Unused “miracle”

But by February, when a higher number of seniors were being vaccinated, the department began deleting facilities names from these outbreak lists. “It was a very visible miracle,” Dr. Lewis Aronson, a professor in the UCSF Division of Geriatrics, told CNN.

These “miracles” were rolling out across the country this spring, according to a report published Tuesday by the US Department of Health and Human Services, which found that vaccination resulted in at least a quarter million COVID-19 infections and tens of thousands more. was stopped. Senior citizens died between January and May this year.

This is a sad milestone driven by the highly permeable delta variant and unvaccinated people. In July, officials warned of a “vaccine pandemic”, an outbreak largely seen in parts of the country with little vaccine.

“We have now lost 700,000 Americans and 200,000 of them have died because vaccines are available to almost everyone in this country, and every one of those deaths is unnecessary,” CNN Medical Analyst Dr. Jonathan Rayner said. “So even though the news for this antiviral agent is great, the message that people really need to get out is ‘get vaccinated.’ No one needs to die from this virus.”

US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) top vaccine official Dr. Peter Marks said on Tuesday that even preventable Covid-19 deaths among children is an embarrassment for a developed country. Children.

Vaccines are only available for children under the age of 12. this may change soon Following a meeting of the FDA’s vaccine advisors on Oct. 26 to discuss data from Pfizer’s vaccine trials among children ages 5 to 11. However, parental hesitation may prove to be a deterrent, as only a third of those surveyed by the Kaiser Family Foundation Vaccine Monitor said they would give their child a jab.

you asked We answered.

Q: What will the antiviral pill mean for the fight against COVID-19?

a: Early results from an experimental oral antiviral drug called mollupiravir by Merck and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics found it could cut the risk of hospitalization or death from COVID-19 by half. Merck says it will seek authorization from the FDA, and if granted, the drug could be the first antiviral treatment Available orally to fight disease.

Jeff Ziants, the White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator, said at a briefing last week that the best way to think about molnupiravir is “a potential additional tool … far and away, our best tool against COVID-19.”

While the prospect of a pill to prevent the dire consequences of COVID-19 is an exciting breakthrough in treating the virus, there is still much to learn about the drug and what it might work for. Full data from the mollupiravir trial have not yet been released, and this data has not been investigated, peer-reviewed, or published.

send your questions here. Are you a health care worker fighting COVID-19? Message us on WhatsApp about the challenges you are facing: +1 347-322-0415.

reading of the week

Anger over UK quarantine rules for fully vaccinated travelers from India and most of Africa

Fully vaccinated travelers from India and several African countries will face mandatory quarantine in the UK despite relaxations in travel rules within the country. This has led to allegations of resentment and discrimination, CNN’s Nimi Princeville reports.

The UK travel rules update took effect from 4 October and visitors from the “red list” of “high risk” countries – including India, more than 20 African countries and most Latin American countries – will now have to quarantine in a hotel for 10 days. days despite thorough vaccination. South Africa’s Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Naledi Pandor, described it as a “political punishment”.

This comes as India’s top court on Monday approved the government’s decision to pay around $670 for each Covid-19 death in the country as compensation to the next of kin of the deceased. The payout would total more than $300 million, based on India’s current mortality rate. According to the calculations of CNN.

New Zealand ready to abandon its zero-Covid strategy

New Zealand’s Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced on Monday that the country would begin moving away from a zero-Covid strategy towards living with the virus. Although they have not yet announced a date for the change, New Zealand is the latest country to announce the abandonment of eradication efforts in the face of the highly contagious Delta variant, CNN’s Ben Westcott reports.

It comes after a major outbreak in August, sparked by Delta tensions, plunged the city of Auckland into a protracted lockdown. And despite more than six weeks of restrictions on movement in the city, New Zealand on Tuesday reported 24 new cases in the community – the majority in Auckland.

Ardern acknowledged Monday that the virus was “a tentacle that was incredibly difficult to shake.”

Thousands of Brazilians demand the impeachment of President Bolsonaro, who was wrong in his handling of the pandemic

Protesters returned to the streets in major Brazilian cities last weekend to demand the impeachment of President Jair Bolsonaro amid worsening economic conditions, rising unemployment and hunger. In the country affected by Kovid.

Thousands gathered in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro – Brazil’s most populous cities – to call out their misgivings about the COVID-19 pandemic. He also opposed the economic crisis faced by ordinary Brazilians due to rising inflation and high fuel prices. Brazil is hard hit by the pandemic and nearly 600,000 Brazilians have died from the virus – the highest death toll in the world after the United States.

top tip

Are there any drawbacks to getting a booster shot?

Data from Israel, where an extensive booster program has been carried out, show that side effects from the third dose are comparable to those from the second dose. CNN Medical Analyst Dr. Lena Wen said, the most common side effects are local reactions such as aches and pains in the arm, short-term symptoms such as fatigue and chills that resolve within a few days.

“A related – although very rare – side effect is myocarditis, which is an inflammation of the heart muscle, which appears to be most frequent in adolescent and young adult-aged men. It is important to note that mRNA-associated myocarditis vaccines generally but are mild and resolve without any long-term harm – and that COVID-19 itself can cause myocarditis,” she said.

listen to our podcast

Trust is hard to build and very easy to break. It is the essential foundation for all of our relationships, and the glue that holds our society together. But over the past two years, many Americans have lost trust in our government, our medical institutions, and each other. In this episode, CNN’s Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta talks with Trust Expert Professor Karen Cook about why we trust, how we can promote it, and how we can restore it when it’s lost. . Listen now.

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