The United States has reached 600,000 Covid-19 deaths due to an increase in new dangerous Delta variants

According to data from Johns Hopkins University, the United States has reached another cool milestone in the Covid-19 pandemic, with 600,000 lives lost to the disease as of Tuesday.

Daily death Decreased in recent months, Hundreds of Americans are still dying daily, mostly due to illness Vaccine preventable..

According to Johns Hopkins Monday data, the average daily death toll from Covid-19 over the past week was 343.

It’s about Five times the average number of people who died in a car accident each day..

As the coronavirus continued to spread around the world, it mutated into a more contagious strain. Alpha (B.1.1.7)and Delta (B.1.617.2) variant.

Currently, both strains are “Variant of concernAccording to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

That is, “increased infectivity, more serious illness (eg, increased hospitalization or mortality), significantly reduced neutralization by antibodies produced during previous infections or vaccination, treatment or vaccine efficacy. It means that there is evidence of a decline or failure of diagnostic detection. CDC says..

Alpha variant U.S. predominant stocks..But Increasing cases of delta variants..

Recent studies suggest Delta variants are not only highly contagious – It Can cause more serious illness From the alpha variant.

A Scottish study published on Monday was found Delta variants were associated with about twice the risk of hospitalization Compared to the alpha variant.

Get Vaccination can be stopped Variants of them. However, experts say it is important to be vaccinated as soon as possible before the virus mutates into a more concerned strain.

It is “crunch time” to be vaccinated

Dr. Peter Hotez, director of the Texas Children’s Hospital Vaccine Development Center, said:

“If you remember when we first talked about the British variant, the B.1.1.7 variant of the entire British Isles that started in southeast England. We were afraid of how aggressive it was Infects people. It was a much higher level of infection, “Hotez said on Tuesday.

“This is even higher for Delta, and what’s essentially happening is that anyone who isn’t vaccinated is at very high risk of getting this Delta mutant. is.”

Hotez said it’s a “critical” time for qualified Americans (aged 12 and over) to be vaccinated.

“This is the time for everyone to vaccinate, because it will take 5-6 weeks to vaccinate both, and then another week, even if you want to vaccinate tomorrow or adolescents. . ,” He said.

More contagious mutants = more people need to be vaccinated, doctors say

“If the virus is highly contagious, we need to increase the proportion of the protected, or immunized, population to stop the spread,” said Paul Ofit, director of Children’s Vaccine Education Center. The doctor says. Philadelphia hospital.

“This virus will be epidemic all over the world for a long time.”

Also, the longer the virus spreads, the more likely it is to produce highly contagious variants, Mr. Ofit said.

However, most Americans are not fully vaccinated — leaving them vulnerable to alpha and delta variants.

As of Tuesday, 52.6% of Americans had been vaccinated at least once and 43.9% were fully vaccinated, according to CDC data.

Ofit said by winter, When the virus can surge againThe United States needs to increase the number of fully vaccinated people by up to 80% or more to protect the population.

Good news: The spread of more contagious mutants may not be significantly inhibited by the vaccine, but the level of protection still appears to be high, Ofit said.

“I think the vaccine will keep you away from the hospital, away from the ICU, and prevent you from dying,” he said.

People who have been infected with Covid-19 need to be vaccinated to be “bulletproof,” researchers say.

According to a study published in the journal, people infected with Covid-19 appear to have maintained an immune response for at least a year. Nature..

Researchers have reported that memory B cells in the human immune system have been producing protection against Covid-19 for at least a year.

Studies show that people who recover from a coronavirus infection may be vulnerable to new variants of the virus. However, vaccines, especially mRNA vaccines such as those manufactured by Pfizer / BioNTech and Moderna, produce a powerful response that protects people from these mutants.

Additional booster immunization with the vaccine may extend the protection that recovered patients have, the researchers said.

“Data show that convalescent individuals have very long-lasting immunity, and that convalescent individuals receiving available mRNA vaccines should protect against circulating SARS-CoV-2 variants in antibodies and memory. It suggests producing B cells, “the researchers wrote.

“Antibodies produced by memory cells have evolved with increased breadth and potency,” said Michel Nussenzweig, a molecular immunologist at Rockefeller University who worked on the study.

Nussenzweig said the study should recommend vaccination to people who previously had Covid-19, if they have not yet been vaccinated. “Yes, they should be vaccinated,” he said. “If so, it must be SARS-CoV-2 bulletproof.”

The initial state of shutdown is completely resumed

California was the first state to issue a stay-at-home order during a pandemic. It is now fully reopened after 15 months.

Starting Tuesday, all enterprise capacity limits and social distance requirements will be lifted.

For large events such as concerts, conventions and sports, there are still some restrictions, such as vaccine verification requirements for attending indoor events with more than 5,000 people and recommendations for outdoor events with more than 10,000 participants. there is.

About 72% of Californians are at least partially vaccinated, and about 47% of the state’s population is fully vaccinated, Governor Gavin Newsom said Monday.

There is no so-called Vaccine passportHowever, Newsom plans to release an electronic version of the state vaccine card later this week.

California has invested $ 116.5 million in vaccination incentives such as gift cards and prizes. On Tuesday, state officials will hold a draw for 10 vaccinated Californians to win a prize of $ 1.5 million each.

Fully vaccinated people can go without a mask in most situations, but unvaccinated people should wear a mask indoors in public places.

In addition, masks are required for everyone in certain locations, including public transport, hospitals, and prisons.

Companies can request masks at their own discretion, and the California Department of Occupational Safety and Health is set to adopt new rules for face covering in the workplace.

Judge rules in favor of Houston Hospital require employees to be vaccinated

But that wasn’t expected until the end of June, so Newsom said he would sign an executive order “to disambiguate” later this week.