June 3 coronavirus news

Dr. Tom Frieden

The US is seeing a decline in daily Covid-19 vaccinations because most who want and can access the vaccine, have already gotten it, former Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Tom Frieden said Thursday.

More context: The seven-day average of Covid-19 vaccine doses administered has fallen below 1 million doses per day for the first time since January, according to CDC data published Thursday. 

Frieden noted that the US must now focus on improving access and education around the Covid-19 vaccine.

“Now we need to continue to make it easier to get, and to address people’s concerns,” he said, adding that the vaccine is “astonishingly effective and very, very safe.”

The U.S. Supreme Court is seen on June 1 in Washington, DC.

A coalition of realtor groups asked the Supreme Court Thursday night to block the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s order that prohibits landlords nationwide from evicting tenants who fail to pay rent amid the Covid-19 pandemic. 

The current moratorium is set to expire on June 30. 

A district court ruled against the CDC holding that the moratorium was unlawful, but then put its ruling on hold pending appeal. The DC Circuit declined to lift the stay. 

The realtors group asked the justices to step in —on an emergency basis-arguing that “Congress never gave the CDC the staggering amount of power it now claims.”

They argue that the moratorium has resulted in “over 13 billion in unpaid rent per month.”

People who have had a coronavirus infection once are protected from a second infection for at least nine months and possibly longer, a new study suggests.  

Long-term care facility residents who tested positive for Covid-19 antibodies had an 85% reduced risk of reinfection, and staff had a 60% lower risk, according to the study published on Thursday in the journal Lancet Healthy Longevity.

A team at University College London and other UK-based institutions analyzed data on 682 residents and 1,429 staff members from long-term care facilities in England between October and February. Some of the residents and staff were thought to have had Covid-19 in the past because they tested positive for antibodies in blood samples collected between June and November. 

Among residents who tested negative for antibodies, the researchers found that 93 out of 456 — or 20% — later tested positive for Covid-19 infections during the study. But just 2% of residents who tested positive for antibodies later tested positive for Covid-19. 

Among staff members who tested negative for antibodies, the researchers found 11% later acquired Covid-19 infections during the study. Among staff who tested positive for antibodies, only 2% did. 

“… the risk of PCR-positive SARS-CoV-2 infection was substantially lower in residents and staff who were positive for SARS-CoV-2- specific antibodies at baseline,” the researchers wrote in their study. SARS-CoV-2 is the name of the coronavirus that causes Covid-19.

“It’s really good news that natural infection protects against reinfection in this time period. The risk of being infected twice appears to be very low,” Dr. Maria Krutikov of the University College London Institute of Health Informatics said in a statement. 

More research is needed to determine whether similar findings would emerge among a larger group of people from other regions of the world.

New Jersey passed a bill Thursday to end the public health emergency initiated by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The bill is expected to be signed into law Friday, the same day final limits on group gatherings across the state are lifted.

President Joe Biden speaks about the COVID-19 vaccination program in the South Court Auditorium on the White House campus on June 2 in Washington, DC.

A group of more than 30 Democratic members of the House of Representatives have signed onto a letter to the White House encouraging the Biden administration to do even more to help distribute vaccines across the world.

The letter comes right after President Biden announced a plan to immediately share 25 million Covid-19 vaccines with countries around the world, with a broader goal of sharing up to 80 million vaccine doses by the end of June. Rep. Pramila Jayapal, a Democrat from Washington state and the chair of the Progressive Caucus is the leading author of the letter and is joined by several of her fellow progressive members like Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ritchie Torres of New York, Cori Bush of Missouri, Danny Davis and Raja Krishnamoorthi of Illinois, Mark Pocan of Wisconsin and Ro Khanna of California.

According to Jayapal, she and members of the caucus have been pressing the White House to get aggressive in distributing vaccines around the world as the situation became dire in countries like India, South Africa and Brazil. Jayapal said she is regular contact with White House chief of staff Ron Klain and she was very glad to see the initial announcement, but said much more needs to be done.

“This is urgent, I mean, people need them right now. And so that is a good first step,” Jayapal, whose parents live in India and both got Covid, said in an interview with CNN. “Our letter, however, calls for — and I’ve spoken to the White House about all of these things — but it calls for much more.”

In addition to the initial vaccine distribution the lawmakers are pushing the White House to do the following:

Read the letter here.

Natalia Dubom, of Honduras, gets the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine at Miami International Airport on May 28 in Miami.

The seven-day average of newly administered doses of Covid-19 vaccine has fallen below 1 million doses per day for the first time since January, according to data published Thursday by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

There were about 808,000 new doses administered since Wednesday, bringing the total number of doses administered up to nearly 298 million. That’s about 81% of the more than 368 million total doses delivered.

More data: Overall, more than 169 million people – more than 51% of the US population – have received at least one dose of Covid-19 vaccine, and about 136.6 million people – about 41% of the population – is fully vaccinated, according to CDC data.

Among adults 18 and older, 63% have received at least one dose of Covid-19 vaccine, and 52% are fully vaccinated.

Over the past week, an average of about 482,000 people initiated vaccination each day, including an average of more than 75,000 children between the ages 12 and 15 each day.

To note: Data published by the CDC may be delayed, and doses may not have been administered on the date reported.

A total of 5,274 new coronavirus cases have been confirmed across the United Kingdom on Thursday, Public Health England (PHE) announced, marking the highest daily total since March 26. 

A further 18 fatalities within 28 days of a positive coronavirus test were also recorded Thursday, bringing the total national death toll to 127,812. 

The UK Department of Health and Social Care said that “half of all adults in the UK have now had both doses of the Covid-19 vaccine.”

White House senior Covid adviser Jeff Zients speaks during a White House Covid briefing on June 3.

White House senior Covid adviser Jeff Zients outlined a three-pronged approach from the Biden administration to sharing more vaccines globally, expanding upon the Thursday announcement that the US will be scaling up its global vaccine sharing efforts.

National security adviser Jake Sullivan offered some details on how the first 25 million doses, which will include Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, and Moderna, will be allocated and where.

The US will be prioritizing “helping our neighbors,” Sullivan said, and working through the third-party COVAX coalition, which is funded by donations from governments, multilateral institutions and foundations.

The aim, Sullivan said, is to end the pandemic globally, save lives, and thwart variants, and, he said, “most important, this is just the right thing to do.”

The US will be sharing at least 75% of the first vaccines with COVAX, Sullivan said, which “will maximize the number of vaccines available equitably for all countries and will facilitate sharing with those most at risk.” The remaining 25% will be used for “immediate needs” and will be helping with surges around the world “in a flexible way.”

Sullivan said these first doses will be shared with a “wide range of countries within Latin America and the Caribbean, South and Southeast Asia, and across Africa in coordination with the African Union.” There will be prioritization for “our neighbors here in our hemisphere, including countries like Guatemala, Colombia, Peru and Ecuador, and many others.” It will also respect “existing regional networks for vaccine sharing.”

Additionally, there will be doses allocated to Canada and Mexico, as well as US allies like South Korea. Sullivan added that there will be prioritization for countries with “urgent present crises, like the West Bank and Gaza, Ukraine, Kosovo, Iraq, Haiti, and others.”

He noted that the US “will not use its vaccines to secure favors from other countries.”

Sullivan also said that there will be an effort to organize vaccine sharing among the G7 countries and teased additional announcements next week when the leaders meet in the United Kingdom.

Read more here about the US plan to share vaccines globally.

The Biden administration on Thursday announced a plan to share the first 25 million Covid-19 vaccine doses with the rest of the world and an overall framework of distributing at least 80 million doses by the end of June.

At least 75% of these donated vaccines will be shared with the COVAX global vaccination program, and 25% will be shared directly with countries in need, the White House said.

As part of the first round of 25 million doses being distributed, 19 million will be shared through COVAX, which is an initiative led by Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, along with the World Health Organization and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations.

Here’s a breakdown of where the doses will be distributed:

The other 6 million doses from the first round of 25 million will be sent to Mexico, Canada, South Korea, West Bank and Gaza, Ukraine, Kosovo, Haiti, Georgia, Egypt, Jordan, Iraq and Yemen, and will be used to vaccinate United Nations frontline workers.

Read more about the US plan here.

The coronavirus variant first identified in India is now believed to be the dominant coronavirus variant in the UK, Public Health England (PHE) said Thursday.

“Although there is some regional variation, PHE experts now believe that Delta (VOC-21APR-02) has overtaken Alpha (VOC-20DEC-01) as the dominant SARS-CoV-2 variant in the UK,” PHE said in a statement, using the World Health Organization new labeling system for key coronavirus variants, which assigns letters of the Greek alphabet instead of where the variant was first detected. The PHE statement refers to the India variant as Delta and the UK variant as Alpha.

“Public Health England’s weekly COVID-19 variant cases data shows that cases of the Delta (VOC-21APR-02) variant in the UK have risen by 5,472 since last week to 12,431,” the statement added. 

According to PHE, early evidence suggests that “there may be an increased risk of hospitalization” associated with the variant in comparison to the variant first identified in the UK — however the statement cautions that more data is needed to support early findings. 

At least 278 people with the variant were hospitalized across the UK this week and 94 people were admitted overnight – an increase from the 201 people with the variant who were in the hospital last week, including 43 hospital admissions, PHE outlined. 

“The majority of these had not been vaccinated,” PHE highlighted. 

Dr. Jenny Harries, chief executive of the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), has urged the British people to adhere to government guidance to reduce the spread of the virus. 

“If you are eligible and have not already done so, please come forward to be vaccinated and make sure you get your second jab. It will save lives,” she added. 

Kroger Health, the health care division of The Kroger Co, announced Thursday that it is launching a $5 million giveaway to motivate more people to get the Covid-19 vaccine and support the Biden administration’s goal of administering at least one shot to 70% of the US adult population by July 4, according to a company news release.

The giveaway begins today, and winners will be selected weekly.

People cross the street along S. Lake Shore Drive over Memorial Day weekend, on Sunday, May 30, in Chicago.

The city of Chicago will fully reopen on June 11, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said in a tweetThursday.

Lightfoot tweeted Wednesday that Chicago had a 2% positivity rate, the lowest rate the city has had since March 2020.

Olympic rugby player Naya Tapper said she’s been briefed on how Team USA will implement “very strict” measures to prevent spread of Covid-19 at the upcoming Olympic Games in Tokyo.

The Games, which were postponed last year, are scheduled to start on July 23. A spike in Covid-19 cases in Japan, plus a slower-than-expected vaccine rollout, have prompted experts and the public to voice concerns about holding the Games next month.

Tapper also said she was a bit hesitant at first to get a Covid-19 vaccine, but she changed her mind and is now fully vaccinated.

Watch:

Pharmacy student Jason Rodriguez prepares Pfizer vaccines at the Christine E. Lynn Rehabilitation Center in Miami on April 15.

The Department of Education is launching a new initiative to encourage US colleges and universities to vaccinate all students, faculty and staff against Covid-19.

The plan, called the “Covid-19 College Challenge,” is aimed to help progress the overall number of Americans vaccinated to the Biden administration’s goal of “70% of the U.S. adult population receiving at least one vaccine shot by July 4th,” according to a statement sent out Thursday.

Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said the challenge is a good way to keep everyone on college campuses safe.

Colleges that wish to take part in the pledge can do so by engaging the campus community and letting them know they are eligible for the vaccine, identifying efforts and providing resources about the vaccine, and by providing access to getting the vaccine on campus or at sites nearby.

More than 400 colleges and universities have already announced that they will require all students to be vaccinated before returning to campus in the fall, according to CNN’s latest count.

National security adviser Jake Sullivan listens during a meeting with President Joe Biden at the White House, on Friday, April 16.

National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins that the United States will “ultimately” have the authority to decide which countries receive the first 25 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines that the Biden administration will share with the world.

Sullivan added that the US is working off a list of countries from the COVAX global vaccination program and that the US has made selections “against that list in coordination with them, so that we will retain the say in terms of where they go.”

Sullivan added it will be done in concert with COVAX’s logistics and delivery to “ensure that these doses actually translate into shots in arms.”

At least 75% of the US donated vaccines will be shared with the COVAX global vaccination program, and 25% will be shared directly with countries in need, the White House said.

Vice President Kamala Harris listens during an event in the South Court Auditorium of the White House June 2 in Washington, DC.

Ahead of her trip to the Northern Triangle of Central America, Vice President Kamala Harris has called the leaders of Guatemala and Mexico, as well as the Prime Minister of India and Chair of the Caribbean Community, this morning in separate phone calls to inform them of the US global Covid-19 allocation strategy.

“In four separate calls, the Vice President notified each of the leaders that the Biden-Harris Administration will begin sharing the first 25 million doses of COVID vaccines to their respective countries and others, as part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s framework for sharing at least 80 million vaccines globally by the end of June,” per a statement from chief spokesperson Symone Sanders.

At least 75% of these donated vaccines will be shared with the COVAX global vaccination program, and 25% will be shared directly with countries in need, the White House said on Thursday. 

New York City officials will park mobile vaccine buses outside popular nightlife destinations in the city in an effort to get younger New Yorkers vaccinated, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Thursday.

“We’re going to go where young New Yorkers are,” de Blasio said, adding that mobile vaccine buses have already been to nightlife areas in Bushwick, Astoria, the Lower East Side and Inwood. 

The program, nicknamed “Shots and Shots,” will focus on downtown Brooklyn and the West Village this Thursday and Friday night, de Blasio said.

The Mayor’s son, Dante, will also be on hand to encourage young adults to get vaccinated. Additionally, the mayor said some individual businesses will also offer their own concurrent incentives, such as offering a “shot for a shot.”

De Blasio added that everyone should “drink responsibly, of course.” 

“We’re sending one of our best agents, outreach ambassador Dante de Blasio,” de Blasio said. “Dante claims he’s going to use his DJ skills to attract Zillennials to come over and get vaccinated.” 

New York City is also continuing its efforts to get children ages 12 to 17 vaccinated as well. In addition to in-school vaccinations beginning in the Bronx on Friday, the city will soon be hosting “Youth Vax Block Parties” in various neighborhoods to reach more 12- to 17-year-olds by hosting community events with pediatricians to answer questions and offer information to parents and kids. 

So far, 8,373,820 vaccine doses have been administered in New York City, de Blasio said.

President Joe Biden arrives to speak on Covid-19 response and vaccinations in Washington, DC, on Wednesday, June 2.

The Biden administration announced a framework to share at least 80 million Covid-19 vaccine doses with the rest of the world by the end of June, including a more specific plan for the first 25 million doses. 

At least 75% of these donated vaccines will be shared with the COVAX global vaccination program, and 25% will be shared directly with countries in need, the White House said on Thursday. 

“We are sharing these doses not to secure favors or extract concessions. We are sharing these vaccines to save lives and to lead the world in bringing an end to the pandemic, with the power of our example and with our values,” Biden said.

A pregnant person poses for photos in Williamsburg, New York, on Friday, April 20.

After a decline in pregnancies following the coronavirus shutdown in 2020, the US could see a baby boom this summer, according to research published in JAMA Network Open on Thursday.

Researchers with the University of Michigan used electronic health records from all pregnancies at the University of Michigan Hospital from 2017 to the present. They used the records to document pregnancies and births through the pandemic and model prospective births through October 2021.

Though pregnancies steadily increased from 2017 to 2020, the team recorded a 14% decline after the coronavirus lockdown began in Michigan on March 15, 2020. Their modeling shows an expected surge of births this summer.

The researchers say their findings suggest a link between the societal changes associated with the pandemic, like lockdowns, and reproductive choices.

By modeling the potential changes in birth rates before they happen, the researchers say their findings can help people prepare for and respond to the potential consequences.

“Changing birth rates in other societal crises have been linked retrospectively to changes in economic conditions, morbidity and mortality rates among reproductive age populations, and other destabilizing societal conditions,” the team wrote.

People visit Bethesda Terrace in Central Park on Friday, May 28, in New York City.

New York City reported a Covid-19 positivity rate of 0.81% on Thursday – reaching a new record for the lowest positivity rate the city has seen since it began recording that statistic, Mayor Bill de Blasio said. 

The previous record was a positivity rate of 0.83%, reported on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week.

The mayor also shared some other milestones the city has reached since January:

On Thursday, at least 221 new Covid-19 cases and 63 new hospitalizations were reported, for a hospitalization rate of 0.52 people per 100,000, city statistics show.