August 5, 2021 US coronavirus news

California has become the first state to require all employees in healthcare settings to be fully vaccinated against Covid-19 as the highly contagious Delta variant continues to spread, the state announced Thursday.

California’s Department of Public Health issued two new health orders Thursday that mandate workers in healthcare settings be fully vaccinated against Covid-19, and requires hospitals and nursing homes to verify that visitors are fully vaccinated or have tested negative for the virus. 

Gov. Gavin Newsom announced last month the state would require healthcare workers in the state to either be vaccinated or submit to weekly testing, but Thursday’s order went a step further, requiring California’s approximately two million healthcare workers until the end of September to become fully vaccinated and promises paid time off to get immunized.

“By requiring health care workers to be fully vaccinated and visitors to acute care facilities to demonstrate they are fully vaccinated or have tested negative for COVID-19, California is protecting the most vulnerable individuals, while also protecting workers in these settings,” the state’s public health department said in a news release.

The decision comes as the state sees a surge in new Covid-19 cases, hospitalizations and the positivity rate, with all three metrics reaching their highest levels since February.

California’s public health department is expected to update guidance for visitors to other long-term care facilities in the near future.

Quebec — Canada’s second-most populous province — plans to implement vaccine passports, Premier Francois Legault said during a Thursday news conference. 

On Thursday, the province recorded 305 new coronavirus cases; 72 of those cases are still under investigation. There are 16 people in intensive care units in the province. 

“In the last few days, we saw an increase in the number of cases. After discussion with public health, it looks like, unfortunately, in the next few days, few weeks, will see, still, an increase in cases and also an increase in hospitalization,” Legault said.

The US should expect tens and thousands of vaccinated people to get Covid-19, but most won’t get very sick, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said Thursday.

The important thing is not the number of people who experience breakthrough infections, but the level of illness those people experience, Walensky said.

Walensky noted that vaccinated people who get infected with Covid-19 can transmit the virus.

US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky

Fully vaccinated people who get a breakthrough infection can pass it on, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said Thursday.  

CDC provided data last week that showed how fully vaccinated people who get a breakthrough infection can carry essentially that same amount of virus as an unvaccinated person, allowing them to transmit the virus just like an unvaccinated person can.

That is why the CDC is recommending even vaccinated people wear masks indoors again, Walensky said.

“If you’re going home to somebody who has not been vaccinated, to somebody who can’t get vaccinated, somebody who might be immunosuppressed or a little bit frail, somebody who has comorbidities that put them at high risk, I would suggest you wear a mask in public indoor settings.”

Clarification: This post has been updated to specify that Walensky was referencing fully vaccinated people who get a breakthrough infection when saying that vaccines no longer prevent transmission of Covid-19.

Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine vial

Internal discussions at the US Food and Drug Administration have centered around an early September timeline for laying out a strategy on Covid-19 vaccine booster shots, a Biden administration official told CNN.

The strategy would apply for all vaccinated people. A decision for those who are immunocompromised and face greater risk from the virus is expected sooner.

FDA spokesperson Abby Capobianco said in a statement to CNN that the FDA, along with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health, are evaluating potential solutions to questions on the use of booster doses of Covid-19 vaccines.

Capobianco said “in the near future” the FDA will share information on potential options for immunocompromised people who face a greater risk from the virus than healthy people.

“The FDA is closely monitoring data as it becomes available from studies administering an additional dose of the authorized Covid-19 vaccines to immunocompromised individuals,” Capobianco said.

The Texas Medical Center campus in Houston just passed more than 300 coronavirus patients admitted in their medical facilities in a single day, according to Mayor Sylvester Turner. 

Turner and Harris County Court Judge Lina Hidalgo spoke at a joint news conference on Thursday outlining the situation for the Houston-Harris County metro area.  

The emergency rooms have become overwhelmed with large amounts of patients being admitted to the hospital, said Hidalgo, adding that this is no longer a disease of the old. The average age of admitted patients is now 20.

Harris County’s Covid-19 threat rate has moved into the red zone, declared by Hidalgo in today’s news conference, meaning outbreaks are present and getting worse. 

The biotechnology company Novavax has pushed back its plans to apply for emergency use authorization of its Covid-19 vaccine in the US to the fourth quarter of this year, according to the company’s second-quarter financial results, released on Thursday. 

Previously, the American biotech firm had planned to apply in the third quarter.

“It looks like it could be the fourth quarter,” Dr. Gregory Glenn, president of research and development for Novavax, told CNN on Thursday. 

“We’re still moving along nicely,” Glenn said.

The daily pace of Covid-19 vaccinations is the highest it’s been in nearly seven weeks, according to the latest data published from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Here’s the latest data on vaccination efforts in the US, according to the CDC:

White House data director Dr. Cyrus Shahpar tweeted earlier Thursday that more than 864,000 doses had been reported administered over the previous day’s total, including about 585,000 people who got their first shot. According to the White House, that is the highest number of Covid-19 vaccine doses administered – and new vaccinations – reported in a single day in more than a month.

Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava announced today that the county is taking a further step to ensure a safe and healthy workplace by requiring weekly Covid-19 testing of all Miami-Dade employees.

Those who wish to opt-out can provide proof of their vaccination status, Cava said.

The county will begin implementing this policy beginning the week of Aug. 16 for non-union employees and exceptions will be evaluated on a case by case basis, according to the mayor.

Cava said over the last week, the county polled its workforce with a voluntary anonymous survey to ask employees to self-report their vaccination status. Of those who took the survey, which is more than 5,000 employees, more than 83% of the respondents indicated that they had taken the shot, according to the mayor.

This Wednesday, June 26, 2019 photo shows an aerial view of the Yup'ik village of Stebbins on the Norton Sound coast in Western Alaska. 

The Alaska village of Stebbins is in community lockdown after a surge in Covid-19 cases, according to the regional health organization.

Norton Sound Health Corp. announced the lockdown in a news release Monday, saying the lockdown would stay in place until no new cases are identified for 14 days. They said Thursday that there were three more positive Covid-19 cases in Stebbins, bringing the total of active cases to 45.

The lockdown began seven days ago, Norton Sound Health Corp. said.

Citing the Stebbins Community Association, Norton Sound Health Corp. said that during the lockdown, visiting between households or other communities is not allowed and everyone should wear a mask in public indoor spaces. 

“There is a 10-person limit at the store, and a five-person limit at the laundromat,” the release said. “There will be no bingo during this time, and there is a curfew of 10 p.m.” 

According to Norton Sound Health Corp, there are 51 active Covid-19 cases in the region, with the 45 in Stebbins, three in Nome and three in regional villages that “have requested that their village not be identified.”

As of the end of July, 42% of the 676 residents of Stebbins were fully vaccinated, and 45% have received a first dose.

Minneapolis Public Schools will be requiring masks starting Aug. 9, according to an update posted on the school system’s website Thursday morning.

The school district’s update said that all staff, students and visitors are required to wear face coverings indoors, regardless of vaccination status. They said the decision was made based on the recommendation from the state’s health department. 

The district also said that face coverings will be mandated on school buses, as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

Additional details will be provided for families as students return to school in September, the district said. 

The Amazon campus outside the company headquarters in Seattle sits nearly deserted due to the coronavirus pandemic in March 2020.

Amazon on Thursday pushed back its office return date until early next year amid a surge in Covid-19 cases from the Delta variant, making it one of the most significant delays yet in the tech industry.

The online retail giant’s corporate workers were originally slated to start coming back to the office by Sept. 7, but that date has now been moved back to Jan. 3, 2022, Amazon told CNN Business.

When they do return, employees will be required to wear masks inside the office unless they have shown proof that they are vaccinated, the company added.

Amazon’s news follows similar announcements delaying a return to in-person work from financial firms like Wells Fargo, BlackRock and US Bank.

US Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona on August 5, 2021.

US Education Sec. Miguel Cardona said it was “frustrating” to hear a letter from a Florida superintendent to Gov. Ron DeSantis asking him to allow a temporary mask mandate amid rising Covid-19 cases.

DeSantis issued an executive order last week that threatened to pull funding from schools that implement mask mandates.

“That would be so disappointing if our students — who have been waiting to get back into their classrooms, who’ve done everything we’ve asked them to do — it’d be disappointing if their school year is disrupted because of decisions by adults,” Cardona said.

When asked if schools should be opening with vaccine requirements, Cardona said he’s “confident” that schools can reopen safely.

“Last year, we safely reopened schools without the tests that are available now, without the resources for reopening and ventilation that we have now, and without the vaccines. So I am confident we can do it. We have to just make sure we’re following those mitigation strategies and promoting vaccination amongst the youth,” he said.  

Cardona said he is talking with governors, state leaders and superintendents to ensure proper safety steps are taken and to set up vaccination clinics.

The Louisiana Department of Public Health reported Thursday there are currently 2,350 people in the state hospitalized with Covid-19, an all-time high. The previous record was 2,112 on Tuesday. 

Of those 2,350 Covid patients, 258 are on ventilators and 89% are unvaccinated. 

The health department said 98% of the state’s 5,468 new case are tied to community spread. 

There have been 567,787 cases of Covid-19 in the state since March 2020.

The Louisiana health department reported 33 new Covid-19 related deaths bringing the death toll to 11,162. 

Limited hospital staffing and beds continue to stress Mississippi’s health care system, state health officials said at a press conference this morning.

There are only eight remaining intensive care unit beds available in four hospitals across the state, according to state epidemiologist Dr. Paul Byers, who said hospitals report bed availability to the health department twice per day.

At one point this week, more than 275 adults with Covid-19 were hospitalized in the ICU, Byers said, with 150 people on ventilators. Byers said the data overwhelmingly shows higher case, hospitalization and death rates among unvaccinated individuals.

Mississippi, along with neighboring states Alabama, Arkansas and Louisiana, make up the states with some of the lowest vaccination rates nationwide, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

As of Wednesday morning, only 35% of Mississippians were fully vaccinated, compared to the 50% national average, according to the Mississippi health department.

In Michigan, at least 83 Covid-19 cases have been linked to July’s Faster Horses Festival, a three-day country music and camping festival at the Michigan International Speedway. 

“If you attended the Faster Horses Festival, you may have been exposed to the virus,” according to a July 24 news release from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS). 

In the July release, MDHHS initially reported 17 cases tied to the festival. As of Thursday, less than two weeks later, there are more than 80 cases connected to the festival, MDHHS spokesperson Chelsea Wuth confirmed to CNN. 

Nine of the cases are “secondary” cases, or people who did not attend the festival, said Wuth. 

MDHHS is urging everyone who attended the event to get tested “if they are not fully vaccinated or if they develop symptoms,” said MDHHS’s Dr. Joneigh Khaldun in the July release. 

To date, 58.5% of eligible Michiganders have at least one Covid-19 vaccine dose and 54.1% are fully inoculated, according to MDHHS’s vaccine tracker. 

The Faster Horses Festival took place on July 1 to18 and was headlined by county singers Jason Aldean, Thomas Rhett and Luke Combs, according to the festival’s website. 

CNN has reached to festival organizers for comment but has not heard back. 

A patient looks on as a registered nurse prepares a dose of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine in Queens, New York, on July 30, 2021.

Covid-19 response coordinator Jeff Zients on Thursday praised momentum for vaccine mandates, days after President Biden issued a vaccine requirement for all federal workers and contractors. 

“Already, we’re seeing momentum in vaccination requirements across the country, businesses know vaccinations are a way to keep their workers and customers safe and to keep their doors open,” Zients said kicking off a rare second White House Covid-19 response team briefing of the week, highlighting a new feature from Yelp that lets customers search for businesses with fully vaccinated workers or proof of vaccination to enter the business.

He applauded businesses big and small, including Saffron, a small business in New Orleans requiring proof of vaccination or a negative Covid test, 650 colleges and universities requiring on-campus employee and student vaccination, a mandate from historically Black medical schools, and a mandate for health care workers at Kaiser Permanente.

“Our message is quite simple: We support these vaccination requirements to protect workers, communities and the country,” Zients said.

Zients also touted progress in vaccinations in recent days, noting that over the past 24 hours, the US recorded 864,000 vaccinations, the highest daily rate since July 3.

In the states with the highest case rates – Louisiana, Arkansas, Missouri, Alabama, Oklahoma and Mississippi – people are getting vaccinated at “a pace not seen since April,” he said, adding that Tennessee has seen a 90% increase in first shots over the past two weeks, Oklahoma has seen an 82% increase, and Georgia has seen a 66% increase in first shots over the past two weeks.

Zients also told reporters that the Biden administration’s Covid-19 surge response teams are now working with 16 states on specific needs, with “hundreds” of federal personnel deployed to help throughout the country.

Dr. Jayne Morgan, executive director of Piedmont Healthcare Covid Task Force, told CNN’s John King on “Inside Politics” that she is seeing progress in vaccinations but said the number needs to be close to 2 to 3 million.

“We do see our vaccination rates increasing. We also see our rates of infection increasing as well. And our hospitalizations have probably increased seven- or eight-fold in the last five or six weeks. 

Kris Hafezizadeh, executive director of transportation at Austin Independent School District, speaks with reporters in Austin, Texas, on August 5, 2021.

The Austin Independent School District will require students to wear masks on school buses, the district announced Thursday. It says the requirement follows the federal order from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, requiring face coverings on public transportation.

Abbott has been firmly against schools mandating masks. “In Texas, there will not be any government-imposed shutdown or masks mandates,” he said Wednesday. It is unclear whether Abbott would try to prevent Austin schools from requiring masks on school buses.

Students will have assigned seats on buses to help the district with contact tracing, according to the statement. Buses will operate at full capacity and will be cleaned every day.

“We know masks kept our students and teachers safe last year, and the CDC agrees that masks can keep our children safe,” said Kris Hafezizadeh, executive director of transportation. “That’s why masks — along with assigned seating and, weather permitting, open windows — are required on our buses. We are asking parents to send their children wearing masks. If we all wear masks, we’ll all be OK.”

Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, speaks at briefing on August 5, 2021.

Current federal data on the rate of hospitalizations and deaths from Covid-19 in vaccinated versus unvaccinated people does not include data on Delta variant, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said Thursday.

Walensky spoke in response to a question from CNN’s Kaitlan Collins on whether data indicating 99% of Covid-19 deaths and 95% of Covid-19 hospitalizations are occurring in unvaccinated people still holds up in the context of the Delta variant.

Key members of the federal Covid-19 response team, including Walensky and Dr. Anthony Fauci, President Biden’s chief medical adviser, have repeated these numbers in recent weeks.

“I do want to reiterate though that based on the data we’re seeing, we don’t have fully updated numbers, universally, as we look at our hospitalizations, and as we look at our deaths, they are overwhelmingly unvaccinated people,” she said. 

The second largest school district in Arizona currently has more than 100 active cases of Covid-19 within the school district, and a total of more than 140 cases since school started two weeks ago, with 39 cases now listed as “resolved.”

Chandler Unified School District has 103 current cases of Covid-19, according to the district’s online Covid dashboard. The schools with the highest case count are Hamilton High, with 32 cases, and Chandler High, with 10 cases.

The district could not provide a total number of students and teachers being quarantined in the district as a result of the positive cases.

CNN previously reported that the district updated its quarantine policy just days before school began, after an edict from Gov. Doug Ducey’s office last month, which told two other school districts they had to withdraw their policy of requiring unvaccinated students to quarantine if they were exposed to Covid, saying it was against state law.

Quarantining is now optional for all Chandler students with known exposure to Covid-19, regardless of their vaccination status, unless they are exhibiting symptoms.

“We are asking our families to discuss the importance of effective hand-washing and sanitizing to stay home when they are ill,” said Locke.

The school year started in Chandler on July 21.