Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, again urged Americans not to let their guard down as the pandemic wears on, ticking off increases in the seven-day average for coronavirus cases and hospitalizations.
During a White House briefing, Walensky said the agency’s most recent data shows the seven-day average of new cases is just under 62,000 cases per day, which she said marked a nearly 12 percent spike from the prior seven-day period. Hospitalizations are also increasing, she said, with the seven-day average at 4,900 admissions per day, up from 4,600 a day in the previous seven-day period.
“This is a critical moment in our fight against the pandemic,” Walensky said. “As we see increases in cases, we can’t afford to let our guard down. We are so close, so very close, to getting back to the everyday activities we all miss so much. But we’re not quite there yet.”
Here are some significant developments:
- Johnson & Johnson acknowledged Wednesday evening a New York Times report that a Baltimore plant run by Emergent BioSolutions mixed up two vaccines’ ingredients for about 15 million doses of the company’s vaccine. The drug giant said a batch “that did not meet quality standards” was identified and halted during the manufacturing process.
- The Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine was safe and effective in adolescents as young as 12, the drug companies announced. The news signals that vaccines are on the way for children, but it will take time.
- Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) asked the White House on Tuesday to consider rushing coronavirus vaccine doses to hard-hit parts of the country, including her state, rather than allocating vaccines based on population. She was rebuffed.
- World Health Organization Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus questioned whether China has been transparent enough about the coronavirus’s origins and suggested that more research may be needed.
- Chancellor Angela Merkel said Germany will halt the use of Oxford-AstraZeneca’s vaccine for people under 60 over concerns that it is causing rare but occasionally deadly blood clots.
- Republicans are opening a new front in the pandemic culture wars, attacking efforts by the Biden administration to develop guidelines for coronavirus vaccination passports.
- With the average number of deaths over the past seven days rising 9 percent, the total number of fatalities in the United States reached 551,000.
Créditos: Comité científico Covid
