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Added on the 31/03/2021 05:15:52 - Copyright : Wochit
16 states across the US broke a grim record on Friday, reporting their highest total of people hospitalized for COVID-19 since the pandemic began. Business Insider reports that since last fall, cases of COVID-19 have surged nationwide, particularly following the end of the holiday season. Alabama, Arkansas, Maryland, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia were hit hardest. Record hospitalizations were also seen this week in Arizona, California, Delaware, and Maine. The US Food and Drug Administration issued an emergency use authorization for two COVID-19 vaccines at the end of 2020. However, a slow rollout means it will be many months before all who want a vaccination are immunized.
It's been widely noted that survivors of the novel coronavirus COVID-19 may suffer neurological damage long after other symptoms survive. It's believed that this brain damage isn't caused by the virus, but rather by the body's immune response to it. Now, UPI reports an international group of researchers has called for studies to explore the potential long-term effects of COVID-19 on the brain. Previous studies have documented brain inflammation, or encephalitis, in patients with severe COVID-19 symptoms. Some patients also suffered strokes. Postmortem MRI scans of patients who have died from COVID-19 have revealed lesions, or damage, in different regions of the brain. Researchers say it's becoming clear that the damage done by COVID-19 may have chronic, long-term consequences that could impact patients' quality of life.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has revealed who should be next in line to receive the recently released vaccine against COVID-19. The CDC said Sunday that frontline essential workers and people 75 and older should be next in line for coronavirus vaccines. Business Insider reports the US should have enough shots to complete the first two phases of vaccinations by sometime in February of 2021. Healthcare workers and residents of long-term care facilities have already started receiving their shots. The third round should go to those ages 65 to 74, those ages 16 to 64 with high-risk medical conditions, and any remaining unvaccinated essential worker.
The Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine is expected to get emergency use authorization from the Food & Drug Administration. And according to Business Insider, the Pentagon is working with military precision to deliver the vaccine to US troops. The Pentagon announced plans on Wednesday to distribute a COVID-19 vaccine to US military personnel, starting with almost 44,000 doses. Initially, vaccination will be voluntary, as is standard practice with emergency use authorizations. However, it could eventually become mandatory.
UPI reports Ohio State University found nearly 40% of US residents plan to attend gatherings of ten or more people this holiday season. Despite concerns over the spread of COVID-19, one-third of respondents said they wouldn't ask attendees at holiday parties with family or friends to wear masks. The data showed that just over 25% indicated that they wouldn't practice social distancing, either. Figures from Johns Hopkins University report nearly 10.5 million people nationally have been sickened by the virus. More than 240,000 have died from it.
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