new steps, including mandates to tackle the pandemic. Those steps include mandating vaccines for federal workers, contractors and certain health care workers, mandates for employees at companies with 100 or more workers to be vaccinated or tested weekly, and a recommendation large venues require proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test. The ...
Sep 10, 2021•5 min
This is Coronavirus 411, the latest COVID-19 info and new hotspots… Just the facts… for September 9th, 2021. The World Health Organization is again calling for a moratorium on booster shots, saying rich countries with large supplies should not offer shots through the end of the year so first doses can go to poorer countries. So far that request has been ignored by countries like the United States. The Director General added, “We do not want to see widespread use of boosters for healthy people wh...
Sep 09, 2021•5 min
This is Coronavirus 411, the latest COVID-19 info and new hotspots… Just the facts… for September 8th, 2021. Idaho public health leaders have activated “crisis standards of care.” That lets hospitals in the northern part of the state ration health care since there are more patients than they can handle. Residents have been warned they may not get the care they’d normally expect if they need to be hospitalized. Hawaii’s Governor signed an order last week releasing hospitals and health care worker...
Sep 08, 2021•5 min
This is Coronavirus 411, the latest COVID-19 info and new hotspots… Just the facts… for September 7th, 2021. Like healthcare workers, they are most at risk. And like many healthcare workers, they are reluctant to get the vaccine. No national statistics show the vaccination rate for America's entire population of first responders, but police and fire departments report figures far below the national rate of adults who have had at least one dose. Increasingly, mandates are putting jobs at risk for...
Sep 07, 2021•6 min
This is Coronavirus 411, the latest COVID-19 info and new hotspots… Just the facts… for September 6th, 2021. Full steam ahead in the U.S. with booster shots, even though the EU, the World Health Organization, and even the CDC says it could be premature and possibly unnecessary right now. It’s believed boosters will be available September 20 for Pfizer, with Moderna’s rolling out a couple weeks later. The President said Americans should consider getting a booster 8 months after their second shot....
Sep 06, 2021•5 min
This is Coronavirus 411, the latest COVID-19 info and new hotspots… Just the facts… for September 3rd, 2021. The CDC says if you’re not vaccinated, you should cancel any travel plans you might have for the long Labor Day weekend. Holidays have always been worrisome to health officials because they often result in spikes. But this spike would occur on top of the Delta surge. Last year, even without vaccines available, more than 3 million airline passengers were screened over the Labor Day holiday...
Sep 03, 2021•5 min
This is Coronavirus 411, the latest COVID-19 info and new hotspots… Just the facts… for September 2nd, 2021. The World Health Organization has another “variant of interest” to watch. It’s being called the Mu variant and there are concerns it may partially evade the immunity developed from past infection or vaccination. The variant has been detected in 39 countries. It was first identified in Colombia in January. A new survey shows most firms are now planning on having vaccine mandates for their ...
Sep 02, 2021•5 min
This is Coronavirus 411, the latest COVID-19 info and new hotspots… Just the facts… for September 1st, 2021. The EU says it’s now hit its target of fully vaccinating 70% of adults by the end of summer. They’re calling it a great achievement, but the World Health Organization says the pace of vaccinations in the continent now appears to be faltering, and parts of Europe are at risk of fresh outbreaks and new restrictions. As far as Denmark is concerned, COVID is over. That country is set to remov...
Sep 01, 2021•5 min
This is Coronavirus 411, the latest COVID-19 info and new hotspots… Just the facts… for August 31st, 2021. Take an area with high concentrations of COVID, with a shortage of ICU beds, patients on ventilators, and challenges keeping health care staff working. Then hit it with a Category 4 hurricane and you have the situation in Louisiana. Hospitals had to evacuate over 160 patients, the storm tore off parts of roofs, and left water leaking down walls to pool on floors. Generators kicked in for el...
Aug 31, 2021•5 min
This is Coronavirus 411, the latest COVID-19 info and new hotspots… Just the facts… for August 30th, 2021. A UK study published in Lancet says people who get the Delta variant are more than twice as likely to be hospitalized as those infected with the alpha strain. Early studies of the Delta variant found it was 50% more transmissible than other strains. The study’s author said absent vaccination, Delta outbreaks will keep imposing a huge burden on healthcare. If you’re an American who had plans...
Aug 30, 2021•5 min
This is Coronavirus 411, the latest COVID-19 info and new hotspots… Just the facts… for August 27th, 2021. Kentucky and Texas joined a growing list of states seeing record numbers of hospitalized patients in a surge that’s afflicting more children. Wednesday, both reported more patients in their hospitals than at any other time since the pandemic began. In New Mexico, health officials warned they’re about a week away from rationing health care. And in Idaho, state leaders called on residents to ...
Aug 27, 2021•5 min
This is Coronavirus 411, the latest COVID-19 info and new hotspots… Just the facts… for August 26th, 2021. The international scientists sent to China by the World Health Organization to find the coronavirus’ origin said yesterday, get ready to not be surprised, the search has stalled and the window of opportunity for ever getting to the truth is “closing fast.” And the U.S. intelligence review ordered up by the US proved inconclusive. So the world’s scientists and governments have proven incapab...
Aug 26, 2021•5 min
This is Coronavirus 411, the latest COVID-19 info and new hotspots… Just the facts… for August 25th, 2021. Back to school didn’t go terribly well. A few weeks in, more and more school districts have given up on in-person learning or switched to hybrid models because of rising infections. More than 80 school districts or charter networks in more than a dozen states have made changes. The US President will be receiving a classified report on the origins of the coronavirus. The review was ordered b...
Aug 25, 2021•5 min
This is Coronavirus 411, the latest COVID-19 info and new hotspots… Just the facts… for August 24th, 2021. As expected, now that the Pfizer vaccine has full FDA approval, the Pentagon will require all service members to get vaccinated. Over the past month, the number of service member deaths from COVID jumped from 25 to 34 – more than a one third increase. The head of the World Health Organization is calling for a 2-month moratorium on booster shots to reduce global vaccine inequality. He says h...
Aug 24, 2021•5 min
This is Coronavirus 411, the latest COVID-19 info and new hotspots… Just the facts… for August 23rd, 2021. By the time you hear this podcast, the Moderna vaccine may have full FDA approval. And that’s going to likely result in many more vaccine mandates from businesses, municipalities, education facilities, venues, etc. Why? Because it removes some of the risk of successful legal challenges. The FDA has been conducting months of additional safety and efficacy data on the vaccines. Not to be forg...
Aug 23, 2021•5 min
This is Coronavirus 411, the latest COVID-19 info and new hotspots… Just the facts… for August 20th, 2021. The World Health Organization is making it clear it is not happy with countries like the United States moving on to third booster shots. The Africa director warned such countries “make a mockery of vaccine equity.” Less than 2% of Africa’s population is fully vaccinated. In Alabama, there aren’t any more available ICU beds. The state has run out. In fact there were negative 29 ICU beds avai...
Aug 20, 2021•6 min
This is Coronavirus 411, the latest COVID-19 info and new hotspots… Just the facts… for August 19th, 2021. As expected, U.S. health officials announced booster shots of Pfizer and Moderna should be available for all U.S. adults starting next month. It is an acknowledgement that the effectiveness of the vaccines could wear off significantly in as little as eight months. Officials said those who got the single dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine will also probably need another shot, but they aren’t...
Aug 19, 2021•6 min
This is Coronavirus 411, the latest COVID-19 info and new hotspots… Just the facts… for August 18th, 2021. Not all nations are reluctant to lock down, and New Zealand's one of them. The entire nation was put into strict lockdown for at least three days yesterday after discovery of one single case of infection. The Prime Minister said, "We’ve seen what happens elsewhere if we fail to get on top of it. We only get one chance.” Round three. The U.S. government is reportedly about to offer booster s...
Aug 18, 2021•6 min
This is Coronavirus 411, the latest COVID-19 info and new hotspots… Just the facts… for August 17th, 2021. For the first time since February when things were pre-vaccine, the US reported more than 900,000 cases last week. Cases are on the rise in 46 states. Just yesterday the US reported 382 deaths. Australia’s most populous state, New South Wales, reported its worst day of the pandemic yesterday with 478 new infections and seven deaths. Two of the dead had gotten one dose of a two-shot vaccine....
Aug 17, 2021•6 min
This is Coronavirus 411, the latest COVID-19 info and new hotspots… Just the facts… for August 16th, 2021. The director of the National Institutes of Health said the U.S. could decide in a couple of weeks to offer booster shots to Americans this fall. First in line to get them would be health care workers, nursing home residents and other older Americans. It’s been peer reviewed, published in the American Journal of Therapeutics, and is the most comprehensive review of data taken from clinical, ...
Aug 16, 2021•6 min
This is Coronavirus 411, the latest COVID-19 info and new hotspots… Just the facts… for August 13th, 2021. The Department of Health and Human Services is the latest federal agency requiring employees who provide care or services for patients be vaccinated. That affects more than 25,000 clinicians, researchers, contractors, trainees, and volunteers. The Supreme Court said yes, universities can impose a vaccine mandate on students and faculty. It declined to block a mandate at Indiana University o...
Aug 13, 2021•7 min
This is Coronavirus 411, the latest COVID-19 info and new hotspots… Just the facts… for August 12th, 2021. California will become the first state to require all teachers and school staff to be vaccinated or undergo weekly testing. That applies to public and private schools, and it will also apply to school volunteers. California’s two largest teachers’ unions announced their full support. The FDA is expected to in the next day or so authorize vaccine booster shots for the immunocompromised. That...
Aug 12, 2021•7 min
This is Coronavirus 411, the latest COVID-19 info and new hotspots… Just the facts… for August 11th, 2021. New state level data analyzed by the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children’s Hospital Association shows cases among children are rising, with kids accounting for roughly 15% of all newly reported cases across the U.S. for the week ending August 5. Comedian Chris Rock may call it the McDonalds of vaccines, but a trial involving almost 480,000 health workers in South Africa shows th...
Aug 11, 2021•7 min
This is Coronavirus 411, the latest COVID-19 info and new hotspots… Just the facts… for August 10th, 2021. As anticipated, members of the U.S. military will be required to get the vaccine starting next month. Memos have been distributed to all troops this is necessary to maintain military readiness. The Defense Secretary said that deadline could be accelerated if the vaccine gets final FDA approval or infection rates keep rising. A couple of good bits of news for Moderna. Its vaccine has been gr...
Aug 10, 2021•7 min
This is Coronavirus 411, the latest COVID-19 info and new hotspots… Just the facts… for August 9th, 2021. Hospitalizations are reaching all-time highs, especially in parts of the South. Some patients and their doctors are struggling to find hospitals that will take them, even if it’s out of state. Louisiana set a new record for hospitalizations last week. Florida's hospitalizations recently jumped 13% above the previous peak and 60% of the state’s hospitals expect a "critical staffing shortage" ...
Aug 09, 2021•7 min
