Monday, August 9, 2021 | Kaiser Health News

Fox News:
Fauci: Allowing Virus To Replicate Could Make ‘Worse Variant’ That ‘Could Impact The Vaccinated’

Dr. Anthony Fauci has warned that allowing the coronavirus delta variant to circulate freely among unvaccinated individuals could lead to a more potent variant that could harm even vaccinated individuals. The delta variant has already given rise to a small variant known as “delta plus” variant that has a spike protein mutation that may cause it to spread faster. So far, the variant has appeared in only a few cases in several countries, but the original delta variant rapidly spread through the United States and became the dominant strain after only a few months. (Aitken, 8/8)

CNN:
Covid-19 Variants That Evade Protection Could Emerge In The US If More People Don’t Get Vaccinated, Fauci Says 

Covid-19 vaccines are protecting more than half the US population from current strains, experts say. But if too few people get vaccinated, the virus will be allowed to continue to spread — and the result could be an even more dangerous variant, Dr. Anthony Fauci said. “Then all of us who are protected against delta may not be protected against zaida (zeta),” the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases said in a Q&A with USA Today published Sunday. (Holcombe, 8/9)

In updates on transmission and reinfection —

Reuters:
Early Signs COVID-19 Vaccines May Not Stop Delta Transmission, England Says 

There are early signs that people who have been vaccinated against COVID-19 may be able to transmit the Delta variant of the virus as easily as those who have not, scientists at Public Health England (PHE) said on Friday. The findings chime with those from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which last week raised concerns that vaccinated people infected with Delta could, unlike with other variants, readily transmit it. (8/6)

Fox News:
Unvaccinated Individuals Twice As Likely To Face COVID-19 Reinfection: CDC Study

A new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) study found that unvaccinated individuals who have had COVID-19 are twice as likely to face reinfection as individuals who have received the vaccine. The study, published as part of the agency’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), examined hundreds of residents, finding that the unvaccinated individuals had 2.34 times greater odds of reinfection compared with fully vaccinated individuals. (Aitken, 8/6)

The Boston Globe:
Vaccinated People Can Spread The Delta Variant. But Experts Disagree Whether Those Without Symptoms Should Be Tested

Edy Rees had a sore throat. Two years ago, even a month ago, such a minor symptom would not have seemed portentous. But late last month the 78-year-old Roslindale resident was worried about COVID-19. Scientists have recently discovered that even vaccinated people with mild symptoms may spread the coronavirus. Rees, who is fully vaccinated, spends a lot of time with a sick sister, and she wanted to know if she was at risk of infecting her vulnerable sibling. So Rees joined the thousands of people in Massachusetts — 50 percent more than a month ago — who are seeking COVID-19 tests. And she found it more complicated than expected. (Freyer and Lyons, 8/8)

In other news about the delta variant —

The Washington Post:
Delta Defeats Other Variants As Scientists Race To Understand Its Tricks

The variant battle in the United States is over. Delta won. Since late last year, the country has been overrun by a succession of coronavirus variants, each with its own suite of mutations conferring slightly different viral traits. For much of this year, the alpha variant — officially known as B.1.1.7 and first seen in the United Kingdom — looked like the clear winner, accounting for the majority of cases by April. In second place was iota, B.1.526, first seen in New York City. A few others made the rogue’s gallery of variants: gamma, beta, epsilon. (Achenbach, Johnson, Sun and Shammas, 8/8)

CNBC:
Companies Growing More Cautious About Delta Variant, Earnings Calls Show

When earnings season kicked off in earnest in mid-July, few companies fielded questions about or mentioned the Covid delta variant. That changed as new Covid-19 cases spiked and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reversed its stance on masks for vaccinated people, according to a CNBC analysis of earnings call transcripts. (Lucas, 8/7)

Axios:
America Is Relying On Other Countries For Data On The Delta Variant 

America is increasingly reliant on data coming from other countries or from drug companies about the coronavirus vaccines’ effectiveness over time, particularly when it comes to the Delta variant. Top Biden officials are growing frustrated with the lack of internal visibility into data being collected by the CDC, particularly as they try to deal with Delta’s spread. (Owens, 8/9)

CNBC:
Covid: Epidemiologist Larry Brilliant On Delta Variant, Vaccinations

The pandemic is not coming to an end soon — given that only a small proportion of the world population has been vaccinated against Covid-19, a well-known epidemiologist told CNBC. Dr. Larry Brilliant, an epidemiologist who was part of the World Health Organization’s team that helped eradicate smallpox, said the delta variant is “maybe the most contagious virus” ever. (Lee, 8/8)

USA Today:
Hospitals Raising Alarms As Admissions Spike

As COVID-19 cases surge, some hospitals across the country are raising the alarm over hospitalization rates that may push facilities to capacity. The number of people hospitalized with the virus in the U.S. has more than tripled over the past month, from an average of roughly 12,000 to almost 43,000, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “The delta variant is ripping through the unvaccinated,” Mary Mayhew, CEO of Florida Hospital Association said. Hospitals in Jacksonville and Orlando last week crashed through their pandemic peaks, and hospitals in Miami-Dade County are at or approaching record coronavirus hospitalizations this week, Mayhew said. (Santucci, Fernando and Segarra, 8/7)

Bloomberg:
U.S. Covid Cases Reach Six-Month High Even As Vaccinations Rise

New Covid-19 cases in the U.S. have rebounded to more than 100,000 a day on average, returning to the levels of the winter surge six months ago. Weekly cases on Friday passed 750,000, the most since early February, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University and Bloomberg. Almost 135,000 weekly cases were reported in Florida on Friday, a record for a state that makes up about one in five U.S. cases. Louisiana said 1% of its entire population had been infected in the last two weeks as the delta variant spreads, particularly among the unvaccinated. (Fisher, 8/7)

Bloomberg:
U.S. City With 2.4 Million Population Has Just Six ICU Beds Left

With ICU beds down to a single digit, Austin sounded the alarm Saturday, using its emergency alert system to let residents in the Texas capital city know that the local state of the pandemic is “dire.” The Austin area — with a population of almost 2.4 million people — has just six intensive-care unit beds left, state health data show. A total of 313 ventilators are available. “The situation is critical,” Public Health Medical Director Desmar Walkes said in a statement Saturday, warning of a “catastrophe” as it sent the notification to residents at noon through text messages, emails and phone calls. “Our hospitals are severely stressed and there is little we can do to alleviate their burden with the surging cases.” (Chua, 8/8)

Nashville Tennessean:
Morgan City In St. Mary Parish, Louisiana Is A COVID-19 Hotspot

She gasped for her last breath in her living room recliner, her lungs choked by coronavirus. It was Aug. 1 at 4:30 a.m. when St. Mary Parish coroner Dr. Eric Melancon got the call, another COVID-19 death on the Cajun coast. In this parish of 51,000 residents, Melancon had rolled out to six COVID-19 deaths in July, a 200 percent increase compared with June. And that was just the beginning. In the first six days of August, COVID-19 and its more contagious delta variant claimed 10 lives. (Sharon and Guidry, 8/9)

In other news about the spread of the coronavirus —

AP:
Official: Sturgis Motorcycle Rally Is The Busiest In Years

Law enforcement officials say the first few days of this year’s Sturgis Motorcycle Rally have been among the busiest they’ve seen. Some 700,000 people were expected to celebrate their enthusiasm for motorcycles at the 10-day event that kicked off Friday in the western South Dakota city. “There are more people here than in the 31 years I’ve been doing this,” Meade County Sheriff Ron Merwin told the Rapid City Journal on Saturday. (8/8)

AP:
New Orleans Jazz Fest Canceled Again Due To COVID-19

With new COVID-19 cases surging in Louisiana, the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival won’t be returning this year after all, organizers said Sunday. The festival, which traditionally is held in the spring, had been scheduled to run Oct. 8-10 and Oct. 15-17 this year after being canceled last year because of the coronavirus pandemic. (8/8)

KHN:
Déjà Vu? Consumers Scramble For Covid Tests In Hard-Hit Areas

Andrea Mosterman, an associate professor of history at the University of New Orleans, was already dismayed that she had to wait three days to secure a covid-19 test at a Walgreens near her home after being in contact with someone who had tested positive. But on Sunday, when she showed up at the pharmacy drive-thru, she was told the store had run out of test kits and none was available anywhere in the city. “I told them I had a reservation, but they said it didn’t matter,” she said. (Galewitz, Bluth and Bichell, 8/6)

Detroit Free Press:
Michigan Deer Exposed To Coronavirus: What It Means

As researchers continue to observe the effects of the coronavirus pandemic on humans, the U.S. Department of Agriculture is studying its effect on wildlife. A recent study from the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service discovered that white-tailed deer populations in Illinois, Michigan, New York and Pennsylvania had been exposed to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. White-tailed deer are found in every county in Michigan, according to the Department of Natural Resources. (Davidson, 8/9)

AP:
Yankees COVID-19 Outbreak Continues As Rizzo Tests Positive

Newcomer Anthony Rizzo has become the latest Yankees player to test positive for the coronavirus. Rizzo is the fourth New York player within the past week to be sidelined by COVID-19, joining starting pitchers Gerrit Cole and Jordan Montgomery and catcher Gary Sánchez. (Fleisher, 8/8)

The New York Times:
For Seniors Especially, Covid Can Be Stealthy 

The population over 65, most vulnerable to the virus’s effects, got an early start on Covid vaccination and has the highest rate in the country — more than 80 percent are fully vaccinated. But with infections increasing once more, and hospitalization rising among older adults, a large-scale new study in the Journals of Gerontology provides a timely warning: Covid can look different in older patients. “People expect fever, cough, shortness of breath,” said Allison Marziliano, lead author of the study. … But when the researchers combed through the electronic health records of nearly 5,000 people, all over the age of 65, who were hospitalized for Covid at a dozen Northwell hospitals in March and April of 2020, they found that one-third had arrived with other symptoms, unexpected ones. (Span, 8/8)

Reuters:
U.S. Nurses’ COVID-19 Grief Pours Out Online: ‘I Just Don’t Want To Watch Anyone Else Die’

Nichole Atherton couldn’t take it anymore. The intensive care nurse watched helplessly last year as COVID-19 sufferers died in her Mississippi hospital – slowly, painfully and alone. Then in July she was again confronted with a wave of deathly ill patients, even though almost all likely could have saved themselves by getting the coronavirus vaccine. “People want to argue about masks and vaccines and freedom. I just don’t want to watch anyone else die,” the 39-year-old mother of two wrote on Facebook a few days ago. “I see their faces in my nightmares. And it feels like it is never ending.” (Ax, 8/7)

Politico:
Education Secretary: ‘We’re Clearly At A Fork In The Road’ In Opening Schools Safely

Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said Sunday that the country is at a “fork in the road” when it comes to opening schools amid a resurgent coronavirus wave. “We’re clearly at a fork in the road in this country,” Cardona said on CBS’ “Face the Nation.” “You’re either going to help students be in school in-person and be safe, or the decisions you make will hurt students. While I understand the argument around not wanting to wear masks because we’re fatigued, without question student safety and staff safety come first.” (Greene, 8/8)

New York Post:
AFT Union Boss Calls For Mandated COVID-19 Vaccines For Teachers

The head of the country’s second-largest teachers union said Sunday that COVID-19 vaccines should be required for educators before they return to the classroom. “As a matter of personal conscience, I think that we need to be working with our employers, not opposing them, on vaccine mandates and all their vaccine policies,” said Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, to NBC’s “Meet the Press.” (Salo, 8/8)

More children appear to be getting sick from covid —

USA Today:
Pediatric Hospitals Filling Up With Cases While Kids Go Back To School

Pediatric hospitals are filling up with children in the latest COVID surge. Children’s hospitals in Tennessee will be completely full by the end of this week, the health department projected, and the number of children admitted to a Jacksonville, Florida, hospital in July was more than four times the number admitted in June. In Austin, Texas, kids with symptomatic COVID-19 are also coming in sicker, with more serious symptoms than previous waves of the disease. “It shouldn’t be happening,” said Dr. Meena Iyer, chief medical officer at Dell Children’s Medical Center of Central Texas. (Aspegren, 8/9)

WSB-TV Channel 2:
Metro Atlanta School Districts Report Hundreds Of COVID-19 Cases Days Into School Year 

Several metro Atlanta school districts returned to in-person learning last week amid the surge of the Delta variant in Georgia. The Cobb County School district has confirmed over 185 cases of COVID-19 just one week into the school year. Gwinnett County Schools reported 166 cases over the course of just two school days, according to official reports from the district. (8/7)

The New York Times:
‘This Is Really Scary’: Kids Struggle With Long Covid 

As young people across the country prepare to return to school, many are struggling to recover from lingering post-Covid neurological, physical or psychiatric symptoms. Often called “long Covid,” the symptoms and their duration vary, as does the severity. Studies estimate long Covid may affect between 10 percent and 30 percent of adults infected with the coronavirus. Estimates from the handful of studies of children so far range widely. At an April congressional hearing, Dr. Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health, cited one study suggesting that between 11 percent and 15 percent of infected youths might “end up with this long-term consequence, which can be pretty devastating in terms of things like school performance.” (Belluck, 8/8)

In updates on mask and vaccine mandates in schools —

AP:
UVA, Virginia Tech Announce New Face Mask Mandates

The University of Virginia is requiring everyone on campus to wear face masks indoors starting Monday in the wake of rising coronavirus infections from a highly contagious variant. … Virginia Tech also announced late last week that all instructors and students will have to wear face coverings in classrooms and laboratories when classes begin Aug. 23. (8/8)

Rockdale Newton Citizen:
Gov. Brian Kemp Defends Voluntary Approach To Fighting COVID-19 In Georgia 

Gov. Brian Kemp Friday defended his decision not to impose mask-wearing or vaccination mandates on Georgians to stem the latest surge in coronavirus cases, hospitalizations and deaths. “I don’t believe we need to have a dictatorship in government telling what local school systems need to do, what private businesses need to do, what nonprofits need to do, or what individuals should do,” Kemp said during an appearance at Ball Ground Elementary School in Cherokee County to mark the start of a new school year. “Individuals need to make the best decision they can.” (Williams, 8/6)

Axios:
Texas Schools Not Required To Do Contact Tracing, New Guidance Says 

Texas schools are not required to conduct COVID-19 contact tracing in the event that an individual tests positive, according to new guidance from the Texas Education Agency. Schools are required to report positive cases to their local health departments, but the TEA said contract tracing is not required because data suggested that transmission rates in classrooms and between children are low. (Gonzalez, 8/7)

Dallas Morning News:
As COVID-19 Surges, Local Officials Challenge Gov. Greg Abbott’s Ban On Mask And Vaccine Mandates

School districts, local officials and hospitals are pushing back on Gov. Greg Abbott’s executive order barring mask and vaccine mandates, setting the stage for legal showdowns over coronavirus safety measures just as cases are surging in Texas and hospitals are filling up. Houston ISD signaled its intention to require face coverings when students return this month. The University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston requested an exemption to mandate COVID-19 vaccinations for staff, but was denied. Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins required face masks at a meeting this week; he’s now being sued. Abbott, a Republican facing reelection in 2022, shows no sign he will change course. At a conference in Dallas this week, he declared that going forward “there will not be any government imposed shutdowns or mask mandates.” (Morris, 8/6)

USA Today:
Arkansas Judge Blocks State From Enforcing Mask Mandate Ban

A judge on Friday temporarily blocked Arkansas from enforcing its ban on mask mandates signed into law by Gov. Asa Hutchinson in April. The ban was being challenged by two lawsuits, including one from an east Arkansas school district where more than 900 staff and students are quarantining because of a coronavirus outbreak. Pediatricians and health officials have said masks in schools are needed to protect children, as the delta variant and Arkansas’ low vaccination rate fuel the state’s spiraling cases. The state on Monday reported its biggest one-day increase in COVID-19 hospitalizations since the pandemic began, and the Department of Health on Thursday said only 36 intensive care unit beds were available in the state. (Vargas and Yancey-Bragg, 8/6)

CBS News:
Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson Says He Changed Mind On Mask Law Because “Facts Change” 

Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson said Sunday he changed his mind about a bill he signed in April to ban mask mandates across the state because “facts change,” and admitted that signing it at a time when COVID-19 cases were low in his state was “an error.” (Poindexter, 8/8)

In other updates on mask mandates —

Bloomberg:
Amazon Revives Mask Mandate For Warehouse Workers

Amazon.com Inc. is ordering frontline U.S. employees to resume wearing masks at work regardless of vaccination status, joining the ranks of companies ramping up precautions in response to the spread of the Covid-19 delta variant. The world’s largest online retailer said in a notice to employees on Friday that workers in its warehouses and other logistics depots in the U.S. must resume wearing masks beginning on Monday. (Day, 8/6)

AP:
Weary US Businesses Confront New Round Of Mask Mandates

Businesses large and small, from McDonald’s and Home Depot to local yoga studios, are reinstituting mask mandates as U.S. coronavirus cases rise. Bars, gyms and restaurants across the country are requiring vaccines to get inside. After a largely mask-free summer, it’s a reversal no one wanted to see, brought on by the fast-spreading delta variant and new guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. But business owners and workers say they will do what they can to keep their doors open and not slow the economic gains of the last few months. (Durbin, 8/8)

Oklahoman:
Facing COVID-19 Wave, Some Oklahoma Tribes Reinstate Mask Mandates

The Pawnee Nation has hosted a children’s summer camp as long as Mike Ortiz can remember. He decided last week to cancel the camp for the second straight year amid a resurgence of COVID-19 infections in Pawnee County and across Oklahoma. “We don’t want to be a hindrance health-wise,” said Ortiz, who noted the back-to-school camp is for children between the ages of 6 and 18, meaning half cannot yet receive COVID-19 vaccines. (Young, 8/9)

AP:
Judge: Norwegian Cruises Can Require Proof Of Vaccination

A federal judge on Sunday night granted Norwegian Cruise Line’s request to temporarily block a Florida law banning cruise companies from asking passengers for proof of coronavirus vaccination before they board a ship. U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams granted the preliminary injunction in a lawsuit challenging the state’s “vaccine passport” ban, which was signed into law in May by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis. (8/9)

CNBC:
Norwegian Cruise Can Require Florida Passengers To Be Vaccinated, Judge Rules

“It’s scary what’s happening in Florida,” Derek Shaffer, an attorney for Norwegian Cruise Line, said during a court hearing held Friday to request the injunction. “All of Florida is a hot spot … All we’re doing is trying to protect our staff and passengers.” Norwegian CEO Frank Del Rio said the company is trying to ensure the safety of passengers and crew. “The health and safety of our guests, crew and the communities we visit is our number one priority, today, tomorrow and forever,” Del Rio said in a statement Sunday. (El-Bawab, 8/8)

And in more news about Florida —

NPR:
With Record-High Cases, Florida Emerges As COVID-19 Epicenter

The coronavirus is running rampant in Florida as case numbers climb to an all-time high and hospitals start to fill up. On Sunday, approximately 1 in 4 hospital beds in the state had a COVID-19 patient in it. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 23,903 new coronavirus cases in Florida on Friday, the state’s highest single-day total since the start of the pandemic. Two days later, numbers from hospitals reporting to the Department of Health and Human Services showed Florida’s inpatient beds at more than 83% occupancy. As of Sunday, 13,793 coronavirus patients accounted for 24% of the state’s inpatient beds. (Jones, 8/8)

Politico:
Cassidy Splits With DeSantis On School Mask Mandates 

Sen. Bill Cassidy said Sunday he disagrees with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ opposition to mask mandates in schools. “I do disagree with Gov. DeSantis. The local officials should have control here,” the Louisiana Republican said on CNN’s “State of the Union.” Cassidy, a physician, added that “when it comes to local conditions, if my hospital is full, and my vaccination rate is low and infection rate is going crazy, we should allow local officials to make those decisions best for their community.” (Greene, 8/8)

CNN:
6 Members Of A Florida Church Died Of Covid-19 In 2 Weeks, Pastor Says. On Sunday The Church Held A Vaccination Clinic 

In just two weeks, six members of a Florida church died from Covid-19. All were unvaccinated, their pastor said. Now the church is hosting a vaccination clinic. Pastor George Davis at Impact Church in Jacksonville addressed members during Sunday’s service and said the past week had been very difficult. “We’ve had now six members of our church over the course of a couple weeks now that have passed away from Covid,” said Davis during the service that was livestreamed on the church’s Facebook page. “It has just absolutely ripped our hearts apart. The most recent one was actually a young lady on our worship team.” (Jackson, 8/8)