Written by Steven Hansen
The U.S. new cases 7-day rolling average are 41.5 % HIGHER than the 7-day rolling average one week ago and U.S. deaths due to coronavirus are now 0.5 % HIGHER than the rolling average one week ago. Today’s posts include:
- U.S. Coronavirus New Cases are 8,591
- U.S. Coronavirus deaths are at 91
- Pfizer, Moderna Vaccines Possibly Linked to Rare Heart Inflammation: European Drug Regulator
- Common colds rising as pandemic restrictions ease
- Pfizer CEO Apologized for No Heads Up on Vaccine Booster Announcement
- There’s no evidence a Covid booster shot is necessary
- National Vaccine Committee chair says boosters will be a requirement, timing of them still fluid
- 90-year-old woman infected with UK and South African COVID-19 variants at the same time
- Cuba approves emergency use of own Abdala vaccine
- Hundreds of Thai health workers who received Sinovac shots infected with Covid-19
- Janet Yellen ‘Very Concerned’ at COVID Variants Threat to Recovery
- Biden urged to harden government for future pandemics
- Plus many more headlines …
include($_SERVER[‘DOCUMENT_ROOT’].’/pages/coronavirus1.htm’); ?>
Hospitalizations Are The Only Accurate Gauge
Hospitalizations historically appear to be little affected by weekends or holidays. The hospitalization growth rate trend continues to improve.
source: https://gis.cdc.gov/grasp/covidnet/COVID19_3.html
Historically, hospitalization growth follows new case growth by one to two weeks.
As an analyst, I use the rate of growth to determine the trend. But, the size of the pandemic is growing in terms of real numbers – and if the rate of growth does not become negative – the pandemic will overwhelm all resources.
The graph below shows the rate of growth relative to the growth a week earlier updated through today [note that negative numbers mean the rolling averages are LOWER than the rolling averages one week ago]. As one can see, the rate of growth for new cases peaked in early December 2020 for Thanksgiving, and early January 2021 for end-of-year holidays – and it now shows that the coronavirus effect is improving.
In the scheme of things, new cases decline first, followed by hospitalizations, and then deaths. The potential fourth wave did not materialize likely due to immunizations.
Coronavirus and Recovery News You May Have Missed
Econintersect published two summary articles for COVID news over the past week:
People Who Recover From COVID-19 at ‘Very Low Risk’ of Re-Infection: Study – Epoch Times
People who have contracted COVID-19 and recovered should know that the risk for re-infection is very low, a doctor said after a study he worked on was published.
Researchers analyzed records from Curative, a clinical laboratory based in San Dimas that specializes in COVID-19 testing and has during the pandemic been conducting routine workforce screening. None of the 254 employees who had COVID-19 and recovered became re-infected, while four of the 739 who were fully vaccinated contracted the disease.
“The big takeaway was that if you are not vaccinated, and were not previously infected, one, you have a very high risk getting infected—24 percent of employees over a year tested positive. However, on the flip side, if you were vaccinated or previously infected your risk was near zero,” Dr. Jeffrey Klausner, clinical professor of preventive medicine and medicine at the University of Southern California’s Keck School of Medicine, told The Epoch Times.
Klausner and Dr. Noah Kojima of the University of California, Los Angeles’ Department of Medicine joined with Curative workers to analyze the records. They released a pre-print, or pre-peer reviewed version of the study online this week.
Researchers found that of the 4,313 employees who were not previously infected or fully vaccinated, 254 became infected.
The findings add to the growing body of research that indicates people who had COVID-19 and recovered enjoy a similar level of protection as those who have gotten a vaccine, following a study in the United Kingdom and one by Cleveland Clinic researchers.
Pfizer, Moderna Vaccines Possibly Linked to Rare Heart Inflammation: European Drug Regulator – Newsweek
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) warned Friday that COVID-19 vaccines by Pfizer and Moderna are possibly linked to rare heart inflammation conditions, but emphasized that the benefits of being vaccinated continue to outweigh the risks.
The EMA said the heart conditions, myocarditis and pericarditis, must now be listed as side effects of the two mRNA vaccines, following an analysis of over 300 cases found in vaccinated individuals.
Myocarditis is inflammation of the heart muscle and pericarditis is the inflammation of the lining around the heart. Symptoms of both include chest pain, palpitations and shortness of breath.
In total, the European drug regulator reviewed more than 321 cases of myocarditis and pericarditis found in the European Union, Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein. Of those, the agency analyzed 145 cases of myocarditis and 138 cases of pericarditis linked to the BioNTech/Pfizer vaccine, and 19 cases of each condition linked to the Moderna vaccine, Politico reported.
The study found that the heart conditions mostly occurred within 14 days of inoculation and typically affected younger men. Most of the cases occurred after inoculation with Pfizer’s vaccine, the agency said, while noting that Pfizer’s vaccine has been used more widely across Europe than Moderna’s.
In response to the findings, Pfizer said in a statement that the cases were “generally mild” and individuals “tend to recover within a short time following standard treatment and rest.”
Pfizer CEO Apologized for No Heads Up on Vaccine Booster Announcement: Fauci – Forbes
Unless you follow the automotive market, you probably haven’t heard of Stellantis. In fact, the name didn’t exist publicly until the beginning of this year. But you will know the brands it encompasses. These include Fiat, Dodge, Chrysler, Alfa Romeo, Maserati, Citroen, Peugeot, Vauxhall, Opel, Lancia and Ram. On Thursday, Stellantis announced a huge bet on going electric. Can it really compete or is it already too late to join the EV revolution?
Stellantis was created from a merger between Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) and PSA Group, making it the 4th biggest automotive manufacturer in the world. The PSA Group has had some reasonably successful electric offerings already, mostly revolving around the same 50kWh battery and 136hp motor, which it has stuffed into everything from subcompact hatchbacks to large delivery vans, in all cases alongside fossil fuel variants of the same models. Similarly, Fiat just launched an electric version of the popular 500.
On Thursday, though, Stellantis had its first EV Day and announcements were both bullish and wide ranging. Dodge is pledging to become a vendor of “eMuscle” cars that “Tear up the streets, not the planet.” Alfa Romeo will allegedly become Alfa e-Romeo in 2024. Ram trucks, vans and pickups will be “Built to serve a sustainable planet.” Chrysler plans to deliver “Clean technology for a new generation of families.” Even Jeep is offering “Zero emission freedom.” Overall, Stellantis aims to make over 70% of its vehicles Low Emission in Europe by 2030, and 40% in the USA.
These are all fine slogans and intentions, but it is the technological and business strategy underpinning all of them that really grabs the attention. Stellantis plans to invest more than €30 billion ($35 billion) through 2025 in electrification and software. It is aiming to have three gigafactories by 2025 producing over 80GWh of batteries in the EU and 50GWh of batteries in the US by 2025, rising to over 170GWh in Europe and 90GWh in the US by 2030. However, to put that in perspective, Tesla promised 3TWh of battery production capacity by 2030 at its last Battery Day.
[editor’s note: also read Pfizer to brief US health officials on coronavirus booster shot: report]
There’s no evidence a Covid booster shot is necessary, says Dr. Ashish Jha – CNBC
There’s no need for Covid booster doses right now, the dean of Brown University’s School of Public Health said Friday, as highly transmissible, new variants test the protections of the available vaccines.
“Let me tell you where we are: the data is very clear, if you’ve gotten your two shots of Moderna or Pfizer or single shot of J&J, you have a very high level of protection against all variants, including delta,” said Dr. Ashish Jha. “I have not seen any evidence, so far, that anybody needs a third shot.”
Jha’s comments come after Pfizer and BioNTech announced Thursday that they are developing a Covid-19 booster shot intended to target the delta variant. Company officials say another shot may be needed because immunity from the vaccine appears to wane over time.
On CNBC’s “The News with Shepard Smith,” Jha underscored the importance of waiting for the data when it comes to a booster shot.
“If that evidence emerges, and obviously we’re going to want to take that into consideration, in my mind, I think there’s little likelihood that we’re going to need third shots for most people,” Jha said.
National Vaccine Committee chair says boosters will be a requirement, timing of them still fluid – CNN
Booster shots for Covid-19 will be a requirement, however, the timing of such is not yet set in stone, according to Dr. Robert Hopkins, National Vaccine Committee Chair for the Dept. of Health and Human Services and chief of the Division of General Internal Medicine at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS).
Hopkins spoke with CNN at a pop-up vaccine clinic in Little Rock, Arkansas, Saturday afternoon.
“We are going to need boosters at some point, but right now we really don’t know when that’s going to be, or how we’re going to have to target that strategy about boosters,” Dr. Hopkins said.
“We know that the vaccines we have available right now are very effective at preventing both the variant viruses that we’re seeing, as well as what I call traditional COVID,” Hopkins told CNN. “Those vaccines don’t prevent all infections, but they’re really pretty effective at preventing infection, and they’re very effective at preventing severe infection, leading to hospitalization or morbidity, so I’m pretty comfortable that we’re doing pretty well with our current vaccines, I know that at some point we’ll need to have those, those boosters, but we need to answer a number of questions between now and then.”
Hopkins thinks that full FDA approval of the vaccines would help the cause.
Cuba approves emergency use of own Abdala vaccine – DW
Cuba on Friday approved its homemade Abdala coronavirus vaccine for emergency use.
The communist country is the first country in Latin America and the Caribbean to successfully develop a coronavirus vaccine.
The Cuban health regulator, CECMED, approved the shot after the manufacturers announced last month that their vaccine was more than 92% effective against COVID-19 infections when three doses were given.
What are the Cuban vaccines?
The Abdala vaccine is one of a total of five candidate vaccines in Cuba, according to authorities there. Another, the two-dose Soberana 2, is also expected to be soon authorized for emergency use by CECMED.
Both vaccines are then to be sent up for approval to the World Health Organization.
Abdala and Soberana 2 both employ a traditional approach by using a part of the virus’s spike protein to build up the immune reaction. Such vaccines do not require extremely low storage temperatures as mRNA vaccines generally do, making them easier to deploy. They are also cheaper to develop.
Cuba already produces 80% of vaccines used in the country and exports some of them.
90-year-old woman infected with UK and South African COVID-19 variants at the same time – EurekAlert
Researchers in Belgium report on the case of a 90-year-old woman who was simultaneously infected with two different variants of concern (VOCs) of COVID-19, in a Case Report being presented at the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases (ECCMID) held online this year.
On March 3 2021, the woman, whose medical history was unremarkable, was admitted to the OLV Hospital in the Belgian city of Aalst after a spate of falls. She tested positive for COVID-19 on the same day. She lived alone and received nursing care at home, and had not been vaccinated against COVID-19.
Initially, there were no signs of respiratory distress and the patient had good oxygen saturation. However, she developed rapidly worsening respiratory symptoms, and died five days later.
When the patient’s respiratory sample was tested for VOCs with PCR, they discovered that she had been infected by two different strains of the virus–one which originated in the UK, known as B.1.1.7 (Alpha), and another that was first detected in South Africa (B.1.351; Beta).
The presence of both strains was confirmed by PCR on a second respiratory sample, by sequencing of the S-gene and by whole genome sequencing.
“This is one of the first documented cases of co-infection with two SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern”, says lead author and molecular biologist Dr Anne Vankeerberghen from the OLV Hospital in Aalst, Belgium. “Both these variants were circulating in Belgium at the time, so it is likely that the lady was co-infected with different viruses from two different people. Unfortunately, we don’t know how she became infected.”
Biden urged to harden government for future pandemics – The Hill
Public health experts are urging the Biden administration to harden the federal government for future crises, warning that the U.S. is not prepared for the next pandemic.
The White House says it is laser-focused on bolstering the government’s ability to respond to another coronavirus-like outbreak. But doing so will require ample funding from Congress to help agencies react as quickly and effectively as possible to prevent a loss of life similar to COVID-19, which has killed more than 4 million people globally and more than 600,000 Americans.
Experts have said the U.S. was caught flat-footed by the coronavirus pandemic due to years of inadequate investments in public health infrastructure. The rapid spread of cases along with pressure on hospitals and clinical laboratories exposed critical weaknesses.
Emergency funding has helped public health agencies fight the coronavirus, but unless that level of spending can be sustained, the country is considered in danger of repeating the same mistakes.
“I just think it would be sort of foolhardy to not realize that this can happen again and take some action,” said Marcus Plescia, chief medical officer of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials. “So far, that’s borne out. There’s been huge, huge resources put out to public health. It’s just, we need to stay the course for a few years to really see some of these improvements along.”
Biden administration officials are in the midst of reviewing the nation’s biopreparedness policies, the result of an executive order the president issued on his first day in office.
The order also restored a global health security office that the Trump administration had consolidated.
Janet Yellen ‘Very Concerned’ at COVID Variants Threat to Recovery – Newsweek
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has said she is “very concerned” about the risk that new coronavirus variants could pose to the global economic recovery from the pandemic.
“We are very concerned about the Delta variant and other variants that could emerge and threaten recovery,” she told reporters following a G20 meeting in Venice, Italy, on Sunday, according to Agence France-Presse.
“We are a connected global economy, what happens in any part of the world affects all other countries.”
In remarks at a press conference following the meeting, Yellen said representatives from the Group of 20 countries had discussed how to work together to address a range of global challenges, including putting an end to the pandemic.
“Right now, the best way to fight this pandemic is more equitable vaccine distribution worldwide and more fiscal policy support where feasible,” Yellen said.
She said that while the United States has made “significant” progress rolling out COVID vaccines, “we know that the pandemic is far from under control” in many parts of the world, including low-income nations.
“And as long as the virus continues to spread, we’re all still at risk,” she said. “To that end, the United States has pledged to share 580 million vaccine doses, and I’ve strongly urged my G20 counterparts to step up their support.”
Common colds rising as pandemic restrictions ease – USA Today
After a historically mild flu season, a resurgence of common colds and other viruses in New Jersey signals what might be in store for the rest of the country as pandemic restrictions continue to be eased.
While influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) dipped to record lows during the pandemic, the state health department in New Jersey said the overall level of respiratory viruses has been “higher than would typically be expected for this time of year.”
“We’re in a different world now,” said Dr. Ashwin Jathavedam, an internist with Leonia Medical Associates and chief of infectious diseases at Englewood Health. “Most of these are mild infections, things that, pre-pandemic, you wouldn’t have thought twice about.”
Increased testing to rule out COVID-19 has detected viruses that previously might have been shrugged off. And the relaxation of social-distancing requirements and reduction of mask-wearing have brought back conditions that enable viruses to flourish.
Hundreds of Thai health workers who received Sinovac shots infected with Covid-19 – South China Morning News
- Over 600 medical workers who had two doses of China’s Sinovac vaccine were infected with Covid-19, as health authorities consider booster shots
- Meanwhile, Thailand has imposed a ban on gatherings of more than five people and an overnight curfew to quell the Covid-19 outbreak
The following are foreign headlines with hyperlinks to the posts
EU reaches 70 percent vaccine delivery goal for adults
Pandemic leaves thousands of Indian orphans in its wake.
Asian countries tighten restrictions amid COVID-19 surges
Vietnam to expand movement curbs as coronavirus cases hit record high
Netherlands reimposes restrictions on nightclubs and restaurants due to rise in Covid-19 cases
Coronavirus cases in the Netherlands surge more than 800% in one week
Covid 19 coronavirus: Why Sydney’s lockdown isn’t driving down cases
What Sweden’s Covid failure tells us about ageism
The following additional national and state headlines with hyperlinks to the posts
The virus is down — but not out. Death rates are as low as they have been since the early days of the pandemic. But reports of new cases are starting to creep up as the Delta variant has seeded outbreaks in some places with low vaccination rates.
Over 31 million people are under heat advisories in the third heat wave to sweep through the West this summer. Temperatures in California’s Death Valley soared to 130 degrees on Friday. Forecasters are also monitoring looming thunderstorms that could bring lightning strikes and fire risk.
House Republicans Call for Comprehensive Audit of Pandemic-Related Unemployment Insurance Fraud
Biden Administration Halts Detention of Most Pregnant, Postpartum Illegal Immigrants
Pfizer CEO Apologized for No Heads Up on Vaccine Booster Announcement: Fauci
Nurse Blows the Whistle on the Medical Industry: ‘They’re Not Offering Informed Consent’
Arkansas reports more than 1,000 COVID-19 cases for third straight day
White House Blasts Door-to-door Vax Critics ‘Doing Disservice’ to Country
Leon Panetta Pushes Biden to Mandate COVID-19 Vaccines for Military
Fourth Stimulus Check Update: Petition for Monthly Payment Gains Momentum
Carnival Cruise Line is providing an alternative to unvaccinated cruise-goers. Beginning July 31, unvaccinated individuals over the age of 12 who are departing from Florida will only have to show proof of a travel insurance policy in order to board ships.
Today’s Posts On Econintersect Showing Impact Of The Pandemic and Recovery With Hyperlinks
June 2021 Monthly Budget Review: Year-to-Date Spending $2 Trillion More Than Two Years Ago
How Much Did The CARES Act Help Households Stay Afloat?
What The Trimmed Mean Says About Future Inflation: Broadening Price Pressures Ahead
Why Is The U.S. Lagging In Adopting Mobile Payments?
Coronavirus Disease Weekly News 11July 2021
Coronavirus Economic Weekly News 11July 2021
Warning to Readers
The amount of politically biased articles on the internet continues. And studies and opinions of the experts continue to contradict other studies and expert opinions. Honestly, it is difficult to believe anything anymore.
I assemble this update daily – sifting through the posts on the internet. I try to avoid politically slanted posts. This daily blog is not an echo chamber for any party line – and will publish controversial topics unless there are clear reasons why the topic is false. And I usually publish conflicting topics. It is my job to provide information so that you have the facts necessary – and then it is up to readers to draw conclusions. It is not my job to sell any point of view.
Analyst Opinion of Coronavirus Data
There are several takeaways that need to be understood when viewing coronavirus statistical data:
- The global counts are suspect for a variety of reasons including political. Even the U.S. count has issues as it is possible that as much as half the population has had coronavirus and was asymptomatic. It would be a far better metric using a random sampling of the population weekly. In short, we do not understand the size of the error in the tracking numbers.
- Just because some of the methodology used in aggregating the data in the U.S. is flawed – as long as the flaw is uniformly applied – you establish a baseline. This is why it is dangerous to compare two countries as they likely use different methodologies to determine who has (and who died) from coronavirus.
- Older population countries will have a significantly higher death rate as there is relatively few hospitalizations and deaths in younger age groups..
What we do or do not know about the coronavirus [actually there is little scientifically proven information]. Most of our knowledge is anecdotal, from studies with limited subjects, or from studies without peer review.
- How many people have been infected as many do not show symptoms?
- Masks do work. Unfortunately, early in the pandemic, many health experts — in the U.S. and around the world — decided that the public could not be trusted to hear the truth about masks. Instead, the experts spread a misleading message, discouraging the use of masks.
- Current thinking is that we develop at least 12 months of immunity from further COVID infection.
- The Moderna and Pfizer vaccines have an effectiveness rate of about 95 percent after two doses. That is on par with the vaccines for chickenpox and measles. The 95 percent number understates the effectiveness as it counts anyone who came down with a mild case of Covid-19 as a failure.
- To what degree do people who never develop symptoms contribute to transmission? Research early in the pandemic suggested that the rate of asymptomatic infections could be as high as 81%. But a meta-analysis, which included 13 studies involving 21,708 people, calculated the rate of asymptomatic presentation to be 17%.
- The accuracy of rapid testing is questioned – and the more accurate test results are not being given in a timely manner.
- Can children widely spread coronavirus? [current thinking remains that they are a minor source of the pandemic spread]
- Why have some places avoided big coronavirus outbreaks – and others hit hard?
- Air conditioning contributes to the pandemic spread.
- It appears that there is increased risk of infection and mortality for those living in larger occupancy households.
include(“/home/aleta/public_html/files/ad_openx.htm”); ?>
