Vaccine progress but widely varied state to state

Nine states get one shot to at least 70%, while few states reach 50% fully vaccinated

The USA is approaching 40% of the population fully vaccinated, according to the latest CDC data. An average of 1.8 million doses have been administered each day in the last week.

• Consistent with prior weeks, the gap between most vaccinated and least vaccinated areas is widening - looking much like a map of political views and electoral trends. For county-by-county info, visit the CDC data tracker.

• The New York Times reports that colleges requiring vaccinations before students return to campus appear to align with political lines, too.

• Nine states have given at least one shot to 70% of their populations.

This chart shows variations from state to state. Within each state, variation by county is also dramatic.

Two doses of COVID-19 vaccines are highly effective at protecting against COVID-19, including the highly infectious strain circulating in India, according a study led by British health authorities and reported by CNBC. The study examined the Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines. One dose of either was 33% effective. Two doses of the Pfizer vaccine was 93% effective against the B.1.1.7 (UK) variant and 88% against the B.1.617.2 (India) variant. The AstraZeneca vaccine was 66% and 60% effective against the two variants, respectively. The B.1.1.7 variant has caused more than 20,000 cases in all 50 US states.

Three lab workers in Wuhan, China, sought treatment for symptoms consistent with Covid-19 in November 2019, according to an intelligence report cited by The Wall Street Journal.

“We con­tinue to have se­ri­ous ques­tions about the ear­li­est days of the Covid-19 pan­demic, in­clud­ing its ori­gins within the Peo­ple’s Re­pub­lic of China,” said a spokes­woman for the Na­tional Se­cu­rity Coun­cil, according to The Wall Street Journal.

In case you missed it, this report for the World Health Organization documented the scientific communication that occurred in December 2019 and January 2020 before China officials blocked communications and denied the severity of the outbreak. Read more in my May 12 edition.

Without high vaccine coverage, schools can avoid COVID-19 risk by a combination of masks and improved ventilation. “Before the availability of COVID-19 vaccines, the incidence of COVID-19 was 37% lower in schools that required mask use among teachers and staff members and was 39% lower in schools that reported implementing one or more strategies to improve classroom ventilation,” according to a CDC report based on elementary schools in Georgia.

For high schools, a comprehensive COVID-19 testing strategy can help schools isolate infected students and prevent further spread, says another CDC report analyzing Utah’s program to test student athletes.

The FAA has imposed fines as high as around $10,000 against passengers cited for failing to wear masks on board commercial airplanes.

The CDC shared that it has received some reports of heart inflammation among people who have been vaccinated against COVID-19. However, the number is the same as would be expected in the same number of unvaccinated people, and experts say the risk of COVID-19 is far greater.

For a detailed analysis of how some of the COVID-19 misinformation has been spread - and purported to be “science” - check out this article by Dr. David Gorski, who has been actively fighting pseudo-science for years.