Good news! (if proven, of course)
The Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines set off a persistent immune reaction in the body that may protect against the coronavirus for years, scientists reported on Monday. https://t.co/WqobfRFqTF
— New York Times World (@nytimesworld) June 28, 2021
U.S. health officials call them the “movable middle” — some 55 million unvaccinated adults who are seen as persuadable. The Biden administration is devising ads for niche markets and enlisting celebrities in the effort to convince them to get a shot. https://t.co/XiTDpfNtnM
— The Associated Press (@AP) June 27, 2021
… “We’re not just going to do the mass vaccination sites,” said Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra. “It’s door to door. It’s mobile clinics. We’re doing vaccinations at church, the PTA meeting, the barber shop, the grocery store.”
Officials have seized on a compelling new talking point, courtesy of the coronavirus. The potent delta variant that has ravaged India is spreading here. Now accounting for about 1 in 5 virus samples genetically decoded in the U.S., the more transmissible mutation has gained a foothold in Mountain West and heartland states. Many of those infected are young and unvaccinated.
The White House has lent its top names to the vaccine push.
President Joe Biden visited a mobile vaccination site in Raleigh, North Carolina, on Thursday. Earlier in the day, first lady Jill Biden held the hand of a woman at a drive-thru vaccination site in Kissimmee, Florida.
Doug Emhoff, the husband of Vice President Kamala Harris, has racked up thousands of frequent flyer miles, visiting at least 18 or 19 states by his count.
The administration also has recruited celebrities and athletes, including country music star Brad Paisley and the Tampa Bay Lightning hockey team. It has teamed up with Twitch and Riot Games to reach online gamers and with Panera and Chipotle to offer free food to those getting a shot.
The message, as Surgeon General Vivek Murthy put it: “If you are vaccinated, you are protected. If you are not, the threat of variants is real and growing.” …
Analysts at HHS have developed a rough sketch of those in the movable middle. They tend to be younger, mainly 18-29. Most are not college educated, and political independents predominate. Black and Latino adults are more likely to fall in this category than people of other backgrounds…
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Global pandemic: Moscow on Sunday recorded its worst daily coronavirus death toll & Indonesia saw more than 21k new infections in a single day, also a record. Countries are reimposing restrictions. The delta variant is driving much the surge https://t.co/njoIHWOzVA
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) June 27, 2021
As the current wave of infections in Africa threatens to overtake previous peaks, vaccine rollouts still lag behind. Less than 1 percent of Africa’s population is fully vaccinated, FP’s @lynseychutel writes.
Our latest Africa Brief: https://t.co/agZuPjsI8W
— Foreign Policy (@ForeignPolicy) June 27, 2021
South Africa has reintroduced tough restrictions including a ban on alcohol sales and an extended nightly curfew as it fights a fast-increasing surge of COVID-19 cases. President Cyril Ramaphosa says the delta variant appears to be driving the new wave. https://t.co/BeaTEkjOoo
— AP Africa (@AP_Africa) June 27, 2021
India reports 46,148 new COVID-19 cases, 979 deaths https://t.co/kDPhtd0EE0 pic.twitter.com/v9w3ksRztr
— Reuters (@Reuters) June 28, 2021
Extraordinary, heartbreaking video essay:
Thanks to Modi, India Had a ‘State Orchestrated #Covid Massacre’
Featuring Kunal Kamra, Comedian.
ICYMI: https://t.co/Dp86lh5zsh— Laurie Garrett (@Laurie_Garrett) June 28, 2021
Given a large enough number of cases, ‘rare’ still means too many very sick kids:
Children who have fully recovered from Covid in India are battling a rare and dangerous condition https://t.co/8LFz0Ri16i
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) June 28, 2021
Dozens came down w/ Covid on Mt. Everest. Nepal says it never happened. Climbers posted firsthand accounts of being infected, but officials in Nepal, which relies on tourism revenue, dismissed them as rumors https://t.co/IT5qc5GDNS
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) June 27, 2021
Health minister leads push for stricter curbs in COVID-ravaged Indonesia https://t.co/NSvQIojUyl pic.twitter.com/MroiKDXp0b
— Reuters (@Reuters) June 28, 2021
Was just racially harassed by a Taiwanese and being called "Indonesian" and asked to go back home because "I brought in the disease". Oh hello racism.
— Liyana Yamin 李亞娜 (@liyanahikes) June 27, 2021
Settlements locked down as Fiji endures deadly coronavirus wave https://t.co/Z0tPf4czkD pic.twitter.com/yIMHMcckDs
— Reuters (@Reuters) June 28, 2021
AstraZeneca on track to meet Southeast Asia vaccine orders https://t.co/OP4hOz0aeD pic.twitter.com/lvYE40qG8D
— Reuters (@Reuters) June 28, 2021
.@CNNTravel: “As someone who has tested positive for Covid-19 in both Britain and Hong Kong, I’ve experienced the worst of both worlds” writes @PaulineLockwood. https://t.co/HHzhX7te1D
— CNN Asia Pacific (@cnnasiapr) June 28, 2021
… The city, of course, needs to act in its citizens’ best interest, and has undoubtedly saved many from deaths with its ruthless “zero Covid” policy, unlike my home nations.
When we moved to Hong Kong, we knew the city was on the other side of the world, but with modern travel it never felt that far way. It was always possible to be home within a day.
But that’s no longer the case; the pandemic has made the world feel as big as it is actually is.
Australia is battling to contain several COVID-19 clusters around the country in what some experts have described as the nation’s most dangerous stage of the pandemic since the earliest days. https://t.co/8CFgHXIdx4
— The Associated Press (@AP) June 28, 2021
The highly contagious Delta strain of COVID-19 infected everyone who attended a Sydney birthday party except for the six people who were vaccinated https://t.co/bMsoEQ2fEO
— Max Walden (@maxwalden_) June 28, 2021
meanwhile fb groups for stranded expats are currently discussing the merits of paying $20k to rush home for a dying parent versus the risk of not making it in time and having to grieve in quarantine, and what that would do to their mental health https://t.co/W1hvqysWR0
— Helen Davidson (@heldavidson) June 28, 2021
More infectious COVID-19 variants account for most UAE cases, authority says https://t.co/JHrfpXzRvj pic.twitter.com/XRcIeEJIrZ
— Reuters (@Reuters) June 28, 2021
⚡ Moscow and St. Petersburg have both confirmed new record daily coronavirus death tolls, with 124 deaths in the Russian capital and 110 deaths in St. Petersburg https://t.co/1mKw5P148Y
— The Moscow Times (@MoscowTimes) June 28, 2021
Covid restrictions: Irish Cabinet to meet earlier than expected https://t.co/sHSSXM0kUU
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) June 27, 2021
Members of the Cunha family understand their closeness cost them dear. But most don’t see how they could have acted any other way. They say they blame Brazil's stuttering vaccination campaign rather than their own failures to maintain social distance https://t.co/CO3KHsPmSH pic.twitter.com/Ox3tutXHBo
— Reuters (@Reuters) June 28, 2021
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So how to manage unvaccinated kids?
I have an unvaccinated 9 year-old
He plays with bunch of other unvaccinated 9 year-olds
Outdoors & indoors
Parents/siblings/community are largely vaccinated
Which keeps infection numbers low
And allows unvaccinated kids to be pretty safe
— Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH (@ashishkjha) June 26, 2021
"Walking through a hospital this month is so different than it was in January 2021 for one reason: the vaccines," writes @AmeshAA. https://t.co/5sr1JTJroV
— Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health (@JohnsHopkinsSPH) June 27, 2021
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The US is awash in coronavirus vaccines, yet a racial divide persists in the vaccination campaign. An examination of vaccination data w/ an emphasis in Philadelphia opens a window onto missteps & inequities https://t.co/DiLZLOXaac
— delthia ricks ? (@DelthiaRicks) June 27, 2021
I fear that these localized outbreaks, in counties with low vaccination rates, are going to become common across the South. https://t.co/3mITc6b3HI
— Prof. Gavin Yamey MD MPH (@GYamey) June 27, 2021
Delta is now the variant of the coronavirus identified third most often in California, according to new data.
It's evidence that the very transmissible variant poses a danger to people who have not been vaccinated against COVID-19.https://t.co/r4tbMVijQ0
— Los Angeles Times (@latimes) June 27, 2021
Saying it’s “post-pandemic” because your regional lockdown is over is like saying it’s “post-climate change” because the flooding in your town receded.
— Emily Atkin (@emorwee) June 27, 2021
Thanks so much, all you ‘just asking questions’ high-profile conspiracy theorists!
Wuhan lab-leak theory fuels Trump comeback rally https://t.co/Vty15VyivQ
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) June 28, 2021
Also, we eradicated polio before "fuck you, I'll die to make a complete inane political point because I am in a cult that worships a moron" was a thing https://t.co/7vzm8DB18m
— Tom Nichols (@RadioFreeTom) June 26, 2021
COVID-19 Coronavirus Updates: Sunday / Monday, June 27-28Post + Comments (24)