USA still in severe outbreak but data trends in right direction
Hospitalization rates remain high even as case count starts to show slow but steady improvement.
Another busy day, with lots of action on many fronts.
Covid cases and deaths are trending down consistently for the first time in four months, according to the Covid Tracking Project. The group also is seeing a significant decline in severe local outbreaks, though many communities have very severe Covid outbreaks. Hospitalization rates also remain high, even though they are declining.
Another variant confirmed in the USA: The B.1.351 strain first identified in South Africa is circulating in the United States. Officials in South Carolina detected this strain in two unrelated Covid-19 patients who had not traveled. This indicates “community spread,” meaning it's likely too late to isolate the virus and control it quickly.
New York State “severely undercounted” Covid-19 deaths from nursing home outbreaks, says the state's Attorney General Leticia James. The discrepancy may in part result from how deaths that occurred after patients were transferred to hospitals are counted. Normally, a nursing home death only includes deaths that occur physically at the long term care facility.
European health officials are feuding with vaccine makers as they struggle with short supplies and other issues. Germany will limit the AstraZeneca vaccine to those under 65, citing inadequate safety data in older people. The vaccine maker disagrees.
Those are the top stories for now. Keep those faces covered, please.