Coronavirus positives in Bradenton and Hillsborough Counties (Sarasota, University: rank, epicenter)

[wondermint2]

48% of U.S. health workers still haven't received COVID-19 vaccine

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/48...ne/ar-BB1eLPq3

Every day, more Americans become eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine, yet nearly half of all frontline health care workers remain unvaccinated, even though they were given priority access to the first available doses.

Only 52% of all frontline health care workers say they have received even a first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, according to a new report from the Kaiser Family Foundation and the Washington Post.

That leaves 48% of health care workers on the frontlines of the fight against COVID-19, including doctors, nurses, housekeepers and home health aides, entirely unprotected against and vulnerable to the virus.

[wondermint2]

More than 43 million Americans - 1 in 6 adults - have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19, according to the CDC

https://www.msn.com/en-us/health/med...dc/ar-BB1eNgLP

One in six adults in the US - about 17% of the population- have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 as of Saturday, according to data published Saturday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

More than 121 million vaccine doses have been administered in the US as of Saturday, according to the data, published through the CDC's vaccine tracker. About 35 million more doses - or nearly 157 million doses -of the vaccine have been delivered to medical providers, according to the data.

More than 43 million people in the US have been fully vaccinated, with Americans receiving either both of the two-shot Pfizer or Moderna vaccines or the single-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine. More than 79 million people in the US have received at least one dose of the two-shot vaccines, according to the CDC.

And more than 40% of people aged 65 and older, who carry a higher risk of serious illness and death, have been fully vaccinated for the disease, while 68% of seniors in this age range have received at least one part of the vaccine.

President Joe Biden has said he expects that all adults in the US who wish to be vaccinated will be able to get a shot by the beginning of May.

[wondermint2]

I made a typo for the weekly 7-day average of hospitalizations in Manatee County. As of March 21st the number should be 35.43 and not 41.28. I double-checked and everything else in my weekly report from today is correct.

[wondermint2]

16 Wild Photos Of The Spring Break Chaos That's Happening In Miami Right Now

https://www.buzzfeed.com/amphtml/dan...ak-miami-chaos

On Saturday, a state of emergency was declared in Miami in response to throngs of unruly spring breakers flooding the city — many of whom were unmasked and not practicing social distancing.

An 8 p.m. curfew was issued, but people are continuing to resist it.

Here are some photos that show the chaos taking place.

[wondermint2]

U.S. health officials question results from AstraZeneca’s vaccine trial, less than a day after they’re released.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/22/w...-released.html

Federal health officials said early Tuesday that results from a U.S. trial of AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine may have relied on “outdated information” that “may have provided an incomplete view of the efficacy data,” casting doubt on an announcement on Monday that had been seen as good news for the British-Swedish company as well as the global vaccination drive.

In a statement released Tuesday morning, AstraZeneca said the interim results it announced on Monday were current as of Feb. 17. The company said that a preliminary review had found its primary analysis — the more up-to-date results that will be scrutinized by the Food and Drug Administration — to be “consistent” with the interim analysis.

In a news release on Monday announcing the results of the U.S. trial, the company said that the vaccine it developed with the University of Oxford was 79 percent effective against Covid-19, a higher figure than observed in previous trials, and completely prevented the worst outcomes from the disease.

Dr. Eric Topol, a clinical trials expert at Scripps Research in San Diego, said it was “highly irregular” to see such a public display of friction between a monitoring board and a study sponsor, which are typically in close concordance.

“I’ve never seen anything like this,” he said in an interview after the institute’s statement was released. “It’s so, so troubling.”

[wondermint2]

Weeks into spring break, adults under 50 spur COVID rise in Florida tourism hubs

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/we...bs/ar-BB1eTqXT

Mar. 24—Florida's pandemic month of March has been defined by the dueling dynamics of a mass vaccination effort focused on older people and a tourism surge to the metro areas of Miami, Tampa and Orlando, among other locales.

Those forces appear to have come to a head over the last week, with a rise in cases among people under 50 after months of decline, driving an uptick in the number of tests coming back positive and cementing transmission of the virus at a fairly high level, especially in Miami.

The trends played out in those three cities at the same time, and were present but not as exaggerated in other two populous South Florida counties that have a significant tourist base: Palm Beach and Broward. In older age groups, the most heavily vaccinated, cases have continued to decline.

In the last week, Miami-Dade, Hillsborough, and Orange counties all saw a rise in the percentage of tests coming back positive, albeit a slight one, after several weeks of that metric declining, according to an analysis by Salemi shared with the Miami Herald. Those increases appear to be driven by two weeks of rising cases in people aged 25-49.

The percentage of tests coming back positive — also called positivity — is often one of the first metrics to rise when the virus starts spreading more quickly in a community.

Eric Toner, a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, took a broader look at Florida's COVID data, concentrating on the difference between coastal tourism-driven counties and others. He concluded that the case trends are likely "related to tourism and activities in the beach communities."

"Not so much being on the beach itself, but being in the bars and the restaurants and having parties, congregating in large numbers of people," Toner said. "That's a recipe for creating an epidemic, so I suspect that's what we're seeing."

[wondermint2]

Doctor: Florida residents previously infected with COVID-19 being diagnosed with variant cases

https://www.wesh.com/amp/article/flo...id-19/35917145

Florida recently became the first state to have more than 1,000 known cases of coronavirus variants.

Dr. Aileen Marty at Florida International University said there is danger for people who have already had the original COVID-19.

"We have had to hospitalize here in South Florida persons who had COVID previously, mild cases that had recovered, but now have been reinfected.

Marty said people who have been vaccinated are safer from it because the structure of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines produce a higher quality antibody to fight the virus than what a person would get naturally.

Florida's focus on vaccinating seniors should mean that if there is an increase in cases, it should be less deadly.

[wondermint2]

New study warns Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines could be far less effective against South Africa variant

https://thehill.com/changing-america...derna-covid-19

Despite the increasing global circulation of COVID-19 vaccines, the variants of the virus that emerged in late 2020 may disrupt the world’s mission to achieve herd immunity, according to a new study approved for publishing in the journal Nature.

Researchers specifically look at the South African COVID-19 mutation, scientifically dubbed B.1.351, analyzing whether or not these pathogens are more resistant to immune responses prompted by the available vaccines.

Samples of biological fluids, namely convalescent plasma and vaccinee sera, were collected and studied to detect the volume of COVID-19-neutralizing antibodies contained among volunteers who recovered from a documented COVID-19 infection.

16 out of 20 of the samples showcased "substantial loss" of neutralizing activity against B.1.351, but maintained antibody activity against B.1.1.7, the UK variant. This highlights concern for potential reinfection.

When analyzing volunteer vaccinee sera — or fluid from individuals who had been fully vaccinated — the results were similarly grim; neutralizing activity was “significantly lower” against B.1.351, regardless of which vaccine patients received.

Moderna’s vaccine candidate was found to be 12.4 times less effective against the South African variant, and Pfizer’s was found to have a reduced effectiveness by about 10.3 times.

A silver lining could be that both vaccine candidates held up well against the U.K. variant of COVID-19.

“If the rampant spread of the virus continues and more critical mutations accumulate, then we may be condemned to chasing after the evolving SARS-CoV-2 continually, as we have long done for influenza virus,” the authors warn. “Such considerations require that we stop virus transmission as quickly as is feasible, by redoubling our mitigation measures and by expediting vaccine rollout.”

[wondermint2]

No-shows for COVID-19 vaccine appointments in Sarasota County are on the rise

https://amp.heraldtribune.com/amp/6963923002

SARASOTA COUNTY – As more COVID-19 vaccine appointments open up daily around Sarasota County, public health officials say they’re encountering a recurring issue: no-shows.

Those details emerged at a Sarasota County Commission meeting on Tuesday.

Chuck Henry, a Florida Department of Health officer in Sarasota County, did not say how many people are not showing up to appointments. Henry also did not say what happens to unused vaccines after people fail to meet their appointments.

The problem appears to be centered on a flaw in the county’s registration system that allowed people to book appointments for their spouses or people they care for. Henry said that health officials are finding that some of those people already have received a vaccine elsewhere.

Henry said it could account for the declines, but the no-shows are people who confirmed their appointment two or three days in advance and then did not show up.

Currently, only one person can register for an appointment.

“That is what bothered me the most,” said Sarasota County Administrator Jonathan Lewis. “Staff is there, volunteers are there based on the number of people, and they don’t show up. It’s kind of a waste of resources.”

Other vaccine updates

The county will expand to a larger second site at Sarasota Square Mall on Wednesday to accommodate needed second doses without impacting first doses. The current space will max out at about 2,000 doses per day.

The new site is about 150 steps farther inside the mall. Those arriving for their appointment should notice variances to directional signage; first-dose clinic signs are blue, and second-dose signs are green.

Notifications and appointments will go out Tuesday for DOH-operated first-dose clinics at Sarasota Square Mall Thursday through Saturday, the county said in a news release. Health officials have scheduled first-dose appointments through Wednesday through account number 181,824.

This may continue to update as the county continues to see an increase in declines or no responses from individuals and additional notices are sent out.

[wondermint2]

Hundreds of Sarasota-Manatee families could be evicted when federal moratorium ends

https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/...-31/4703462001

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's federal moratorium on evictions is set to expire March 31. Experts say that the moratorium will likely be extended again as billions of federal dollars become available for residents who have fallen behind on rent.

While it is difficult to get a clear picture of how many households will be affected when the moratorium finally ends, mass evictions could have a profound impact on the community.

There are approximately 1,100 lawsuits currently filed to remove tenants from their housing in Sarasota and Manatee counties, according to James Clegg, a paralegal with Gulfcoast Legal Services.

The number of lawsuits filed to remove tenants has decreased by over 60% in Sarasota and Manatee counties during the last year, in large part because of the bans on evictions. There are 381 eviction notices filed in Manatee County, a drop of 79%. In Sarasota County, there have been 771 evictions filed, a decrease of 39%, court records show.

Some landlords may also be waiting for the moratorium to officially end before filing with county courts, spiking the number of eviction cases. The number of families facing eviction could be enough to “overwhelm the system very, very quickly,” said Linda Harradine, CEO of Legal Aid of Manasota.

Landlords have been able to file eviction cases for non-payment in the court systems, but the federal moratorium prevents landlords from enforcing the final step – a 24-hour notice to leave the property, Harradine said.