California to reopen June 15; fewer deaths but more cases

California plans to drop its tier system and open up the state June 15 if vaccine provide stays regular and coronavirus metrics proceed to decline, officers stated Tuesday. Everyday actions shall be allowed and companies will open with “common-sense risk-reduction measures,” state Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly stated.

“Our hospitalizations have been steadily decreasing for months,” he stated.  “We have consistently low and improving metrics.”

In New York City, Mayor Bill de Blasio introduced the launch of cellular vaccination groups armed with one-shot, Johnson & Johnson vaccines that can goal a number of the hardest-to-reach New Yorkers. The vans and buses shall be geared up with 4 to six vaccinators every, bringing doses to communities most in want, together with neighborhoods recognized by the town’s Task Force for Racial Inclusion and Equity as being hardest-hit by the virus and histories of socio-economic disparity.

“We’re doing all we can to get as many shots in arms as possible,” de Blasio stated. “We’re going above and beyond to reach every New Yorker … to help our city recover one dose at a time.”

Also within the information:

►President Joe Biden moved up to April 19 his deadline for states to make all U.S. adults eligible for a coronavirus vaccine, he introduced Tuesday at a vaccination web site in Alexandria, Virginia. Biden beforehand had stated that 90% of adults could be eligible by April 19 – and have a vaccination web site inside 5 miles – and all by May 1.

►Schools in Toronto, Canada’s largest metropolis, will shut down Wednesday and transfer to online studying due to a 3rd surge of coronavirus infections fueled by more variants. The province of Ontario, the place Toronto is the capital, has been reporting more than 3,000 new infections a day in latest days.

►Not a single oceangoing cruise ship has departed with passengers from a U.S. port up to now yr: For more, try this USA TODAY story about how COVID-19 has devastated the cruise business.

►New York and Maryland on Tuesday joined the rising checklist of states permitting anybody over 16 to join COVID-19 vaccinations. Twelve states joined the checklist Monday.

►New analysis means that safety from the Moderna vaccine lasts no less than six months. The report Tuesday within the New England Journal of Medicine echoes what Pfizer stated final week about its vaccine.

📈 Today’s numbers: The U.S. has more than 30.8 million confirmed coronavirus cases and 556,400 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University data. The international totals: More than 132.2 million cases and a couple of.87 million deaths. At least 219 million vaccine doses have been distributed within the U.S. and 168.5 million have been administered, according to the CDC. 

📘 What we’re studying:  People throughout the nation spoke with USA TODAY about their feelings after getting the COVID-19 vaccine. Here are their stories.

USA TODAY is monitoring COVID-19 information. Keep refreshing this web page for the most recent updates. Want more? Sign up for our Coronavirus Watch newsletter for updates to your inbox and join our Facebook group.

Will you get a vaccine shot April 19? Probably not, but probably quickly after

President Joe Biden’s new pledge to make each U.S. grownup eligible for a COVID-19 vaccine by April 19 comes with an enormous query: Will there be enough doses available?

Experts count on a mad scramble at first as thousands and thousands beforehand denied entry to vaccines by precedence necessities seek for appointments to get the photographs. But that crush figures to give means to a vaccine surplus as provide will increase considerably within the coming weeks. The U.S. reached a single-day excessive with 4.1 million vaccinations Saturday.

“Very quickly, really in a matter of weeks after each state moves to open eligibility, we’re going to shift to a very different phase in the vaccine rollout where we will have plenty of doses available,’’ said Jason L. Schwartz, assistant professor of health policy at Yale University.

– Jorge L. Ortiz

Put down the Lysol, disinfectant probably isn’t needed, CDC says

The run on Lysol and other disinfectants may finally be over. Disinfection to reduce transmission of COVID-19 at home is probably not needed unless someone in the home is sick or someone with COVID-19 has been in the home within 24 hours, the CDC says in new guidance. Cleaning with a household cleaner that contains soap or detergent reduces the amount of germs on surfaces and, in most situations, removes most virus particles on surfaces, the guidance says. 

“Clean high-touch surfaces repeatedly (for instance, every day) and after you’ve got guests in your house,” the guidance says.

Researchers identify ‘double mutant’ virus variant in California

At least one case of a COVID-19 variant that contains two worrisome mutations has been documented in California. It’s called a “double mutant” because the spike protein of the virus contains two mutations – one that is found in a variant tied to California and another that is commonly found in a variants tied to South Africa and Brazil, said Dr. Benjamin Pinsky, the medical director of the Clinical Virology Laboratory for Stanford Health Care.

“So far we’ve sequenced one case, and confirmed that indeed it is one of these variants – these ‘double mutant’ variants – that was recently identified out of India,” Pinsky said in an interview with ABC7 News Bay Area.

The effect of combining the two mutations in a single virus variant has not been well documented, but both of the mutations are believed to be more transmissible, Pinsky said. Vaccines, however, are expected to continue to be effective at preventing severe illness.

– Joel Shannon

Fewer are dying from the virus, more are testing positive

Americans are now dying of COVID-19 at less than half the pace they were a month ago, a USA TODAY analysis of Johns Hopkins University data shows. The 5,453 U.S. deaths from the disease in the week ending Monday is down from 12,263 who died in one week a month earlier – and down from 21,383 in one week just two months ago. 

Experts says the U.S. vaccination effort largely aimed at the most vulnerable people is helping curb fatalities. But the news isn’t all good – the U.S. continues to report high levels of cases. The 452,636 cases reported in the week ending Monday was up 20% from two weeks earlier.

– Mike Stucka

3 vaccinated people have died from the virus in Michigan

Michigan public health officials say 246 people tested positive for the coronavirus two weeks or more after becoming fully vaccinated – and three have died. Lynn Sutfin, spokeswoman for the state health department, told USA TODAY in an email that the positive tests represent a small fraction of 1% of the 1.7 million vaccinated across the state. Two of the three deaths occurred within three weeks of completing the vaccine, she said. All three were 65 or older.

“While the majority of the population develops full immunity within 14 days of completion of their vaccine series, a small proportion appear to take longer to mount a full antibody response,” Sutfin wrote.

California, after winter surge, now has lowest COVID-19 rate in US

California now has the lowest coronavirus infection rate in the country – months after the state saw a winter surge that made it the epicenter of the pandemic.

Gov. Gavin Newsom bragged on Twitter concerning the low an infection charge. The Golden State is the one one within the nation with a charge underneath 2%, in accordance to knowledge launched by the Department of Health and Human Services for the final week in March. The state noticed a 1.7% positivity charge.

Los Angeles County, similarly, has seen drastic drops in the number of COVID cases after the area – the most populous county in the country – became overwhelmed with COVID-19 cases over the winter. 

At the start of the pandemic, California was applauded for its quick actions to curb the spread of the virus, but the strict measures quickly became unpopular. The frustration grew over the winter when the state saw a sudden surge in cases. At one point, California had a nearly 20% positivity rate. The grievances led to more support of a recall effort against the governor.  A total of 1.2 million people have contracted COVID-19 in the state and more than 23,000 people have died. 

Contributing: The Associated Press

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