Category Archives: Covid-19

The West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources (DHHR) reports as of July 15, 2021, there have been 3,060,485 total confirmatory laboratory results received for COVID-19, with 164,843 total cases and 2,917 deaths.

DHHR has confirmed the death of a 69-year old male from Preston County. We offer our deepest sympathy as both the family and our state grieve another loss due to COVID-19, said Bill J. Crouch, DHHR Cabinet Secretary. Lets continue taking every precaution we can to stop the spread of this disease, including scheduling a COVID-19 vaccination for yourself and all eligible family members.

CASES PER COUNTY: Barbour (1,517), Berkeley (12,915), Boone (2,186), Braxton (1,023), Brooke (2,252), Cabell (8,938), Calhoun (399), Clay (544), Doddridge (647), Fayette (3,565), Gilmer (890), Grant (1,319), Greenbrier (2,913), Hampshire (1,935), Hancock (2,847), Hardy (1,588), Harrison (6,232), Jackson (2,271), Jefferson (4,812), Kanawha (15,547), Lewis (1,313), Lincoln (1,609), Logan (3,310), Marion (4,673), Marshall (3,542), Mason (2,074), McDowell (1,639), Mercer (5,223), Mineral (2,999), Mingo (2,779), Monongalia (9,416), Monroe (1,226), Morgan (1,246), Nicholas (1,916), Ohio (4,320), Pendleton (726), Pleasants (959), Pocahontas (682), Preston (2,965), Putnam (5,374), Raleigh (7,113), Randolph (2,864), Ritchie (765), Roane (667), Summers (866), Taylor (1,293), Tucker (548), Tyler (751), Upshur (1,988), Wayne (3,188), Webster (565), Wetzel (1,400), Wirt (466), Wood (7,967), Wyoming (2,071).

Free pop-up COVID-19 testing is available today in Barbour, Berkeley, Hampshire, Jefferson, Lewis, Lincoln, and Mingo counties.

Barbour County

9:00 AM 11:00 AM, Barbour County Health Department, 109 Wabash Avenue, Philippi, WV

Berkeley County

10:00 AM 5:00 PM, 891 Auto Parts Place, Martinsburg, WV

Hampshire County

10:00 AM 5:00 PM, Hampshire County Health Department, 16189 Northwestern Turnpike, Augusta, WV

Jefferson County

10:00 AM 6:00 PM, Hollywood Casino, 750 Hollywood Drive, Charles Town, WV

Lewis County

Lincoln County

Mingo County

10:00 AM 2:00 PM, Seven Eleven, 11 West Second Avenue, Williamson, WV

11:00 AM 4:00 PM, Larry Joe Harless Community Center, 202 Larry Joe Harless Drive, Gilbert, WV

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COVID-19 Daily Update 7-15-2021 - West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) Rhode Island is shutting down six state-run COVID-19 testing sites that since September have exclusively served school and child care students and staff.

The sites will not be needed as testing will be available on-site at schools in the fall, and because testing is now more accessible in traditional health care settings, the state Department of Health said in a statement Thursday.

The sites will end operations on July 31.

They are at the Stop & Shop in Bristol; the Stop & Shop in Cranston; the YMCA in Lincoln; the Manton Avenue Stop & Shop in Providence; Fidelity Investments in Smithfield; and the Walmart in Westerly.

The states plan for full in-person learning for the fall includes on-site testing, with school districts able to design and resource their plans. Options will include symptomatic testing, outbreak testing, and asymptomatic testing.

The sites were opened in September to support the return to in-person learning and child care.

Five school and child care testing sites will remain open.

Original post:

Rhode Island to close 6 school COVID-19 testing sites - Associated Press

GENEVA/NEW YORK, 15July 2021 --- 23 million children missed out on basic vaccines through routine immunization services in 2020 3.7 million more than in 2019 - according to official data published today by WHO and UNICEF. This latest set of comprehensive worldwide childhood immunization figures, the first official figures to reflect global service disruptions due to COVID-19, show a majority of countries last year experienced drops in childhood vaccination rates.

Concerningly, most of these up to 17 million children likely did not receive a single vaccine during the year, widening already immense inequities in vaccine access. Most of these children live in communities affected by conflict, in under-served remote places, or in informal or slum settings where they face multiple deprivations including limited access to basic health and key social services.

Even as countries clamour to get their hands on COVID-19 vaccines, we have gone backwards on other vaccinations, leaving children at risk from devastating but preventable diseases like measles, polio or meningitis, said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. Multiple disease outbreaks would be catastrophic for communities and health systems already battling COVID-19, making it more urgent than ever to invest in childhood vaccination and ensure every child is reached.

In all regions, rising numbers of children miss vital first vaccine doses in 2020; millions more miss later vaccines

Disruptions in immunization services were widespread in 2020, with the WHO Southeast Asian and Eastern Mediterranean Regions most affected. As access to health services and immunization outreach were curtailed, the number of children not receiving even their very first vaccinations increased in all regions. As compared with 2019, 3.5 million more children missed their first dose of diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis vaccine (DTP-1) while 3 million more children missed their first measles dose.

This evidence should be a clear warning the COVID-19 pandemic and related disruptions cost us valuable ground we cannot afford to lose and the consequences will be paid in the lives and wellbeing of the most vulnerable, said Henrietta Fore, UNICEF Executive Director. Even before the pandemic, there were worrying signs that we were beginning to lose ground in the fight to immunize children against preventable child illness, including with the widespread measles outbreaks two years ago. The pandemic has made a bad situation worse. With the equitable distribution of COVID-19 vaccines at the forefront of everyones minds, we must remember that vaccine distribution has always been inequitable, but it does not have to be.

Table 1: Countries with the greatest increase in children not receiving a first dose of diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis combined vaccine (DTP-1)

2019

2020

India

1'403'000

3'038'000

Pakistan

567'000

968'000

Indonesia

472'000

797'000

Philippines

450'000

557'000

Mexico

348000

454'000

Mozambique

97'000

186'000

Angola

399'000

482'000

United Republic of Tanzania

183'000

249'000

Argentina

97'000

156'000

Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of)

75'000

134'000

Mali

136'000

193'000

The data shows that middle-income countries now account for an increasing share of unprotected children that is, children missing out on at least some vaccine doses. India is experiencing a particularly large drop, with DTP-3 coverage falling from 91 per centto 85 per cent.

Fuelled by funding shortfalls, vaccine misinformation, instability and other factors, a troubling picture is also emerging in WHOs Region of the Americas, where vaccination coverage continues to fall. Just 82 per centof children are fully vaccinated with DTP, down from 91 per centin 2016.

Countries risk resurgence of measles, other vaccine-preventable diseases

Even prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, global childhood vaccination rates against diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, measles and polio had stalled for several years at around 86 per cent. This rate is well below the 95 per centrecommended by WHO to protect against measles often the first disease to resurge when children are not reached with vaccines - and insufficient to stop other vaccine-preventable diseases.

With many resources and personnel diverted to support the COVID-19 response, there have been significant disruptions to immunization service provision in many parts of the world. In some countries, clinics have been closed or hours reduced, while people may have been reluctant to seek healthcare because of fear of transmission or have experienced challenges reaching services due to lockdown measures and transportation disruptions.

These are alarming numbers, suggesting the pandemic is unravelling years of progress in routine immunization and exposing millions of children to deadly, preventable diseases, said Dr Seth Berkley, CEO of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. This is a wake-up call we cannot allow a legacy of COVID-19 to be the resurgence of measles, polio and other killers. We all need to work together to help countries both defeat COVID-19, by ensuring global, equitable access to vaccines, and get routine immunization programmes back on track. The future health and wellbeing of millions of children and their communities across the globe depends on it.

Concerns are not just for outbreak-prone diseases. Already at low rates, vaccinations against human papillomavirus (HPV) - which protect girls against cervical cancer later in life - have been highly affected by school closures. As a result, across countries that have introduced HPV vaccine to date, approximately 1.6 million more girls missed out in 2020. Globally only 13 per cent ofgirls were vaccinated against HPV, falling from 15 per centin 2019.

Agencies call for urgent recovery and investment in routine immunization

As countries work to recover lost ground due to COVID-19 related disruptions, UNICEF, WHO and partners like Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance are supporting efforts to strengthen immunization systems by:

The agencies are working with countries and partners to deliver the ambitious targets of the global Immunization Agenda 2030, which aims to achieve 90% coverage for essential childhood vaccines; halve the number of entirely unvaccinated, or zero dose children, and increase the uptake of newer lifesaving vaccines such as rotavirus or pneumococcus in low and middle-income countries.

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Notes for editors:

About the data

Based on country-reported data, the official WHO and UNICEF estimates of national immunization coverage (WUENIC) provide the worlds largest data-set on immunization trends for vaccinations against 13 diseases given through regular health systems - normally at clinics or community centres or health worker visits. For 2020, data were provided from 160 countries.

Globally, the vaccination rate for three doses of diphtheria-tetanus and pertussis (DTP-3) vaccine fell from around 86 per centin 2019 to 83 per cent in 2020, meaning 22.7 million children missed out, and for measles first dose, from 86 to 84 per cent, meaning 22.3 million children missed out. Vaccination rates for measles second dose were at 71 per cent(from 70 per cent in 2019). To control measles, 95 per cent uptake of two vaccine doses is required; countries that cannot reach that level rely on periodic nationwide vaccination campaigns to fill the gap.

In addition to routine immunization disruptions, there are currently 57 postponed mass vaccination campaigns in 44 countries*, for measles, polio, yellow fever and other diseases, affecting millions more people.

New modelling also shows significant declines in DTP, measles vaccination coverage

New modelling, also published today in The Lancet by researchers at the Washington-based Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), similarly shows that childhood vaccination declined globally in 2020 due to COVID-19 disruptions. The IHME-led modelling is based on country-reported administrative data for DTP and measles vaccines, supplemented by reports on electronic medical records and human movement data captured through anonymized tracking of mobile phones.

Both analyses show that countries and the broader health community must ensure that new waves of COVID-19 and the massive rollout of COVID 19 vaccines dont derail routine immunization and that catch-up activities continue to be enhanced.

*Correction: This figure was corrected from57 postponed mass vaccination campaigns in 66 countries.

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COVID-19 pandemic leads to major backsliding on childhood vaccinations, new WHO - UNICEF

As training camps across the NFL are set to open up in less than two weeks, some teams may be looking at a competitive disadvantage due to their vaccination rates. According to Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network, two teams remain under 50% vaccinated. This is improved from four clubs being under that threshold, which Rob Maaddi of the Associated Pressnoted in a report released on Thursday. The Los Angeles Chargers, Washington Football Team, Indianapolis Colts, and Arizona Cardinals were said to be the teams with the four lowest COVID-19 vaccination rates in the league as of Thursday, per the AP's source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, but it's unclear which two still remain under 50%.

Meanwhile, the NFL Network adds that 13 teams are over the 85% vaccinated threshold and 73.8% of players have at least one shot. The AP adds that thePittsburgh Steelers, Miami Dolphins, Carolina Panthers and Denver Broncos are among with teams with the highest vaccination rates.

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Maaddi notes that teams are required to have a method of easily identifying vaccinated individuals (Ex. credentials, color-coded wristbands, etc.). While fully vaccinated players face relaxed protocols this season, unvaccinated players will be required to undergo daily testing, wear masks and practice social distancing. Other restrictions include not being allowed to eat meals with teammates, participate in media or marketing activities while traveling, using the sauna or steam room and being confined to the team hotel while traveling. Vaccinated players have no such restrictions.

These vaccination numbers come in particular focus as we not only creep toward the start of the NFL's regular season but as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to be a thorn in the side of professional sports in the United States. The Red Sox-Yankees game scheduled for Thursday to begin the second half of the MLB season was postponed due to an outbreak within New York's clubhouse. Team USA basketball's exhibition with Australia was canceled due to health and safety concerns after star guard Bradley Beal was sent home and will no longer participate in the Olympics.

The APreports that the NFL does not plan to postpone games this season, so naturally, teams with fewer players vaccinated do open themselves up to playing under less-than-ideal conditions. There was arguably no greater example of that in 2020 than when the Broncos' entire quarterback room was ineligible to play in Week 12 due to COVID-19, thrusting wide receiver Kendall Hinton in as the team's starting quarterback. If teams want to avoid a similar scenario and have a fully equipped squad heading into a game on a weekly basis, having a high vaccination rate is paramount.

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Two NFL teams remain under the 50 percent COVID-19 vaccination threshold, per report - CBS Sports

What GAO Found

State and local government revenues from individual, corporate, and sales taxes declined about $61 billion in the second quarter of 2020 compared to the second quarter in 2019 and rebounded in the third and fourth quarters of 2020. State and local government expenditures remained largely flat throughout 2020 as state and local governments increased expenditures in some areas but limited spending in other areas.

State and Local Government Revenues, First Quarter 2019 through Fourth Quarter 2020

Among the eight states GAO selected, those highly reliant on tax revenues from the energy and tourism and leisure sectors were particularly vulnerable to the economic effects of the pandemic. Other states saw varying levels of revenue declines based on factors such as the duration of business shutdowns. Some selected states revised their revenue forecasts downward as the pandemic progressed and some states' revenue declines were not as severe as initially projected by the revised revenue forecasts.

Most selected states increased public health and safety expenditures and cut spending in other areas. Six states took actions aimed at reducing spending, including hiring freezes or furloughs. Half of the selected states used reserve funds to help balance their budgets. Officials from most states reported that their proposed budgets did not include tax or fee increases.

Five of the eight selected states used the federal assistance they received, including Coronavirus Relief Funds (CRF), to help bolster their states' capacity to implement federal programs. In particular, states used CRF to help manage the increased demand for services due to COVID-19, such as administering unemployment insurance benefits.

The COVID-19 pandemic and related policies had a rapid and severe effect on the U.S. economy, including state and local governments. To limit social contact and slow the spread of the pandemic, nearly all states implemented policies that limited certain economic activities. Relief laws, including the CARES Act, provided appropriations to state and local governments to address the public health and economic threats posed by the pandemic.

The CARES Act includes a provision for GAO to report on COVID-19 pandemic oversight efforts. This report examines (1) changes in revenues and expenditures for the state and local government sector since the onset of the pandemic, (2) changes in revenues and expenditures for selected states, (3) actions selected states took to address changes in revenues and expenditures, and (4) factors that affected the selected states' capacity to implement federal programs.

To conduct this work, GAO analyzed state and local government revenue and expenditure data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the Bureau of Economic Analysis's National Income and Product Accounts. GAO analyzed state budget and other relevant documents and interviewed budget officials in eight states that represented a range of factors, including number of COVID-19 cases, revenue sources, and geographic region. GAO also interviewed organizations that represent state and local governments and experts that provide financial and credit risk information to state and local governments.

For more information, contact Michelle Sager at (202) 512-6806 or SagerM@gao.gov.

Original post:

State and Local Governments: Fiscal Conditions During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Selected States - Government Accountability Office

The U.S. fell short of its goal of giving at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine to 70 percent of adults by July 4, but not by much. About two-thirds of everyone above the age of 18 had gotten a shot when the holiday arrived, with coverage among seniors surpassing even that benchmark. That leaves kidsmostly unvaccinatedas the Americans most exposed to the pandemic this summer, while the Delta variant spreads. Its said that COVID-19 may soon be a disease of the young. If thats whats coming, then its effects on children must be better understood.

This month, The New England Journal of Medicine published new treatment guidelines for the occasionally fatal, COVID-related condition known as multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C). When kids first started showing signs of MIS-C in early 2020rash or conjunctivitis; low blood pressure; diarrhea or vomiting; etc.doctors guessed it was an inflammatory disease that occurs most often in toddlers called Kawasaki disease. Now most experts believe its a separate condition, affecting kids at an average age of 8. No more than a few hundred children in the U.S. have died from COVID-19 during the pandemiccompared with more than half a million deaths overallbut more than 4,000 have developed MIS-C, and we still dont have foolproof ways to cure it. But a handful of scientists think theyve found important clues about what drives MIS-C. The disease, they say, may have something to do with a dangerous condition most commonly associated with tampon use.

That condition, called toxic shock syndrome, was also quite mysterious when it first appeared, in a group of kids in the late 1970s. Within a few years, it was clear that women who used high-absorbency tampons were also falling ill, with symptoms very much like those now seen in MIS-C: They had kidney failure, diarrhea, and skin rashes; a few went into shock and died. (Indeed, one of the early sufferers, like the early MIS-C patients, was initially and incorrectly thought to have Kawasaki disease.) Doctors soon realized that the tampon-induced sickness was caused by a buildup of toxins from certain strains of Staphylococcus or Streptococcus bacteria. In people who do not yet have immunity to those strains, the toxins somehow bypass the immune systems usual processes for developing a targeted response to a pathogen. That sets off a widespread, confused, nonspecific immune reaction.

Read: Doctors are puzzled by heart inflammation in the young and vaccinated

The toxins that caused the immune system to run amok were called superantigens in 1989. (More than two dozen types have now been discovered in tampon-related bacteria, rabies, Ebola, and other pathogens.) What makes them super is their ability to short-circuit T-cell receptors. Under normal circumstances, a foreign substance provokes an immune reaction when a piece of it, called an antigen, binds to the nook in the middle of a T-cell receptor. That prompts the body to make antibodies tailored to the antigens specific shape. But superantigens manage to grab on and connect to the T cells outside the nook. That still triggers an immune response, but it isnt one thats custom-made for the infection. What does a superantigen do? It comes on from the side, says Moshe Arditi, a pediatric-infectious-disease doctor at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, in L.A. That's why its able to bind to many, many, many, many cells20 to 30 percent of your T cells that suddenly could be bound by the superantigen andboomactivated like crazy.

Arditi has been studying Kawasaki disease for years, but when cases of MIS-C began to be described last year, he suspected they had more in common with toxic shock syndrome. So Arditi reached out to the computational biologist Ivet Bahar, of the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, among other scientists, to help investigate. Bahars lab found a resemblance between the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein, which allows the pandemic virus to infect human cells, and the Staphylococcus superantigen toxin. The results appeared in September in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. This level of similarity, both in sequence and structure with the bacterial toxin, tells us for sure that this segment of spike has the same behavior, Bahar told me.

Still, the scientists continued to gather evidence in support of this idea. In spring, Arditi, Bahar, and other colleagues reported that children with MIS-C, like people with toxic shock syndrome, have increased numbers of T cells with a receptor that binds to superantigens. Around the same time, scientists in France reached a similar conclusion, likening the unusual T-cell pattern in MIS-C to that of toxic shock syndrome.

Read: Why kids might be key to reaching herd immunity

If its true that a protein from the virus that causes COVID-19 is a superantigen, then you might expect to see something akin to toxic shock syndrome among a larger segment of those who are infected, as opposed to just in kids. In fact, there is an adult version of MIS-C, known as MIS-A (the incidence of this condition is not known, however). Its also possible that long COVID in adults, as well as other suspected autoimmune features of the disease, is related to superantigens, says Michel Goldman, an immunologist at the French-speaking Free University of Brussels.

However, not every MIS-C researcher is convinced that the spike protein itself causes a superantigen-like illness. I don't buy that its driven by SARS-CoV-2 directly, says Carrie Lucas, an immunologist at the Yale University School of Medicine who has studied the pediatric disease. Lucas notes that toxic shock syndrome tends to come on in a matter of days following a bacterial infection, whereas MIS-C often manifests several weeks after a child has contracted the coronavirus. Also, affected children usually show only mild symptoms during their initial encounter with the pathogen. To Lucas, those two factors suggest that another mechanism is in play. Perhaps the body creates a molecule in response to the coronavirus infection, and this molecule, in turn, behaves as a superantigen.

Another unusual finding about MIS-C could explain its delayed onset, though. Lael Yonker, a pediatric pulmonologist at Massachusetts General Hospital, and her collaborators found some evidence suggestingbut not definitively provingthat the condition originates, weeks after infection, in a childs gut. Its been well established that the coronavirus, or at least bits of it, can be detected for some time post-exposure in peoples stool samples. But samples from kids with MIS-C also show elevated levels of a protein called zonulin, which is normally found in the gut lining and makes the intestine more permeable when its released. If children with MIS-C have leaky guts, that could explain their prolonged gastrointestinal symptoms. It might also tell us why infected kids who develop MIS-C (as opposed to infected kids who dont) end up with spike protein from the coronavirus circulating in their blood.

Read: The tampon: a history

Yonker and her colleagues wanted to see if they could prevent this damage to the gut, so they tried giving a toddler with MIS-C an experimental medicine for celiac disease that goes after zonulin. He was very ill, Yonker says. He was being treated with the standard treatments like steroids and his symptoms kept coming back. The toddler got better: Spike levels in his blood dropped by 90 percent and his fever lessened. One case cant demonstrate a connection between the drug and the response, so the scientists are now launching a formal study of the celiac drug, called larazotide, for MIS-C.

Meanwhile, Arditi and his colleagues have reported that, in laboratory testing, a monoclonal antibody drug developed as a potential (but still experimental) treatment for patients with toxic shock syndrome also attached to the suspected superantigen portion of SARS-CoV-2 and blocked the virus from infecting cells. The team has patented the new use of the experimental toxic-shock drug for COVID-19 and is waiting to see if there is interest from industry in moving it forward in development.

The approval of those drugs for COVID-19, or MIS-C patients specifically, is a very distant prospect. For now, the fact that SARS-CoV-2 might function as a superantigen in children (as well as some adults) underscores a risk that may be growing. Youngsters who are not yet immunized against COVID-19 would be the most important beneficiaries of a better understanding of this link. The global sweep of newer, more infectious, variants means we need to remain vigilant, says Diana Berrent, the founder of the patient advocacy group Survivor Corps. With no child under 12 vaccinated, and the general trend towards abandonment of masking, testing, and isolation, we are putting our children in an unnecessarily vulnerable position.

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Clues About MIS-C and COVID-19 in Kids - The Atlantic

The number of new cases of COVID-19 in the U.S. has more than doubled in the last two weeks, as the delta variant continues to race across the nation, infecting both vaccinated and unvaccinated people, who account for more than 99% of recent fatalities.

The average case tally on Wednesday was 26,513, according to a New York Times tracker, up 111% from two weeks ago. Hospitalizations have climbed 22% and deaths are up 5% in the same time frame, albeit they remain at far lower levels than at the peak of the crisis in the spring of 2020. Overall, 47 states are showing new cases up 10% from a week ago, according to Johns Hopkins University data.

Experts are increasingly describing two Americas, divided between the vaccinated and unvaccinated, with the latter group putting themselves and others at risk of infection as the vaccine program grinds to a halt.

See also: Delta variant drove COVID-19 cases higher across the globe last week including in the U.S.

Despite national, regional, and global efforts, the pandemic is nowhere near finished. The pandemic continues to evolve with four variants of concern dominating global epidemiology. The Committee recognized the strong likelihood for the emergence and global spread of new and possibly more dangerous variants of concern that may be even more challenging to control.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Infections vaccine tracker is showing that 160 million Americans are fully inoculated, equal to 48.2% of the overall population. That means they have had two shots of the vaccines developed by Pfizer PFE, +0.10% and German partner BioNTech BNTX, +3.80% and Moderna MRNA, +8.39%, or one shot of Johnson & Johnsons JNJ, +0.23% one-dose regimen. The AstraZeneca AZN, +0.17% AZN, -0.07% vaccine has not been granted emergency use authorization in the U.S.

Among adults 18-years-and-older, 59.1% are fully vaccinated, while 67.8% have received at least one dose, still short of President Joe Bidens goal of having 70% of the adult population receive at least one shot by the July 4 holiday. The numbers are barely budging day-to-day now, despite concerns expressed by healthcare experts.

Were losing time here. The delta variant is spreading, people are dying, we cant actually just wait for things to get more rational, Dr. Francis Collins, director of theNational Institutes of Healthtold CNN Wednesday.

The World Health Organizations emergency committee warned that with delta and three other variants of concern still circulating, the pandemic is nowhere near finished.

Instead, there is a strong likelihood for the emergence and global spread of new and possibly more dangerous variants of concern that may be even more challenging to control, the committee said in a statement.

Elsewhere, Indonesia set another daily case record of 54,517 and has overtaken India as the Asian epicenter of the pandemic, CNN reported. At least 991 fatalities were recorded in the nation of about 170 million people on Wednesday to push the total to 69,210.

Russia had 25,293 new cases and a record death toll of 791 on Thursday, according to The Moscow Times, raising the overall death toll to 146,069, the highest official number in Europe.

In China, local governments are moving aggressively to push residents to get vaccinated and some are planning to bar them from accessing public venues if they refuse, The Wall Street Journal reported. Roughly a dozen counties and cities in the eastern provinces of Zhejiang, Fujian and Jiangxi have set late-August deadlines for people 18 years or older to complete a two-shot vaccine regimen, according to similarly worded online statements.

Many of them also set dates in late July by when unvaccinated people would be barred from entering schools, libraries, prisons, nursing homes and inpatient facilities at hospitals without a valid medical exemption, the paper reported. China has fully vaccinated more than 40% of its population of 1.4 billion so far.

A cluster of COVID cases at a hotel hosting Olympic athletes is raising concerns coming just over a week before the opening ceremony, Reuters reported. Adding to the gloom, Tokyo has just recorded its highest number of new COVID cases in six months.

Singapore reported its highest case number in 10 months, after uncovering a cluster among hostesses and customers at Karaoke bars, Reuters reported. Singapore has yet to reopen KTV lounges and clubs and authorities said the places where the virus spread were operating as food and beverage outlets.

Meanwhile, the United Nations Unicef agency and the World Health Organization said about 23 million children missed out on other basic vaccinations during the pandemic and warned of the potential for outbreaks of diseases including polio, measles and meningitis.

Multiple disease outbreaks would be catastrophic for communities and health systems already battling COVID-19, making it more urgent than ever to invest in childhood vaccination and ensure every child is reached, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesussaid in a statement.

This is a wake-up call we cannot allow a legacy of COVID-19 to be the resurgence of measles, polio and other killers, said Dr. Seth Berkley, CEO of Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. We all need to work together to help countries both defeat COVID-19, by ensuring global, equitable access to vaccines, and get routine immunization programs back on track.

Dont miss:Pfizer is making the case for COVID-19 boosters. Health officials say we dont need a third dose yet. Whos right?

See also:WHO head slams countries for ordering millions of COVID booster shots, when much of the world has not even vaccinated the most vulnerable

The global tally for the coronavirus-borne illness climbed above 188.5 million on Thursday, while the death toll climbed further above 4.06 million, according todata aggregated by Johns Hopkins University.

The U.S. leads the world with a total of 33.9 million cases and in deaths with 608,167.

India is closing in on the U.S. in cases at 30.9 million but is third in deaths at 411,989, while Brazil is second in deaths at 537,394 but is third in cases at 19.2 million.

Mexico has the fourth-highest death toll at 235,507 but has recorded just 2.6 million cases, according to its official numbers.

In Europe, the U.K. has 128,862 deaths the second highest in Europe after Russia.

China,where the virus was first discovered late in 2019,has had 104,157 confirmed cases and 4,848 deaths, according to its official numbers, which are widely held to be massively underreported.

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U.S. COVID-19 cases more than double in two weeks as delta variant spreads fast, and WHO warns 'pandemic nowhere near finished' - MarketWatch

The winner of Washington's "Shot of a Lifetime" COVID-19 vaccine lottery is expected to be announced Friday by Gov. Jay Inslee.

OLYMPIA, Wash. Gov. Jay Inslee is expected to announce the grand prize winner Friday of Washington's "Shot of a Lifetime" COVID-19 vaccine lottery.

The winner was chosen Tuesday and contacted in the following days by Washington's Lottery officials. They will be the winner of a $1 million grand prize.

On Tuesday, the state also picked another 368 numbers for a number of other prizes, including those that were not claimed during the previous four drawings.

These prizes were for things like a pair of Club Level Seattle Seahawks tickets with a $50 parking pass, seven Nintendo Switch Packs, 30 state parks camping gift cards and 148 Discover Passes.

Winners for the first four $250,000 prizes were chosen through June. Click here for a list of all the prizes available during the fifth and final drawing.

The Shot of a Lifetime vaccine lottery was announced by Inslee and his team in early June with millions of dollars in prizes, including cash.

Data from the Washington State Department of Health shows the lottery increased vaccinations by 24%, with the largest boost among youth under 18.

As of Tuesday, the state said 4,123,601 Washingtonians 18 years old and up have at least initiated their vaccination process. By comparison, on June 8, just after the state announced the lottery, there were 3,904,156 Washingtonians who had received at least one dose of the vaccine.

The point of the lottery was to help boost Washingtons vaccination rate so that the state would hit Inslees goal of 70% of residents 16 years old and up having at least gotten one dose of the vaccine by June 30.

While the state did not meet that goal by June 30, it did finally hit the mark this week. As of Wednesday, 70% of Washingtonians 16 years old and up had gotten at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.

The milestone came just two weeks after the state fully reopened on June 30, almost a year and a half after it closed down.

While the "Shot of a Lifetime" lottery comes to a close, Inslee and state health officials are continuing to encourage everyone to get vaccinated to protect themselves against the coronavirus and variants of the virus.

Inslee recently introduced A Heroes Thanks, a similar program but aimed specifically at military members, their families, and veterans who were not included in "Shot of a Lifetime." The first drawing is expected to take place on Tuesday, July 20, and looks to encourage those in the armed forces to get the shot.

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Inslee to announce winner of $1 million COVID-19 vaccine lottery prize today - KING5.com

New app provides users with instant access to their immunization records.

Union County, NJ Docket is a free new app for mobile devices that helps take the sting out of losing a COVID-19 vaccination card, by providing all the information at the touch of a button.

The COVID-19 vaccination card is a small document that can be easily lost, damaged, or misplaced. Having your immunization records on the Docket mobile app is an easy, convenient way to ensure that information is at your fingertips whenever you need it, said Union County Commissioner Board Chairman Alexander Mirabella.

Docket is offered through the New Jersey Department of Health in an effort to provide residents with easy access to their vaccination records. It is available as a free download in both English and Spanish, through the App Store or Google Play sites.

The highly infectious Delta variant is potentially causing a new wave of COVID-19 infections in New Jersey and elsewhere. The Commissioner Board strongly urges residents who have not been vaccinated to get their jab as soon as possible.

Ample supplies of vaccine are available in Union County, and making an appointment is quick and easy.

Visit ucnj.org/vax or contact the Union County Vaccine Call Center at 908-613-7829 to book an appointment at any one of Union Countys free COVID-19 vaccine sites.

Union County currently runs three permanent vaccine sites with regular hours at the Dunn Sports Center in Elizabeth, at Kean University in Union Township, and at Plainfield High School in Plainfield.

In addition, the Countys mobile vaccination unit visits local neighborhoods. Upcoming visits include Plainfield, Roselle Park, Hillside, and Elizabeth. For a complete list with locations and hours of operation visit ucnj.org/covid19/vaccinations-page.

Residents who are home bound or who have difficulty leaving the home may be eligible for a home vaccination visit. To find out about eligibility, call the Union County Division on Aging and Disability Resources 1-888-280-8226 during regular weekday business hours.

The Docket app has been approved by the US Centers for Disease Control, and adheres to federal and state standards for data security and privacy. It is currently used in New Jersey and Utah. Plans are under way to roll it out in additional states.

The app is available to New Jersey residents who received their COVID-19 vaccination in New Jersey.

For more information about the Docket app, view the New Jersey Department of Health press release online. FAQs for the app are also available online in pdf format.

For information and updates on all Union County services during the COVID-19 outbreak, including the Union County COVID-19 Test Center at Kean University, the Mobile Test Unit, vaccination information, emergency food distribution and other support services, visit ucnj.org/covid19. General information about COVID-19 is available through the New Jersey Department of Health at nj.gov/health.

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For all Union County programs and services visit ucnj.org, call the Public Info Line, 877-424-1234, email info@ucnj.org or use the online Contact Form.

Connect with Union County on social media.

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Lost Your COVID-19 Vaccination Card? Use this Handy App to Retrieve Your Info County of Union, New Jersey - UCNJ.org

Several other studies have also detected unique chemical patterns in the breath of patients with Covid-19, and some devices claim impressive results. In one study of the SpiroNose, which included 4,510 participants, a team of Dutch researchers reported that the device correctly identified at least 98 percent of people who were infected with the virus, even in a group of asymptomatic participants. (The study, which included researchers from Breathomix, has not yet been peer-reviewed.)

But the SpiroNose had a relatively high rate of false positives, the study found. Because of this problem, the device does not provide consumers with a definitive diagnosis; the results either come back negative or inconclusive, in which case a standard P.C.R. test is administered.

Dozens of testing sites in the Netherlands are now using the machine, Ms. de Vries said, but there have been some hiccups. In May, Science reported that Amsterdams public health authorities suspended use of the SpiroNose after 25 false negatives. Officials later determined that user error was largely responsible, and SpiroNose screening has resumed, Ms. de Vries said.

Other groups are working on their own breathalyzers. Researchers at the Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia, who have identified a breathprint of Covid in children, are now trying to identify breath markers of a rare but dangerous complication of the disease, known as multi-system inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C).

The clinicians on the front line, theyre really struggling with which children we need to worry most about, said Dr. Audrey Odom John, an infectious disease specialist at Childrens Hospital of Philadelphia, who is leading the research.

In addition to studying the V.O.C.s emitted by Covid patients, Dr. Davis and her colleagues are analyzing what is known as exhaled breath condensate, a concentrated solution of the tiny droplets of fluid, or aerosols, that are present in breath. These aerosols contain all sorts of complex biological molecules, including proteins, peptides, antibodies and inflammatory markers.

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A Breathalyzer to Detect Covid-19? Scientists Are on It. - The New York Times