Coronavirus vaccine and COVID variant updates for 12-10-2021

Vaccine 4 1 1 - Daily News on the Covid-19 and Coronavirus Vaccines

This is Vaccine 411, the latest coronavirus vaccine information for December 10th, 2021.

The number of COVID deaths in the US has been horrific, but researchers are again saying those deaths have been vastly undercounted. Especially among Native, Hispanic and Black Americans. New data at the county level for 2020 and January through October of this year gives more detail than ever, including where someone died, what other causes of death were on the death certificate, and whether a body was autopsied. Looking at the new data, public health experts say the true death toll is at least 20% higher than the official tally. That means the number of Americans who have died from the virus could be close to 1 million.

The FDA gave emergency authorization for 16- and 17-year-olds to get Pfizer’s booster once they're six months beyond their last dose. The CDC followed up hours later with a strong recommendation encouraging those teens to get the shot as soon as possible.

Being an anti-vaxxer in Austria is getting expensive. There are now plans to impose fines of nearly $4,000 on anyone who flouts the vaccine mandate coming in February to all residents 14 and over. It’s the first European country to implement a general vaccine mandate.

If your problem with the vaccine is that it’s not natural enough, how about a plant-based one? GlaxoSmithKline seems to have one that in tests has been shown to be 71% effective at protecting against COVID. Here’s where the irony kicks in. GlaxoSmithKline’s partner is Medicago, a subsidiary of Philip Morris, the cigarette people. And the plant being used is a close relative of tobacco.

A new survey from the Public Religion Research Institute shows only 10% of Americans believe getting a COVID vaccine conflicts with their religious beliefs. 59% even say too many people are using religious beliefs as an excuse. 60% say there’s no valid religious reason to refuse a vaccine. They’re a bit more divided on whether religious exemptions should be allowed at all.

In the United States cases were up 27%, deaths are up 12%, and hospitalizations are up 20% over 14 days. The 7-day average of new cases has been trending up since November 29.

The five states that had the most daily deaths per 100,000 are Kentucky, Michigan, West Virginia, Wyoming, and Tennessee.

There are 9,841,074 active cases in the United States.

The five states with the greatest increase in hospitalizations per capita: Connecticut 73%, Rhode Island 70%, Delaware 66%, Massachusetts 54%, and Illinois and New Jersey 51%.

The top 10 counties with the highest number of recent cases per capita according to The New York Times: Waseca, MN. Seward, KS. Allen, KS. Fayette, IN. Vermilion, IL. Bennington, VT. Fountain, IN. Benton, MN. Sullivan, NH. And Piatt, IL.

There have been at least 794,647 deaths in the U.S. recorded as Covid-related.

The top 3 vaccinating states by percentage of population that’s been fully vaccinated: Vermont at 74.4%, Rhode Island at 74.1%, and Maine at 73.5%. The bottom 3 vaccinating states are Wyoming at 46.3%, Alabama unchanged at 46.6%, and Mississippi unchanged at 47.4%. The percentage of the U.S. that’s been fully vaccinated is 60.4%.

Globally, cases were up 8% and deaths were flat over 14 days, with the 7-day average trending up since October 15.

There are 21,695,681 active cases around the world.

The five countries with the most new cases: The United States 110,894. France 56,854. The U.K. 50,867. Russia 30,209. And Poland 27,458.

There have been at least 5,286,786 deaths reported as Covid-related worldwide.

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