AP EXPLAINER: Why India is shattering global infection records
India is massive — it’s the world’s second-most populous country with nearly 1.4 billion people — and its size presents extraordinary challenges to fighting COVID-19.
Some 2.7 million vaccine doses are given daily, but that’s still less than 10% of its people who’ve gotten their first shot. Overall, India has confirmed 15.9 million cases of infection, the second highest after the United States, and 184,657 deaths.
The latest surge has driven India’s fragile health systems to the breaking point : Understaffed hospitals are overflowing with patients. Medical oxygen is in short supply. Intensive care units are full. Nearly all ventilators are in use, and the dead are piling up at crematoriums and graveyards.
Authorities were lulled into believing the worst was behind them when cases started to recede in September.
Cases dipped for 30 consecutive weeks before starting to rise in mid-February, and experts say the country failed to seize the opportunity to augment healthcare infrastructure and aggressively vaccinate.
They also did not stop religious festivals or recent elections; these events may have exacerbated the situation.
And the way that India’s healthcare system is (under)funded has a lot to do with things too.
Not exactly breaking news but I think this article presents the information well and that people are interested in knowing: How long does protection from COVID-19 vaccines last?
Magiver
April 22, 2021, 2:37pm
1176
In a very short time span we’ve gone from hard-to-get vaccine signup to advertising for empty spaces on upcoming events. We’re now basically begging people to sign up.
Good news: COVID-19 hospitalizations tumble among US senior citizens.
COVID-19 hospitalizations among older Americans have plunged 80% since the start of the year, dramatic proof the vaccination campaign is working. Now the trick is to get more of the nation’s younger people to roll up their sleeves.
The drop-off in severe cases among people 65 and older is so dramatic that the hospitalization rate among this highly vaccinated group is now down to around the level of the next-youngest category, Americans 50 to 64.
That slide is especially encouraging because senior citizens have accounted for about 8 out of 10 deaths from COVID-19 since the virus hit the United States.
Overall, COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. have plummeted to about 700 per day on average, compared with a peak of over 3,400 in mid-January. All told, the scourge has killed about 570,000 Americans.
According to U.S. government statistics, hospitalizations are down 60% overall, but most dramatically among senior citizens, who have been eligible for shots the longest and have enthusiastically received them.
Two-thirds of American senior citizens are fully vaccinated, versus just one-third of all U.S. adults. Over 80% of senior citizens have gotten at least one shot, compared with just over 50% among all adults.
The hospitalization rate among those 65 and over is about 14 people per 100,000 population, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported, citing a surveillance system that gathers data from over 250 hospitals in 14 states.
At the same time, however, overall demand for vaccinations in the U.S. seems to be slipping, even as shots have been thrown open to all adults across the country. The average number of doses administered per day appeared to fall in mid-April from 3.2 million to 2.9 million, according to CDC figures.
Magiver
April 22, 2021, 7:28pm
1178
Looks like April 19th was a bad day. Tons of countries put on the US Department of State Level 3 Advisory list. European countries going back on lockdown. On the plus side it looks like Novavax’s more traditional vaccine will be approved in the UK and Canada soon and a good chance (fingers crossed) in the US in May
Deeg
April 22, 2021, 7:46pm
1180
The NY Times says 41% and they’re quoting the CDC, too. I wonder why the difference? Either way, it’s still going up.
NYT reports % of total population. 41% of the total population is equivalent (roughly) to 50% of the adult population.
Deeg
April 22, 2021, 8:41pm
1182
I’m not sure that’s it; the blurb at the bottom says it’s
Pct. of residents age 18+ …
Maybe it’s citizens vs. residents? That might make sense.
They report by county with 18+ but also by county “total”. And those numbers are “fully vaccinated.”
The 50% (half of all adults) mentioned above is “at least one dose”
A scientific paper claiming that smoking made you less likely to get covid has been retracted after two of the paper’s authors turned out to have financial connections with the tobacco industry.
And somehow, I’m not shocked. That was a baffling conclusion, with or without Covid.
Magiver
April 23, 2021, 2:31am
1186
The 50% of adults is based on at least 1 vaccine shot and not full inoculation…
145,344,801 total cases
In the US:
32,669,121 total cases
Yesterday’s numbers for comparison:
Snowboarder_Bo:
144,442,942 total cases
In the US:
32,602,051 total cases
Worldwide new cases per day is approaching 900,000.
U.S. Vaccine Advisory Panel Recommends Restarting Use of J&J’s Covid-19 Shot U.S. Lifts Pause on J&J’s Covid-19 Vaccine - WSJ
They did find some additional cases, but it remains very rare, based on the data collected.
All the cases were in women, including three who died and seven who remain in the hospital. The 15 cases include the six cases of blood clots previously identified by officials in women between the ages of 18 and 48. The 15 cases were identified among nearly 8 million doses of the vaccine administered as of April 21.
Looks like they are still investigating cases. The article says so far all identified cases have been in women, but they are still investigating some cases in men.
If they do only occur in women, then we need to know how many women have gotten the vaccine to have the right number for determining risk.