Rapid Test Center of New York
Dr. Stuart Weiss, FACEP, FAAP, CBCP

April 6, 2021
CoViD-19 News and Information you can trust. Welcome new readers from the Rapid Test Center.
Topics: Where are we and some interesting tidbits

o Where are we? Well, we watched the Texas Rangers completely fill up a baseball stadium on Monday. After the Governor of Texas declared that the pandemic was essentially over and rescinded the mask mandate and allowed all businesses to open at 100%, the Texas rangers baseball team allowed a “sell out” baseball and let 38,283 fans into the stands. Even though fans were supposed to wear face coverings, the pictures tell a story of merriment without face coverings.  At the same time, the Transportation Security Administration reported near pre-pandemic travel this past Easter weekend.  So perhaps you would think we are done with all this pandemic stuff. Heck, Texas and Florida have declared we are done. In fact, the Governor of Florida has actually made it a crime to restrict entry to almost anything based on vaccination status.  With all this freedom, lets look at the numbers, shall we? The rolling 14 days average number of new cases for the United States is up 20% over the past two weeks. Instead of 60,000 new cases a day, we have 76,000 new cases each day. And now, it seems to be hitting younger people. Folks in their 20’s and 30’s are getting sick. But Dr. Weiss, that’s no big deal, you say. I guess you are right if you are not in the Northeast or Midwest.  What about new hospitalizations? Glad you asked. Over the past two weeks, according to the New York Times, they are up 3%.  Most of these increases are due to that pesky B.1.1.7 variant and all the relaxing we are doing of common sense public health measures.  So where should I move to if I want to be in a place where cases are staying low. You should look in the South: GA, MS, AL, KY. or perhaps try to middle of the country like MO, MT, UT, NM, NV, WY, AK, KS. Looks like CA is also doing okay for the moment. But the problem is, in many of these same states, the death rates are rising,. So if you live in IA, MT, WI, MS, MN, watch out. Rounding out this list is AL, OK, MI, DC, ME and Puerto Rico. The good news is we are vaccinating folks at a record pace. We are jabbing 3 million arms per day. The President expects to have 200 million doses given by the middle of April and we are on track to meet that goal.  Today, the CDC announced that 80% of school staff and childcare workers in the US have received at least one dose of vaccine.  As opposed to the foolish premature actions of Texas and Florida, California, where cases continue to fall, announced today that they will relax all restrictions on June 15, provided there are enough Covid-19 vaccines available for anyone age 16 or older and hospitalizations remain low and stable, state officials announced. That is good risk based planning. Today, President Biden changed the deadline for all states to open up vaccine eligibility for all Americans 16 years and older to April 19th instead of May 1st.  Looking at vaccination in China, how will they get 560 million people (40% of its population) vaccinated by the goal date of June 30th. Well in Beijing, its with Ice Cream cones! According to the New York Times article, people who get vaccinated are eligible for buy-one-get-one-free ice cream cones! Pfizer announced that it is beginning a trial of a new pill to fight Coronavirus. The new pill is a medication called a protease inhibitor. The drug binds to an enzyme called a protease which prevents the virus from duplicating itself. These types of medicines have been successful in the past fighting other viruses like HIV and Hepatitis.  Lastly, the New England Journal of Medicine published a study looking at the Moderna vaccine. They found that antibodies persisted for at least 6 months after the second dose of the vaccine. That is good news as we don’t yet know exactly how long the vaccine protects us for.  Get your self vaccinated quickly so we can get through this together. Dr. Stu Weiss

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COVID-19 HEADLINES FOR TODAY

Coronavirus update for April 6, 2021 World Wide UpdatesGlobal CoViD-19 cases rise for sixth consecutive week, WHO says Oxford-AstraZeneca pauses pediatric trial pending review by UK regulator Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine continues to show robust antibody levels at 6 months Vaccine passports could “pose risks to fundamental rights” of EU citizens, watchdogs warn Norwegian Cruise Lines is asking CDC to let vaccinated passengers sail Undelivered AstraZeneca vaccines slow Australia’s rollout Vaccine certificates would not be discriminatory, UK vaccines minister insists IOC and South Korea look for clarity after North Korea reportedly pulls out of Olympics over Covid-19 fears Undercover video sparks outrage over secret dinner parties for Paris elite during CoViD-19 lockdown India’s capital imposes night curfew amid rise in coronavirus cases New Zealand to begin quarantine-free travel bubble with Australia 3 Japanese prefectures strengthen coronavirus restrictions as cases rise Britain plans to test vaccine passports for people to safely return to concerts, sporting events US Updates About 80 percent of K-12 educators and staff have been given at least one vaccine dose California plans to lift virus restrictions in June if certain benchmarks are met Biden moves up eligibility deadline to April 19 for all American adults Vaccine passports are becoming the next coronavirus divide. The White House is skittish; Texas’ governor opposes them ‘It appears we are following Michigan’: Minnesota officials warn of a surge propelled by a virus variant The U.S. gambled on a vaccine manufacturer, but documents show it long had problems New Jersey man allegedly choked a Burger King worker after mask dispute Nearly half of new US CoViD-19 cases are in just 5 states Carnival Cruises threatens to leave U.S. ports due to COVID rules Norwegian Cruise Line wants to restart voyages in July, would require COVID-19 vaccine Chance of contracting COVID-19 from surfaces nearly zero: CDC Vaccinations should come with free movie, meal vouchers, says NYC mayoral candidate Scott Stringer

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