22nd Jul 2021 https://nfind.uk/lockdown_exit/index.php/newsletter=415 lockdown_exit

More than 1.5 MILLION children around the world lost a parent, grandparent or caregiver due to COVID-19, study finds

Daily Mail More than 1.5 million children lost a parent grandparent or primary caregiver due to COVID19 a new study estimates. Researchers at the CDC and Imperial College London made this estimate based on Covid mortality and fertility statistics in 21 nations. In the U.S. more than 110000 children lost their parents or primary caregivers. The researchers say support is urgently needed for these children who face higher risks to their health safety and wellbeing https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-9807627/More-1-5-MILLION-children-world-lost-caregiver-COVID-19-study-finds.html 21st Jul 2021

COVID-19 variants develop better lock-picking skills to invade human cells

Phys.org Like expert lock pickers COVID19 variants may be more adept at breaking into and infecting human cells according to new research conducted by FIU physicists. The variants are able to do this by flexing a spike protein that works like a lock pick unlocking and slipping into a cell for infection. The better the virus can manipulate the spike protein the easier time it has accessing the cell and eventually spreading in an unvaccinated population. https://phys.org/news/2021-07-covid-variants-lock-picking-skills-invade.html 21st Jul 2021

New York requiring vaccine or testing for workers in city hospitals, clinics

The Hill New York City will be requiring public health employees to get the coronavirus vaccine or undergo weekly COVID19 testing. Mayor Bill de Blasio D is expected to announce the new policy on Wednesday. It will affect the more than 42000 people who work for the public hospital system in the city the mayors spokesperson said on Tuesday The New York Times reported. The policy will apply to the 10 percent of city government workers who work in the 11 hospitals in the public hospital system. https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/564054-new-york-requiring-vaccine-or-testing-for-workers-in-city-hospitals-clinics 21st Jul 2021

COVID-19: 100,000 will die of coronavirus globally between now and end of the Olympics, WHO chief predicts

Sky News More than 100000 people will die from COVID19 around the world between now and the end of the Olympic Games the head of the World Health Organization WHO has predicted. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a meeting of the International Olympic Committee IOC in Tokyo that the pandemic is a test and the world is failing. He also warned that anyone who thinks the pandemic is over because cases are under control in their country is living in a fools paradise. https://news.sky.com/story/covid-19-100-000-will-die-of-coronavirus-globally-between-now-and-the-end-of-the-olympics-who-chief-predicts-12360199 21st Jul 2021

Schools confront more polarization with mask rules for fall

The Associated Press Students in Wichita Kansas public schools can ditch the masks when classes begin. Detroit public schools will probably require them unless everyone in a room is vaccinated. In Pittsburgh masks will likely be required regardless of vaccination status. And in some states schools cannot mandate face coverings under any circumstances. With COVID19 cases soaring nationwide school districts across the U.S. are yet again confronting the realities of a polarized country and the lingering pandemic as they navigate mask requirements vaccine rules and social distancing requirements for the fastapproaching new school year. https://apnews.com/article/health-coronavirus-pandemic-92f4414ff2b85f98c59aa2a412b1cdcd 21st Jul 2021

No health pass, no cinema or museum: France tightens COVID-19 rules

Reuters Health pass needed for cinemas museums from July 21. To be extended to restaurants bars some travel from Aug. PM says most new infections are among nonvaccinated. Regions have powers to impose tougher measures if needed Introduction of health pass triggers protests https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/no-health-pass-no-cinema-or-museum-france-tightens-covid-19-rules-2021-07-21/ 21st Jul 2021

My uncle died of Covid-19 before he could get a vaccine in Kenya, and I got mine in a US drugstore. This is what vaccine inequality looks like

CNN Every time I see a call from home my heart sinks. I always fear that theyre ringing to say that my grandmother has died. She has been on a ventilator for four weeks and my anxiety is near breaking point. The dreaded call could come at any time Covid19. Again. Even at 96 my Kenyan grandmother was among hundreds of millions in the developing world who was not vaccinated until recently because rich nations have hoarded most of the available shots. Though Im more than 60 years younger than her I was fully inoculated by April because I was living in the United States where anybody over 12 can get a vaccine if they want one. https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/21/africa/larry-madowo-global-vaccine-inequity-intl-cmd/index.html 21st Jul 2021

States are sitting on millions of surplus Covid-19 vaccine doses

STAT News Millions of unused Covid19 vaccines are set to go to waste as demand dwindles across the United States and doses likely expire this summer according to public health officials. Several state health departments told STAT they have repeatedly asked the federal government to redistribute their supply to other countries many of which are facing a third wave of the Covid19 pandemic. Officials in Washington have rejected those requests citing legal and logistical challenges. Were drowning in this stuff said Robert Ator a retired colonel in the Arkansas Air National Guard who is leading that states Covid19 vaccine distribution drive. Its starting to get a bit silly and we want to make sure were being good stewards. https://www.statnews.com/2021/07/20/states-are-sitting-on-millions-of-surplus-covid-19-vaccine-doses-as-expiration-dates-approach/ 21st Jul 2021

Pfizer to offer COVID-19 vaccines to African Union through South African partnership

Yahoo Pfizer and BioNTech will partner with The Biovac Institute a South African biopharmaceutical company to manufacture COVID vaccines for distribution within the African Union the companies announced Tuesday. https://www.yahoo.com/now/pfizer-offer-covid-19-vaccines-111512565.html 21st Jul 2021

Fauci, Paul clash on virus origins, trade charges of lying

The Associated Press Dr. Anthony Fauci the nations top infectious disease expert angrily confronted Kentucky GOP Sen. Rand Paul on Tuesday in testimony on Capitol Hill rejecting Pauls insinuation that the U.S. helped fund research at a Chinese lab that could have sparked the COVID19 outbreak. Paul suggested that Fauci had lied before Congress when in May he denied that the National Institutes of Health funded socalled gain of function research the practice of enhancing a virus in a lab to study its potential impact in the real world at a Wuhan virology lab. U.S. intelligence agencies are currently exploring theories that an accidental leak from that lab could have led to the global pandemic. https://apnews.com/article/science-health-government-and-politics-coronavirus-pandemic-ec75a3b9505409e12aa6f65d3170ad26 21st Jul 2021

Covid: The Mexican villages refusing to vaccinate

BBC News In November Pascuala Vzquez Aguilar had a strange dream about her village Coquilteel nestled among the trees in the mountains of southern Mexico. A plague had come to the village and everyone ran to the forest. They hid in a hut under a tall canopy of oak trees. The plague couldnt reach us there Pascuala says. Thats what I saw in my dream. A few months later the pandemic had engulfed Mexico and thousands of people were dying every week. But Coquilteel and many small indigenous towns in the state of Chiapas were left relatively unscathed. This has been a blessing but it also presents a problem. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-57893466 21st Jul 2021

COVID Vaccines And Infertility? How Misinformation Spreads In 6 Steps : Shots - Health News

NPR Misinformation about COVID19 vaccines can appear almost anywhere from an uncles Facebook post to a welltrusted news commentator. But where does it come from and why do some myths spread further than others With the help of the internet research firm Graphika NPR analyzed the rise of one persistent set of lies about COVID19 vaccines that they can affect female fertility. Despite a mountain of scientific evidence showing the vaccines are safe and effective the false information persists. https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2021/07/20/1016912079/the-life-cycle-of-a-covid-19-vaccine-lie 21st Jul 2021

White House has held discussions with Fox News over its Covid-19 coverage

CNN The White House is trying to fix the problem of slowing Covid19 vaccinations by engaging with an unlikely source Fox News. The network which Fox Corp. CEO Lachlan Murdoch has called the loyal opposition to President Joe Bidens White House has been a hub for vaccine hesitancy and outright hostility. As the pandemic has gone on and Covid19 vaccinations have slowed vaccine resistance among Republicans the Fox News audience base has been a recurring theme leading many observers to scrutinize Foxs coverage. https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/20/politics/white-house-fox-news-vaccines/index.html 21st Jul 2021

More Than 200 Facebook Groups Have Been Actively Circulating Coronavirus Vaccine Misinformation

Forbes After President Biden came down hard on Facebook last week over coronavirus vaccine misinformation the company responded with almost equal force insisting in no uncertain terms that it wasnt responsible for how that type of content has spread on the web. But new research released Tuesday suggests Facebook does indeed remain a place where such misinformation is circulating Media Matters for America a liberal tech watchdog organization says it has found 284 active private and public Facebook Groups currently distributing vaccine misinformation more than double the amount the researchers found in April. Over a half million users belong to these groups. https://www.forbes.com/sites/abrambrown/2021/07/20/facebook-vaccine-misinformation-covid-19-coronavirus/ 20th Jul 2021

'A form of brainwashing': why Trump voters are refusing to get a vaccine

Financial Times In downtown Little Rock a chorus echoes around the room at Willy Ds Rock Roll Piano Bar as groups of friends clutching beers and each other sing along to the soul hit Stand By Me. Yet far from standing together the capital of Arkansas is deeply divided over how to deal with a resurgence of Covid19. Cases are increasing hospitals are filling up and health officials are struggling to convince residents in the city and across the state to be vaccinated. The pace of vaccinations in US states has become starkly correlated with politics with Republican voters less likely than Democrats to have a jab just as they are more reluctant to wear a mask or observe social distancing. https://www.ft.com/content/39ff87ce-57b7-4007-9504-7eb2c7bc911f 21st Jul 2021

US extends coronavirus closures of borders with Mexico, Canada

AlJazeera The United States land borders with Mexico and Canada will remain closed to nonessential travel for another month the US Department of Homeland Security DHS has announced just days after Canada signalled plans to ease restrictions on travel from the US. The restrictions into the US by land or ferry will remain in place until at least August 21 the DHS said on Wednesday. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/7/21/us-extends-coronavirus-closures-of-borders-with-mexico-canada 21st Jul 2021

Australia’s PM defends Covid vaccine rollout as half of population awakes in lockdown

The Guardian The Australian prime minister Scott Morrison has refused to apologise for his governments handling of the coronavirus vaccine rollout amid testy exchanges during a radio interview as more than 13 million Australians or half of the population awoke in lockdown conditions. Morrison carried out a whistlestop tour of radio stations on Wednesday as Covid measures spread further into the state of New South Wales while Victoria reported a record oneday increase in cases and South Australia began its first full day of a weeklong lockdown. https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/jul/21/australias-pm-defends-covid-vaccine-rollout-as-half-of-population-awakes-in-lockdown 21st Jul 2021

Australia, under lockdown, sees worrying jump in COVID-19 cases

Reuters Australias two largest states reported sharp increases in new COVID19 cases on Wednesday a blow to hopes that lockdown restrictions would be lifted with more than half the countrys population under stayathome orders. New South Wales NSW state home to the countrys most populous city Sydney reported 110 new cases up from 78 the day before nearly four weeks into a lockdown of the city and surrounding areas to contain an outbreak of the virulent Delta variant. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/australias-victoria-logs-biggest-daily-rise-covid-19-cases-week-2021-07-20/ 21st Jul 2021

Novartis set to deliver 50 mln CureVac COVID-19 vaccines this year

Reuters on MSN.com Novartis is still helping CureVac make COVID19 vaccines and could expand its capacity to assist other vaccine manufacturers as well finance chief Harry Kirsch told reporters on Wednesday. We have started the production as planned. We are planning to deliver 50 million doses this year Kirsch said of the CureVac deal when asked whether it could instead make its capacity free for others after CureVac said last month its COVID19 jab was only 48 effective. Swiss drugmaker Novartis also assists Pfizer and BioNTech in making COVID19 vaccines and can ramp up output for them or others if needed he said. https://www.msn.com/en-us/finance/companies/novartis-set-to-deliver-50-mln-curevac-covid-19-vaccines-this-year/ar-AAMo2lo 21st Jul 2021

US life expectancy in 2020 saw biggest drop since WWII

The Associated Press U.S. life expectancy fell by a year and a half in 2020 the largest oneyear decline since World War II public health officials said Wednesday. The decrease for both Black Americans and Hispanic Americans was even worse three years. The drop spelled out by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is due mainly to the COVID19 pandemic which health officials said is responsible for close to 74 of the overall life expectancy decline. More than 3.3 million Americans died last year far more than any other year in U.S. history with COVID19 accounting for about 11 of those deaths. https://apnews.com/article/science-health-coronavirus-pandemic-fac0863b8c252d21d6f6a22a2e3eab86 21st Jul 2021

Pfizer-BioNTech to produce COVID-19 jabs with S African company

AlJazeera Pfizer and BioNTech have said they struck a deal with South Africabased company Biovac for the production of COVID19 vaccines for the African Union AU. In a statement published on Wednesday the two companies said Cape Townbased Biovac will complete the last step in the manufacturing process known as fill and finish of the BioNTechPfizer vaccine. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/7/21/pfizer-biontech-to-produce-covid-19-jabs-with-s-african 21st Jul 2021

WHO chief backs Tokyo Olympics days before opening ceremony

AlJazeera Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus the head of the World Health Organization WHO has thrown his weight behind the pandemicdelayed Tokyo Olympics even as a surge in the Delta variant drives a resurgence of COVID19 around the world and the event faces continued opposition just days before the opening ceremony. Speaking to the International Olympic Committee IOC in Tokyo Ghebreyesus acknowledged the scale of the problem posed by the pandemic but drew parallels between the Olympic spirit and the need for governments and people around the world to work together to beat the virus. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/7/21/who-chief-backs-tokyo-olympics-as-first-events-begin 21st Jul 2021

Covid-19 antibodies detected in 67% of India’s population

The Guardian Covid19 antibodies have been detected in 67 of the population of India according to a new survey indicating how widely the virus spread through communities during the second wave. Indias fourth national serosurvey which examines the prevalence of Covid19 antibodies either through infection or vaccination found that 67.6 of the population of more than 1.3 billion has coronavirus antibodies. The survey also demonstrated the slow pace of Indias vaccination programme. Of those surveyed 62.2 had not been vaccinated 24.8 had taken one dose and 13 were fully vaccinated. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jul/21/covid-19-antibodies-detected-in-67-of-indias-population?utm_term=Autofeed&ampCMP=twt_gu&amputm_medium&amputm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1626848676 21st Jul 2021

With Biovac agreement, Pfizer and BioNTech extend their COVID-19 vaccine manufacturing network to Africa

FiercePharma Bypassing patent protections on coronavirus vaccines was one proposal floated in recent months to boost supplies in poor countries. But its not a shortterm solution and as some analysts suggest it may not even be a feasible one. For now the quickest and mostefficient way to supply lesser developed nations with vaccines is to leave it to the companies currently producing them and their regional partners experts have argued. One such partnership came together on Wednesday when Pfizer and BioNTech revealed that they will manufacture their codeveloped vaccine in South Africa with help from local producer Biovac. https://www.fiercepharma.com/pharma/agreement-biovac-pfizer-biontech-extend-their-covid-19-vaccine-manufacturing-network-to 21st Jul 2021

Johnson & Johnson eyes $2.5B in COVID vaccine sales as key immunology, oncology meds trounce expectations

FiercePharma Johnson Johnson certainly hasnt had the easiest COVID19 shot rollout. Still with sales predictions ranging in the billions and a series of manufacturing improvements ongoing the company sees its pandemic hustle as the start of a new era for an emerging vaccine business. Johnson Johnson is forecasting 2.5 billion in fullyear sales of its oneshot COVID19 vaccine company executives said Wednesday on a call with analysts. The vaccine pulled in 164 million for the second quarter and 264 million during the first six months of the year chief financial officer Joe Wolk said. With pandemic revenues in the mix the company anticipates between 93.8 billion and 94.6 billion in total sales for 2021. https://www.fiercepharma.com/pharma/johnson-johnson-eyes-2-5b-covid-vaccine-sales-as-it-embarks-new-vibrant-vaccine-business 21st Jul 2021

COVID-19 Vaccine Success Could Be Measured With One Number

The Atlantic The term correlate of protection doesnt exactly roll off the tongue but its one of the sexiest concepts in the field of vaccinology. Correlates are biological benchmarksmeasurements of a single immune molecule or cellthat can show that a vaccine is achieving its desired effect. With a correlate in hand researchers can confirm how well a shot is working and identify the rare individuals in whom it doesnt take they can suss out the need for boosters and fasttrack the development of new vaccines. At their most powerful correlates of protection boil down the complexities of an immune response to a single valueone that can confidently affirm that a person wont get infected or seriously sick. Its kind of a magic number Ali Ellebedy an immunologist at Washington University in St. Louis told me. Its the big holy grail Emory Universitys Sri Edupuganti says. Its what we dream about Cornells Sallie Permar told me last month. https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2021/07/correlates-of-protection-vaccine-immunity/619508/ 21st Jul 2021

Vietnam produces first batch of Russian COVID-19 vaccine

Reuters Vietnam has produced the first test batch of Sputnik V vaccine against COVID19 Russias RDIF sovereign wealth fund and Vietnamese pharmaceutical firm Vabiotech said on Wednesday as the Southeast Asian country battles its worst outbreak so far. The first validation samples taken from the batch will be shipped to the Gamaleya Center in Russia for quality control checks the fund and the company said in a joint statement. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/vietnam-produces-first-batch-russian-covid-19-vaccine-2021-07-21/ 21st Jul 2021

J&J forecasts $2.5 bln in COVID-19 vaccine sales this year

Reuters Johnson Johnson forecast 2.5 billion in 2021 sales for its COVID19 shot and set a lower production target for the vaccine as lengthy manufacturing problems took a toll. The company now expects to produce 500 million to 600 million doses of its oneshot vaccine this year Chief Financial Officer Joseph Wolk told CNBC on Wednesday down from its original goal to produce a billion shots this year. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/johnson-johnson-forecasts-25-bln-2021-sales-covid-19-shot-2021-07-21/ 21st Jul 2021

Nine in 10 adults across UK likely to have Covid-19 antibodies

Evening Standard A round nine in 10 adults in all parts of the UK are now likely to have Covid19 antibodies new figures suggest. The estimates range from 88.6 in Scotland to 92.6 in Wales with 90.0 for Northern Ireland and 91.9 for England. The presence of coronavirus antibodies suggests someone has had the infection in the past or has been vaccinated. It takes between two and three weeks after infection or vaccination for the body to make enough antibodies to fight the virus. https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/antibodies-office-for-national-statistics-northern-ireland-scotland-english-b946894.html 21st Jul 2021

UK records 96 more Covid-19 deaths - nearly double last Tuesday’s figure and the biggest since March 24

Evening Standard The UK has recorded another 46558 Covid19 cases while singleday deaths from the disease have jumped to 96 the highest figure since March. The latest infections tally is the biggest Tuesday figure since January 5 and brings the countrys total case load to 5519602. The sevenday rolling average of cases has jumped to beyond 45000 this week providing further evidence of the growing third wave of coronavirus infections sweeping the country. https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/uk-covid-cases-latest-daily-deaths-pandemic-public-health-england-b946753.html 21st Jul 2021

US life expectancy falls by more than a year due to Covid-19 pandemic, CDC study says

CNN Life expectancy in the United States fell by a year and a half in 2020 primarily due to increases in death due to the Covid19 pandemic according to early data released by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. U.S. life expectancy at birth for 2020 based on nearly final data was 77.3 years the lowest it has been since 2003 researchers at the CDCs National Center for Health Statistics wrote in a new report published on Wednesday. https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/21/health/life-expectancy-covid-19-pandemic-cdc-study-wellness/index.html 21st Jul 2021

SARS-CoV-2: Achilles' heel of viral RNA

Phys.org The scientists in the COVID19NMR consortium which is coordinated by Professor Harald Schwalbe from the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Chemical Biology at Goethe University have now completed an important first step in the development of such a new class of SARSCoV2 drugs. They have identified 15 short segments of the SARSCoV2 genome that are very similar in various coronaviruses and are known to perform essential regulatory functions. In the course of 2020 too these segments were very rarely affected by mutations. https://phys.org/news/2021-07-sars-cov-achilles-heel-viral-rna.html 21st Jul 2021

WHO leader says virus risk inevitable at Tokyo Olympics

The Associated Press The Tokyo Olympics should not be judged by the tally of COVID19 cases that arise because eliminating risk is impossible the head of the World Health Organization told sports officials Wednesday as events began in Japan. How infections are handled is what matters most WHO director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a speech to an International Olympic Committee meeting. The mark of success is making sure that any cases are identified isolated traced and cared for as quickly as possible and onward transmission is interrupted he said. The number of Gameslinked COVID19 cases in Japan this month was 79 on Wednesday with more international athletes testing positive at home and unable to travel. https://apnews.com/article/2020-tokyo-olympics-sports-health-tokyo-coronavirus-pandemic-3f14dab963daec8932f120bcdc9c3742 21st Jul 2021

South Korea reports record daily infections as Delta variant drives surge

Reuters South Korea reported a daily record of 1784 coronavirus cases for Tuesday breaking a mark set last week as the authorities struggled to get on top of a surge in outbreaks linked to the Delta variant. Transmission rates have been kept relatively low across the country despite no lockdowns thanks in part to aggressive testing and tracing but the fourth wave of infections is proving particularly hard to contain as the unvaccinated fall victim to the Delta strain. Genetic analysis of 2381 infections last week found nearly 40 were the Delta variant the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency KDCA said on Tuesday. More than half the total 1741 Delta variant cases since December were diagnosed last week. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/south-korea-reports-new-daily-record-1784-covid-19-cases-kdca-2021-07-21/ 21st Jul 2021

Turkey's virus cases nearly twice the low touched in early July

Reuters Turkeys daily coronavirus cases rose to 8780 on Tuesday nearly double a low water mark touched earlier this month while 46 new related deaths were logged according to the government tally. Infections remain well down from a wave in AprilMay when new COVID19 cases peaked above 60000. They fell to 4418 on July 4 in the wake of a stringent lockdown that ended in midMay. https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/turkeys-virus-cases-nearly-twice-low-touched-early-july-2021-07-20/ 21st Jul 2021

Americas are facing pandemic of the unvaccinated, PAHO says

Reuters The Americas are facing a pandemic of the unvaccinated the Pan American Health Organization PAHO said on Wednesday as it warned that countries with low inoculation rates are seeing increases in COVID19 and repeated a call for vaccine donations. We face a pandemic of the unvaccinated and the only way to stop it is to expand vaccination PAHO director Carissa Etienne said at a weekly briefing. Vaccines are critical even if no vaccine is 100 effective. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/americas-is-facing-pandemic-unvaccinated-paho-says-2021-07-21/ 21st Jul 2021

Covid-19: Businesses forced to close as staff are told to isolate

BBC News With most lockdown measures lifted in England businesses might finally be expecting things to be returning to normal. But many have had to temporarily close after their staff were either pinged and told to isolate by the NHS Covid19 Test and Trace app or contacted by NHS Test and Trace directly. How do owners feel about this latest blow to their livelihoods https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-beds-bucks-herts-57885623 21st Jul 2021

Delta variant is the majority COVID-19 variant in France, PM says

Reuters The Delta variant of the coronavirus that causes COVID19 is now the majority variant of the virus circulating in France French Prime Minister Jean Castex said on Wednesday. Castex told TF1 television that the major steps taken to tackle fourth wave of infections in the country have been settled upon by a cabinet meeting of the government. We are in the fourth wave Castex said. The Delta variant is the majority one it is more contagious he added https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/french-pm-covid-delta-variant-is-now-majority-covid-variant-france-2021-07-21/ 21st Jul 2021

More than 91 million live in US counties with high Covid-19 infections. It's time to reset and put masks back on, expert says

CNN With the highly contagious Delta variant spreading particularly among unvaccinated Americans it may be time for much of the country to put masks back on experts said. We are at a very different point in the pandemic than we were a month ago Dr. Leana Wen told CNN on Tuesday. And therefore we should follow the example of LA County and say that if there are places where vaccinated and unvaccinated people are mixing then indoor mask mandates should still apply. Los Angeles County reinstated a mask mandate over the weekend requiring masking indoors regardless of vaccination status. https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/21/health/us-coronavirus-wednesday/index.html 21st Jul 2021

Child cases of Covid-19 are rising as schools gear up to reopen. But vaccines for the youngest are still months away

CNN New Covid19 cases among children are back on the rise after months of declines just as schools across the United States are gearing up to reopen in a few weeks. The American Academy of Pediatrics AAP said Tuesday more than 23550 child cases of Covid were reported between July 8 and 15 nearly double what was being reported in late June. Child age ranges vary by state according to the groups most recent report with more than half of states defining children as anyone 19 or younger and two states Utah and Florida limiting the range to anyone 14 or younger. https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/20/health/covid-children-cases-schools-reopening/index.html 21st Jul 2021

Japan health experts warns rising COVID-19 cases could burden Tokyo medical system

Reuters Japanese health experts said on Wednesday there were concerns that rising COVID19 cases in Tokyo could add to the burden on the medical system and create delays in patient care. Extra caution is needed going into a fourday holiday as vacation times have previously been linked to infection spikes Takaji Wakita the head of the National Institute of Infectious Diseases told reporters after a meeting of health advisors to the government. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/japan-health-experts-warns-rising-covid-19-cases-could-burden-tokyo-medical-2021-07-21/ 21st Jul 2021

COVID-19: 100,000 will die of coronavirus globally between now and end of the Olympics, WHO chief predicts

Sky News More than 100000 people will die from COVID19 around the world between now and the end of the Olympic Games the head of the World Health Organization WHO has predicted. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a meeting of the International Olympic Committee IOC in Tokyo that the pandemic is a test and the world is failing. He also warned that anyone who thinks the pandemic is over because cases are under control in their country is living in a fools paradise. https://news.sky.com/story/covid-19-100-000-will-die-of-coronavirus-globally-between-now-and-the-end-of-the-olympics-who-chief-predicts-12360199 21st Jul 2021

More infectious Delta variant makes up 83% of new US coronavirus cases as vaccine hesitancy persists

CNN The more contagious Delta variant of coronavirus now makes up 83 of sequenced samples in the United States US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said Tuesday. This is a dramatic increase up from 50 for the week of July 3 Walensky said in a Senate committee hearing. Health experts have said the Delta variant is more transmissible than any other identified variant so far. We should think about the Delta variant as the 2020 version of Covid19 on steroids Andy Slavitt a former senior adviser to Joe Bidens Covid Response Team told CNN last week. https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/20/health/us-coronavirus-tuesday/index.html 21st Jul 2021

Vietnam produces first batch of Russian COVID-19 vaccine

Reuters Vietnam has produced the first test batch of Sputnik V vaccine against COVID19 Russias RDIF sovereign wealth fund and Vietnamese pharmaceutical firm Vabiotech said on Wednesday as the Southeast Asian country battles its worst outbreak so far. The first validation samples taken from the batch will be shipped to the Gamaleya Center in Russia for quality control checks the fund and the company said in a joint statement. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/vietnam-produces-first-batch-russian-covid-19-vaccine-2021-07-21/ 21st Jul 2021

Conservative media offers mixed messages on COVID-19 vaccine

The Associated Press When Dr. Alexa Mieses Malchuk talks to patients about the COVID19 vaccine she tries to feel out where they get their information from. Sometimes I feel like the education I have to provide depends on what news channel that they watch the doctor in Durham North Carolina said. The mixed messaging can come from the same media outlet and even the same source. On Fox News Channel on Monday host Sean Hannity looked straight into the camera to deliver a clear message It absolutely makes sense for many Americans to get vaccinated. I believe in science. I believe in the science of vaccinations. https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-health-government-and-politics-arts-and-entertainment-media-74f36fead348661aeba170422381a972 21st Jul 2021