INFORMATIONAL

Coronavirus Daily Update

TLP:GREEN Aug 19, 2021

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Greetings, the following are the major Headlines, “Good Stuff”, US Snapshots, US Vaccinations, US Variant Proportions, Highlights, as well as key Statistics, US State Variants, Vaccine and Treatment information, US Restrictions and the Back to Normal Index related to the novel coronavirus . Today, some inspiration words of optimism from an unknown author, who said: When you look at a field of dandelions, you can either see a hundred weeds, or a thousand wishes. Perspective. Attitude. Point of view. So often, it really is all about how we look at things. Seeing what is in front of us. What we are facing. And of course it is a lot easier to see the good when things are going well. And just as easy to see the bad when we are facing challenges and adversity. And that’s ok. It’s what makes us human. It’s just about doing our best, whenever we can, to look for the positive. To realize that storm clouds will pass to let the sun shine again. That darkness brings out the beauty of the stars. But the real key is remembering and recognizing the gifts we have. Especially when we are struggling and it’s easy to forget them. Letting them help us see the beauty and hope in that field of dandelions. And finding the joy and blessings that make our lives and those in it, special. So as often as we can let’s go find those wishes and let them help us see just how grateful we should be ????.

CVOB Website Dashboard, individual US State, US County, Global Trending Charts and Data as well as US Restrictions, US Vaccinations, US Variants, our Communications Archive and the COVID-19 Reference page can be found at https://www.sunknighty.net/.

SPECIAL – Booster Shots

 The New York State Department of Health found that vaccines remained 92% to 95% effective at preventing hospitalizations among the vaccinated, but the effectiveness of the vaccines declined from about 92% to 80% in reducing cases, according to the study published today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of people older than 18 from early May to late July that supported the need for booster shots starting this fall.  A new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention analysis found that Pfizer and Moderna vaccine efficacy dropped "significantly" among nursing home residents as the Delta variant became the predominant strain in the US, with researchers analyzing weekly reports from thousands of facilities and finding that mRNA vaccines were roughly 75% effective against preventing any infection in late winter/early spring of 2021, early in the mass vaccination rollout and prior to the emergence of the variant, but by summer of this year, effectiveness against any infection had dropped to 53%, supporting the need for boosters announced today.  A third dose of Pfizer/BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine was found to be 86% effective in people aged over 60, an Israeli healthcare provider said on Wednesday, citing initial results from a study of thousands of members.  It is "conceivable" that the planned rollout of Covid-19 booster shots could help reduce the spread of disease, Dr. , director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said Wednesday, explaining that data shows the third shot prompts the body to produce a new batch of antibodies that catch the virus as it tries to enter the body and could stop the virus from multiplying in the nose and throat after someone breathes it in.  The White House's plan to offer coronavirus booster shots to vaccinated adults starting in September still depends on whether the US Food and Drug Administration authorizes boosters and whether the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommends those boosters, US Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy said Wednesday, adding that "I want to be very clear: We are not skipping the very important FDA and ACIP process here,” and adding “They have an incredibly important role to play in evaluating safety and making recommendations for vaccines.”  President Biden appealed directly to vaccinated Americans Wednesday afternoon, reassuring them that they are well protected, but also encouraging them to get their booster shots eight months after their second dose in accordance with the roll out plan his administration announced earlier this morning, adding that "It's the best way to protect ourselves from new variants that could arrive."  White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator Jeff Zients said Wednesday that getting a booster shot will be just as easy as getting the first shot, explaining “I want to be clear, the President's whole of government vaccination effort is ready to get every American who needs one a booster shot,” pointing to the more than 80,000 vaccination sites available to Americans across the country, including 40,000 local pharmacies, and pledging, “boosters will be free, regardless of immigration or health insurance status, no ID or insurance required.”  President Biden disagreed today with critics who have argued against Americans receiving booster shots while many people in other parts of the world have not yet received their first dose of the vaccine, pointing out the US has donated more vaccine doses than the rest of the world combined while committing to giving away more than 600 million doses, saying “We can take care of America and help the world at the same time,” and that offering the shots does not come at the expense of countries that have struggled to get access to the vaccine.

Headlines

 Covid-19 continues to spread across the US, with nearly 93% of the US population lives in an area with high Covid-19 transmission, according to data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and while case rates tend to be higher in less vaccinated states, disparities in hospitalization and death rates are even larger between the least and most vaccinated states, according to federal data.  In the week ending Tuesday, 46 of 50 states in the US experienced double-digit growth in covid-19 hospitalizations, according to an analysis by The Washington Post, with eight states, including California and New York, which for most of the summer had not seen many serious cases, adding more than 400 new inpatients in that time.  The US reported more than 1,000 COVID-19 deaths on Tuesday, equating to around 42 fatalities an hour, according to a Reuters tally, as the Delta variant continues to ravage parts of the country with low vaccination rates, with coronavirus-related deaths spiking over the past month and averaging 769 per day, the highest since mid-April.  The Delta variant of the coronavirus now accounts for 98.8 percent of new infections in the US, according to an estimate from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and in just three months, this highly transmissible variant has outcompeted all other strains of the virus.  Mississippi, whose vaccination rate of 36% ranks among the nation's lowest, holds the dubious distinction of reporting the highest number of coronavirus infections per capita, and the state recently opened its second field hospital to treat a surge of coronavirus patients, with 32 beds under tents set up in a garage at the University of Medical Center in Jackson.  Two hundred million Americans will have received at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine once the vaccination numbers from Wednesday are reported, White House Covid-19 response coordinator Jeff Zients announced, touting the increase in the vaccination rate both broadly, and specifically among adolescents as they return to school, as a milestone with nearly seven million Americans receiving their first dose over the past two weeks.  President Biden announced Wednesday afternoon that he is directing the Department of Health and Human Services to draw up new regulations making employee vaccination a condition for nursing homes to participate in Medicare and Medicaid, a move that represents a significant escalation in the White House’s campaign to get Americans vaccinated and the tools he is willing to use, marking the first time he has threatened to withhold federal funds in order to get people vaccinated.  A Covid-19 vaccine for children is an extraordinarily high priority for the Biden administration and the US Food and Drug Administration will evaluate the data quickly once it is provided by the companies that make them, US Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy said Wednesday, adding that “The timeline really depends on how quickly the companies are able to do the trials and get that data to the FDA.”  President Biden criticized governors today who are "trying to block and intimidate local school officials and educators" over the use of masks in schools, calling the actions "wrong" and "unacceptable," and announced that he is directing Education Secretary Miguel Cardona to use "all of his oversight authorities and legal action, if appropriate, against governors who are trying to block and intimidate local school officials and educators," as they attempt to combat the spread of Covid-19.  All teachers and school personnel in Washington State - including coaches, bus drivers and volunteers - will need to be fully vaccinated as a condition of employment, under a new policy announced by Governor Jay Inslee on Wednesday, a requirement that applies to staff regardless of the type of school in which they work: public, charter or private, and a policy that is the strictest vaccine mandate imposed to date by any state for teachers and other staff members in schools, allowing for only a few exceptions, with workers required to be vaccinated by October 18 or face possible dismissal.  The global aid organization the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies has warned that the coronavirus situation in Southeast Asia is worsening, with the next few weeks “critical” for scaling up treatment, testing and vaccinations, with the charity saying Wednesday that hospitals in the region were being “overwhelmed by record surges” of covid-19, largely due to the Delta variant, in countries from Vietnam to Malaysia to Myanmar, and there are fears that cases and deaths will continue to rise.  The recent deadly earthquake in southern Haiti and flash flooding from a tropical storm have set back efforts to contain the coronavirus pandemic and administer vaccines in the country, World Health Organization officials warned Wednesday, with Dr. Carissa Etienne, director of the Pan American Health Organization, saying that the disasters have added another major burden to an already strained health care system in an impoverished country that has been going through a political crisis since the assassination of its president last month.  Dr. Mike Ryan, executive director of the World Health Organization’s health emergencies program, said Wednesday that regardless of what agreement science comes to on benefits from booster doses, “the reality is, right now, today, if we think about this in terms of an analogy, we’re planning to hand out extra life jackets to people who already have life jackets,” while “leaving other people to drown without a single life jacket.”  New Zealand was widely expected to become the first advanced economy to raise interest rates, but the central bank left rates unchanged on Wednesday after one Covid case led the country to announce a nationwide lockdown a day earlier, with the country’s Reserve Bank saying in a statement the decision to hold rates at 0.25% was made “in the context of the Government’s imposition of Level 4 COVID restrictions on activity across New Zealand.”  Stocks fell broadly on Wall Street Wednesday, sending the S&P 500 to its second straight loss after a five-day winning streak, and the market didn’t react much initially to the afternoon release of the minutes from the Federal Reserve’s latest policy meeting, which confirmed that central bank policymakers have made no firm decision about when to start unwinding their support measures for the economy, which has been steadily recovering from the pandemic recession.  The ever-evolving Covid-19 pandemic is reshaping where Americans spend their travel dollars and how they protect that investment according to the latest findings from travel insurance firms and the industry experts that track them, with airfare comparison site Next Vacay reporting it analyzed Google searches about travel insurance over the last 12 months and found a 233% jump in users asking whether coverage is worth the cost.  Smartphone developers are gearing up for a world where users can store their Covid vaccination proof in their phones’ digital wallets, making it easy to simply tap their phones when they enter new buildings, a development, which concerns some privacy advocates, that comes as the Delta variant of the coronavirus surges through the US and some cities plan to require people to prove they’ve been vaccinated to enter places like gyms, restaurants and bars, with Google, Apple and Samsung all recently announcing plans to offer a feature that readily calls up a QR code that can be scanned to quickly verify a user’s vaccination status.  Country superstar Garth Brooks, an outspoken advocate for vaccines to fight the ongoing pandemic, on Wednesday pulled the plug on five upcoming shows due to the nation's ongoing struggle with Covid-19 and the new surge brought about by the Delta variant, with concerts set for Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati, Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts and Nissan Stadium in Nashville all being cancelled.  Pope Francis has joined the chorus of leaders appealing for people to get coronavirus vaccines, saying in a public service announcement set to start airing Wednesday that “getting the vaccines that are authorized by the respective authorities is an act of love” and "a simple yet profound way to care for one another, especially the most vulnerable."

The Good Stuff: From a rookie to a pro, a Metropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia patrol officer, Taylor Brandt, is being hailed a hero amongst fellow colleagues and community members after saving 9 lives within one year of working on the streets during the pandemic. Not long after being sworn in as a police officer, she hit the ground running. Just two weeks into her field training, she ended up on scene of a victim who was shot multiple times. "We saw a guy laying in the roadway concerned for his wellbeing," Officer Brandt explained. "He states he had been shot multiple times but we had no calls for a shooting, no sounds of gunshots and nothing pending." That was the first time Officer Brandt applied her training onto a real-life victim. “Police generally arrive on the scene first," Brandt said. "We are the first on scene to provide medical care and our first goal is to preserve life which results in preventing blood loss.” Commander of MPD Academy training, Ralph Ennis, said “I would challenge you to find one other police officer in this country that has saved nine people. It just doesn’t happen. She truly understands that policing is about helping people."

US Snapshots Trending Stats Data compiled daily at 7PM from John Hopkins CSSE Tracking Seven-Day Daily Average Daily Average Trending as of Positivity Rate Total Tests Case Increase Death Increase Wed Aug 18 This Week 138,891 791 7.65% 506,779,805 Last Week 120,904 575 7.61% 498,919,173 Change 17,987 216 0.04% 7,860,632 % 14.88% 37.57% 0.53% 1.58% As of August 17 15.57% 36.26% 0.66% 1.59% As of August 16 16.00% 37.04% 0.53% 1.57% As of August 15 19.12% 33.14% 0.66% 1.58% As of August 14 17.15% 24.90% 0.53% 1.59% As of August 13 41.12% 37.35% 0.53% 1.62% As of August 12 32.17% 21.96% 0.53% 1.35%

Data compiled by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Inpatient Bed Inpatient Bed ICU Bed Use Trending Use (COVID- ICU Bed Use Use (COVID-19) 19) As of August 18 72.95% 14.25% 74.09% 24.07% As of August 17 71.61% 14.33% 72.74% 23.60% Change 1.34% -0.08% 1.35% 0.47% % 1.87% -0.56% 1.86% 1.99% As of August 16 72.10% 13.71% 72.37% 22.59% As of August 15 73.39% 12.02% 73.28% 21.01% As of August 13 73.77% 11.79% 73.58% 20.40% As of August 7 72.89% 9.30% 71.34% 16.71% As of July 31 72.64% 6.96% 70.28% 12.70%

Trending Charts Charts compiled from Sunknighty CVOB web site via Johns Hopkins University data, updated daily from the previous day’s numbers and available on the CVOB web site

Transmission Levels, Areas of Concern and Hospitalizations Report released August 17 - The Community Profile Report focuses on recent COVID-19 outcomes in the last seven days and changes relative to the week prior, provides additional contextual information at the county, CBSA, state and regional levels and supports rapid visual interpretation of results with color thresholds. The Report is generated by the Data Strategy and Execution Workgroup, under the White House COVID-19 Team, and normally posted every Tuesday and Friday.

US Vaccinations Data compiled daily by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, updated August 18 At Least Fully People Vaccinated One Dose Vaccinated

Total 199,325,940 169,186,268 % of Total Population 60.0% 51.0% Population = > 12 Years of Age 199,099,654 169,055,349 % of Population = > 12 Years of Age 70.2% 59.6% Population = > 18 Years of Age 186,838,929 159,885,690 % of Population = > 18 Years of Age 72.3% 61.9% Population = > 65 Years of Age 49,785,554 44,234,958 % of Population = > 65 Years of Age 91.0% 80.9%

Reported doses administered by day Data compiled daily by The Washington Post from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, updated August 18 In the last week, an average of 770.6k doses per day were administered, a 6% increase over the week before, with an average of 328.4k adults receiving their first dose

State Doses Data compiled daily by The Washington Post, share of population fully vaccinated, updated August 18

US Variant Proportions Data for week ending August 14 and posted August 17, compiled weekly by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Nowcast WHO Country CDC Lineage Name first seen Designation 14-Aug- 21 B.1.617.2 86.1% AY.3 12.3% Delta India VoC AY.2 0.3% AY.1 0.1% B.1.621 0.4% B.1.1.7 Alpha UK VoC 0.3% P.1 Gamma Japan/Brazil VoC 0.2% B.1.621.1 0.1% B.1.628 0.1% South B.1.351 Beta VoC 0.0% Africa B.1.525 Eta New York VoI 0.0% B.1.526 Iota New York VoI 0.0% A.2.5 0.0% B.1.626 0.0% B.1.617.1 VoI 0.0% B.1.617.3 VoI 0.0% Other 0.0%

0.0% represents fewer than 10 observations of this variant during the selected time/location context Other represents >200 additional lineages, which are each circulating at <1% of viruses Nowcast estimates are modeled projections that may differ from weighted estimates generated at later dates and enables timely action

Highlights Vaccine Rollout - US

1. A new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention analysis found that Pfizer and Moderna vaccine efficacy dropped "significantly" among nursing home residents as the Delta variant became the predominant strain in the US, with researchers analyzing weekly reports from thousands of facilities and finding that mRNA vaccines were roughly 75% effective against preventing any infection in late winter/early spring of 2021, early in the mass vaccination rollout and prior to the emergence of the variant, but by summer of this year, effectiveness against any infection had dropped to 53%, supporting the need for boosters announced today. 2. The US reported its highest two-week total of first doses administered since the beginning of June today, along with a 75% increase in the average daily number of 12 to 15-year-olds getting vaccinated. 3. The 10 most vaccinated states - Vermont, Massachusetts, Maine, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Maryland, New Jersey, New Hampshire, Washington and New York - have each fully vaccinated more than 58% of residents, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, but the 10 least vaccinated states - Alabama, Mississippi, Wyoming, Idaho, Louisiana, Arkansas, West Virginia, Georgia, Tennessee and North Dakota - have each fully vaccinated less than 41% of their residents, below the US overall vaccination rate of about 51%. 4. Spikes in infections and strong public messaging are starting to spur increased vaccination rates in hurricane-prone states, but more work is needed, the top US official in charge of disaster relief, Deanne Criswell, said Wednesday. 5. New York City reports that over 56% of residents aged 12 to 17 have gotten at least one vaccine dose - a figure that amounts to almost 300,000 kids, 6. Detroit has opened a mass vaccine site for boosters at its TFC convention center, which played an integral role for residents during the pandemic, first acting as a mass testing site, a field hospital and eventually a mass vaccination site, and currently the only location in the city to get a third shot. 7. New York City will launch a new “Vax to School” ad campaign in at least eight languages to encourage parents and eligible kids to get vaccinated before the school year starts, with officials saying that city workers have made about 250,000 phone calls to parents so far, providing information on vaccination.

Vaccine Mandates - US

1. President Biden said today that he is pleased to see private sector employers like AT&T, Amtrak and McDonald's announce vaccine requirements, explaining that "It only makes sense to require a vaccine that stops the spread of Covid-19," and asking employers to “Do the right thing for your employees, consumers, and your businesses.” 2. California will require proof of vaccination or a negative test result within 72 hours for all indoor gatherings with 1,000 or more attendees starting September 20, the Department of Public Health announced Wednesday, measures that were already in place for indoor gatherings with 5,000 or more individuals after the state reopened on June 15. 3. Los Angeles, in a new ordinance unanimously approved Wednesday by City Council, said all city employees will be required to be fully vaccinated by October 20, with workers who need a medical or religious exemption will have the option to petition for one by September 7. 4. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said Wednesday that he does not anticipate the city requiring proof of vaccination for students returning to school in the fall, but that conversations about mandating vaccines for teachers and school staff are ongoing. 5. A group of small businesses is suing New York City, hoping to stop the city’s first- in-the-nation vaccine mandate for restaurants, gyms and other indoor public venues, with the lawsuit, filed on Tuesday in Richmond County Supreme Court, having the support of several prominent elected officials and saying the restriction will severely impact their "business, life savings, and livelihood."

Vaccine Rollout and Mandates - Global

1. Mexico's health regulator Cofepris said on Wednesday it has authorized Moderna’s vaccine, becoming the eighth shot now available in the country for emergency use. 2. Australian airline Qantas Airways announced Wednesday that all of its employees must be fully vaccinated, a ruling that impacts thousands of staff members, with front-line workers - including cabin crew, pilots and airport workers - given a deadline of November 15 and all other employees a deadline of March 31 to get their shots, unless they are medically exempt.

US Outbreak

1. All but two states - New Hampshire and Vermont – are reporting high community transmission and hospitalizations are now at the highest point in over six months, with more than 91,000 COVID-19 patients currently in hospitals, according to federal data, with more than 11,200 patients being admitted to the hospital each day, the most since January. 2. Pediatric COVID-19 related admissions per capita have climbed to the highest point of the pandemic and are now nearly six times higher than on July 4. 3. In the 10 most vaccinated states, an average of 10 people are hospitalized with Covid-19 for every 100,000 residents, data from the US Department of Health and Human Services shows, but in the 10 least vaccinated states, hospitalization rates are nearly four times higher, with an average of 39 people hospitalized with Covid- 19 for every 100,000 residents. 4. Covid-19 death rates over the past week in the least vaccinated states were more than 5.5 higher than in the most vaccinated states, according to Johns Hopkins University data, and over the past week, the 10 most vaccinated states had an average of 6 Covid-19 deaths for every 1 million residents, while the 10 least vaccinated states had an average of about 34 deaths per 1 million residents. 5. Indigenous people have been the most likely group to be hospitalized and die of the virus, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and a new study shows many states don't report specific tribal data in death records or do so inconsistently. 6. Kentucky reported 3,576 new cases - with the 10-19 age group making up the largest share of new infections - and the state’s battle against COVID-19 took another grim turn Wednesday, with a record number of virus patients being treated in hospital intensive care units as Governor Andy Beshear warned that the unvaccinated are in "more danger'' of serious illness than at any time in their lives. 7. Arkansas reported the state's hospitalizations from the virus dropped slightly for the second day in a row, but there are only 15 intensive care unit beds available in the state, with 524 COVID-19 patients in ICUs and 326 on ventilators. 8. Florida’s Hillsborough County Public School District now has at least 10,384 students in quarantine, 4.8% of the student population, as well as 338 staff members, making up about 1.4% of the staff population. 9. New York City botched its COVID-19 response, according to an investigation conducted by Scott Stringer, the city's comptroller, who released findings from his inquiry Wednesday, who said that key emergency response agencies, including the health department and the NYPD, were intentionally excluded from communications and decision-making "when time was of the essence."

US Restrictions & Schools

1. Tennessee's most populous county of Shelby, which includes Memphis, reinstituted a face mask requirement Wednesday for indoor public places such as restaurants, bars and other businesses as a surge in cases has strained hospital resources and caused concern in schools. 2. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona outlined steps his department could take to facilitate students’ safe return to in-person instruction, including potential actions against states found to be violating students’ rights, saying in a statement today that “I want to emphasize this department’s commitment to protecting the rights of every student in the nation,” and adding that “The department has the authority to investigate any state educational agency whose policies or actions may infringe on the rights of every student to access public education equally.” 3. Pennsylvania's two statewide teachers unions on Wednesday urged K-12 schools to require masks in school buildings, a measure that state officials are encouraging but have not mandated as students prepare to return to class. 4. Miami-Dade County’s school district, the largest K-12 school system in Florida with 360,000 students, voted Wednesday on to require students to wear masks when classes resume Monday in defiance of the state’s Governor, the latest chapter in the political battle in the southern US where new infections are highest. 5. Texas’ Paris Independent School District, a district of about 4,000 students is northeast of Dallas, by a vote of 5 to 1 Tuesday approved an amendment to their dress code to include masks in an effort to protect students and get around Governor Greg Abbott’s ban on mask mandates. 6. Louisiana's top school board in Baton Rouge abruptly ended a chaotic meeting Wednesday without debating whether to challenge Governor John Bel Edwards' mask mandate for schools, after a raucous crowd of angry parents packed the hearing room and refused to put on face coverings. 7. A group of students under the age of 12 with disabilities and underlying medical conditions who are ineligible to receive the vaccine are suing Texas Governor Greg Abbott and the Texas Education Agency over the mask mandate ban, with the lawsuit filed Tuesday saying they need in-person schooling more than other student groups, but they must be able to receive instruction and services safely and “carry an increased risk of serious complications or death in the event that they contract COVID-19.” 8. Parents in one Texas district ripped off a teacher's face mask and demanded another educator remove hers, according to Eanes Independent School District Superintendent Tom Leonard, who said in the days leading up to the first day of school some parent had been attacking teachers, with “a whirlwind of information and action from governors, attorneys general, judges, mayors, superintendents and even principals.”

Global Outbreak

1. Israel is seeing a fourth wave of infections rapidly approaching the levels of the worst days of the pandemic last winter, with the daily rate of confirmed new virus cases more than doubling in the last two weeks, making the country a rising hot spot on the international charts. 2. French health authorities reported on Wednesday that the number of patients being treated in intensive care units for COVID-19 has risen above 2,000 for the first time since June 14, a figure that has more than doubled in less than a month as the highly contagious Delta variant is putting a renewed strain on the country’s hospital system. 3. Australia's Victoria state on Thursday reported 57 locally acquired cases, the biggest daily rise this year, as authorities scramble to quell an outbreak of the highly infectious Delta variant in Melbourne, the state capital, and of the new cases 13 spent time in the community while infectious, the state's health department said, while the source of three infections is unknown. 4. New Zealand reported Wednesday morning that the number of new infections detected had risen to seven – after not having a case for six months, all of which were confirmed to be the highly transmissible Delta variant. 5. Singapore has reported only 45 Covid-related deaths out of its 5.7 million people since the outbreak began in early 2020, according to Johns Hopkins University data. 6. Sri Lanka’s president this week replaced the country’s health minister in a cabinet reshuffle as daily deaths and infections hit record highs, and under Pavithra Wanniarachchi’s tenure, the ministry was criticized over its handling of the pandemic and she also attracted controversy for promoting a herbal syrup concocted by a shaman who claimed it worked as a life-long inoculation against the virus.

Diagnosis, Prevention and Treatment

1. The vaccines available in the US re still highly effective at preventing hospitalization but their effectiveness against new infections has decreased as the Delta variant spread, according to new studies published on Wednesday in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, but none of the studies could tell whether the breakthrough infections were due to waning immunity, reduced protection against the Delta variant, or a combination of factors. 2. Children's noses may be better than adults' at defending against infection because of "pre-activated" immunity against the coronavirus, a new study published on Wednesday in Nature Biotechnology suggests, with researchers finding that nasal- lining cells and immune cells from children's swab samples presenting her levels of genetic material that can sense the presence of the virus and trigger the immune system to defend against it.

Economy and Business

1. Domestic travel remains tops with customers of travel insurer Seven Corners, which has seen 90% growth in trips within the US this year compared with 2019, but the Carmel, Indiana-based company is seeing growing interest in travel abroad for 2022 - and a shift in preferred foreign destinations, with Turks and Caicos the No. 1 overseas destination among its clients, followed by Costa Rica, Mexico, Thailand and Israel. 2. Allianz Partners USA has tracked how comfortable its insurance customers are with returning to various types of travel activity at pre-Covid frequencies, with majorities saying they were OK with staying in a hotel, at 84%; flying in an airplane (79%); staying at a rental property (78%); and taking a train (70%), but only 4 in 10 felt comfortable taking a cruise right now, although 53% would consider a sailing by year-end. 3. Airbnb will block some people from making one and two-night reservations for Halloween weekend in the US and Canada for the second year in a row, after it introduced stricter anti-party policies as a result of the pandemic, with users who don’t have “a history of positive reviews” prohibited from booking one-night reservations for entire properties, meaning that one-night stays at “shared” accommodations won’t be impacted., and also restricting some local and last- minute bookings for two-night stays for users without a list of positive reviews.

Other Stories

1. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Wednesday it is creating a new disease forecasting center to improve the ability to use data to predict and gauge emerging health threats, with the Center for Forecasting and Outbreak Analytics expected to help share information in real time to activate governmental, private sector, and public actions in anticipation of threats both domestically and abroad. 2. Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg says the social media giant has removed 18 million posts containing misinformation about COVID-19, but would not say how many times the posts had been viewed or shared. 3. Walt Disney World in Florida will allow visitors to choose whether to wear masks in outdoor lines, outdoor theatres and outdoor attractions after previously mandating them, with masks still required at all indoor locations. 4. Officials in Hawaii’s Big Island are considering closing beaches and cancelling the Ironman World Championship, scheduled for October 9, in response to a surge of cases on the island. 5. Broadway star Laura Osnes said she quit a one-night benefit concert because the theater required actors to be vaccinated and she has decided not to get the shot.

Statistics Numbers from John Hopkins CSSE Tracking are pulled daily at 7:00PM and changes reflect the past 24 hours Global Numbers Date Cases Deaths 18 Aug Wed 209,112,297 (+642,249) 4,389,519 (+9,169) - 2.1% 17 Aug Tue 208,470,048 (+740,438) 4,380,350 (+10,804) - 2.1% 16 Aug Mon 207,729,610 (+605,799) 4,369,546 (+8,492) - 2.1% 15 Aug Sun 207,123,811 (+523,698) 4,361,054 (+9,548) - 2.11% 14 Aug Sat 206,600,113 (+640,227) 4,351,506 (+8,737) - 2.11% 4,342,769 (+11,447) - 13 Aug Fri 205,959,886 (+682,742) 2.11% 12 Aug Thu 205,277,144 (+701,623) 4,331,322 (+9,040) - 2.11% Top 15 Global Country Counts

 Daily case change (total): US: +140,696 (37,138,759), Turkey: +41,636 (6,138,422), Iran: +39,174 (4,556,417), France: +36,092 (6,609,822), India: +35,178 (32,285,857), United Kingdom: +33,716 (6,385,940), Japan: +23,914 (1,207,335), Thailand: +20,515 (968,957), Russia: +20,312 (6,572,246), Indonesia: +15,768 (3,908,247), Mexico: +14,814 (3,123,252), South Africa: +14,727 (2,638,981), Spain: +11,956 (4,745,558), Philippines: +10,820 (1,776,495), Morocco: +9,703 (782,097)  Daily death change (total): Indonesia: +1,128 (121,141), US: +1,095 (624,344), Mexico: +877 (249,529), Russia: +779 (169,948), Iran: +583 (99,691), India: +440 (432,519), South Africa: +384 (78,377), Turkey: +351 (53,675), Thailand: +312 (8,285), Vietnam: +298 (6,770), Malaysia: +225 (13,302), Bangladesh: +172 (24,719), Sri Lanka: +170 (6,604), Burma: +163 (13,786), Philippines: +161 (30,623)

US Numbers Date Cases Deaths 18 Aug Wed 37,138,607 (+140,696) 624,341 (+1,095) - 1.68% 17 Aug Tue 36,997,911 (+133,580) 623,246 (+978) - 1.68% 16 Aug Mon 36,864,331 (+198,214) 622,268 (+676) - 1.69% 15 Aug Sun 36,666,117 (+39,545) 621,592 (+393) - 1.7% 14 Aug Sat 36,626,572 (+209,225) 621,199 (+1,375) - 1.7% 13 Aug Fri 36,417,347 (+90,790) 619,824 (+642) - 1.7% 12 Aug Thu 36,326,557 (+160,185) 619,182 (+378) - 1.7% US State and Territory Counts

 Cases by daily change (totals): Texas: +21,612 (3,399,198), California: +14,043 (4,169,339), Georgia: +8,014 (1,287,667), Louisiana: +6,606 (638,443), Iowa: +5,697 (392,970), Tennessee: +5,294 (963,647), North Carolina: +5,256 (1,131,243), New York: +4,598 (2,217,774), Alabama: +4,465 (645,851), Mississippi: +4,085 (396,394), Illinois: +3,833 (1,474,285), Kentucky: +3,537 (525,746), South Carolina: +3,534 (673,172), Indiana: +3,451 (809,545), Michigan: +3,307 (1,035,827), Ohio: +3,303 (1,168,111), Missouri: +3,142 (734,184), Arkansas: +2,685 (425,551), Virginia: +2,552 (728,523), Arizona: +2,402 (972,925), Pennsylvania: +2,386 (1,261,160), Oklahoma: +2,360 (519,023), Washington: +2,330 (517,214), Oregon: +2,108 (247,866), Colorado: +2,021 (595,585), Wisconsin: +1,685 (710,975), New Jersey: +1,677 (1,065,736), Massachusetts: +1,579 (740,626), Utah: +1,488 (449,259), Nevada: +1,429 (376,080), Minnesota: +1,158 (630,512), Maryland: +1,012 (482,581), Idaho: +904 (210,315), West Virginia: +820 (175,638), New Mexico: +746 (221,086), Hawaii: +647 (52,846), Puerto Rico: +642 (159,466), Nebraska: +611 (235,686), Connecticut: +593 (364,891), Wyoming: +488 (69,844), Delaware: +466 (115,236), Montana: +436 (121,382), Rhode Island: +405 (159,019), South Dakota: +376 (127,698), North Dakota: +252 (113,925), Maine: +191 (73,088), District of Columbia: +181 (53,024), Vermont: +97 (26,494), Virgin Islands: +87 (5,413), Kansas: +68 (351,424), Guam: +37 (9,118), Florida: +0 (2,920,749), New Hampshire: +0 (103,733), Alaska: +0 (81,337), Northern Mariana Islands: +0 (183), American Samoa: +0 (0)  Deaths by daily change (totals): Texas: +169 (54,643), Louisiana: +87 (11,793), California: +86 (64,804), Oklahoma: +82 (7,676), North Carolina: +57 (13,952), Michigan: +49 (21,353), Illinois: +45 (26,118), Georgia: +43 (22,103), Alabama: +40 (11,872), Arizona: +37 (18,504), Mississippi: +36 (7,916), Tennessee: +27 (13,038), Arkansas: +26 (6,565), Pennsylvania: +25 (28,018), Indiana: +25 (14,198), South Carolina: +25 (10,140), Nevada: +25 (6,248), Washington: +21 (6,269), Wisconsin: +17 (8,353), Iowa: +16 (6,226), New York: +13 (54,149), Utah: +12 (2,549), Oregon: +11 (2,975), Puerto Rico: +11 (2,689), Delaware: +11 (1,849), Massachusetts: +10 (18,164), Missouri: +9 (10,608), Kentucky: +9 (7,468), Maryland: +8 (9,907), Virginia: +7 (11,632), Colorado: +7 (7,056), Idaho: +7 (2,258), West Virginia: +7 (2,997), New Jersey: +6 (26,721), Montana: +6 (1,749), Minnesota: +5 (7,835), New Mexico: +4 (4,455), Connecticut: +3 (8,307), Vermont: +3 (267), Maine: +2 (909), District of Columbia: +2 (1,153), Hawaii: +2 (554), Rhode Island: +1 (2,748), South Dakota: +1 (2,058), Florida: +0 (40,766), Ohio: +0 (20,648), Kansas: +0 (5,400), Nebraska: +0 (2,302), North Dakota: +0 (1,579), New Hampshire: +0 (1,396), Alaska: +0 (408), Wyoming: +0 (809), Guam: +0 (144), Virgin Islands: +0 (41), Northern Mariana Islands: +0 (2), American Samoa: +0 (0)  Hospital bed utilization rate: Rhode Island: 87.31%, Georgia: 86.99%, Florida: 86.59%, Massachusetts: 82.23%, Maryland: 81.96%, Pennsylvania: 81.8%, South Carolina: 81.6%, Missouri: 81.55%, Nevada: 80.8%, Alabama: 80.59%, Texas: 80.01%, California: 78.75%, Michigan: 78.73%, Connecticut: 78.37%, North Carolina: 78.33%, Minnesota: 78.16%, Louisiana: 77.98%, New York: 76.82%, Delaware: 76.68%, District of Columbia: 76.55%, Oregon: 75.24%, Washington: 74.09%, Vermont: 73.95%, Hawaii: 73.79%, West Virginia: 73.61%, Maine: 73.16%, New Mexico: 73.15%, North Dakota: 73.0%, Virginia: 72.98%, Ohio: 72.84%, Arkansas: 72.81%, Illinois: 71.94%, Oklahoma: 70.99%, New Hampshire: 70.84%, Arizona: 70.35%, Tennessee: 69.6%, Nebraska: 69.07%, Colorado: 68.42%, Montana: 68.18%, Wisconsin: 67.96%, New Jersey: 67.78%, Alaska: 66.68%, Indiana: 66.6%, Mississippi: 66.55%, Iowa: 65.99%, Idaho: 63.68%, Kentucky: 63.03%, Kansas: 60.55%, South Dakota: 59.49%, Utah: 58.26%, Wyoming: 43.42%

US State Variants of Concern and Other Lineages Proportions Updated August 17 - Proportions in the table below are only shown for states for which CDC has at least 300 sequences from specimens collected during this timeframe. Proportions are calculated using empirical (unweighted) data, which are subject to change over time and will be updated as more data become available. Proportions of variants do not represent the total number that may be circulating in the United States and may not match cases reported by states, territories, tribes, and local officials. For states and jurisdictions not listed, CDC has insufficient genomic surveillance data for the specified time period.

Diagnosis, Prevention and Treatment Tracker data is consolidated from The New York Times and US CDC, (#) is change from last update Vaccine Tracker (last updated August 12) PRECLINICAL PHASE I PHASE II PHASE III EARLY/LIMITED APPROVED

~150+ 54 41 32 11 8

Vaccines in Vaccines approved Vaccine candidates Vaccines testing Vaccines in large- Vaccines approved for expanded safety for early or limited being evaluated safety and dosage scale efficacy tests full use trials use Early/Limited Use (in country): CanSinoBIO Biologics (China), Gamaleya Research Institute (Russia), Sinovac Biotech (China), Sinopharm - Wuhan (China), Vector Institute (Russia), Chumakov (Russia), Anhui Zhifei Longcom (China), QazVac (Kazakhstan) Emergency Use (in country): Pfizer-BioNTech (US and elsewhere), Moderna (US), AstraZeneca/University of Oxford (Britain, Canada and elsewhere), Bharat Biotech (India), Sinopharm-Beijing (China, UAE, Bahrain), Johnson & Johnson (US, Bahrain, Canada), Shafa Pharmed Pars (Iran), Soberana 2 (Iran), Abadala (Cuba), Medigen (Taiwan) Approved (in country): Pfizer-BioNTech (multiple countries), Moderna (Canada and multiple countries), Sputnik V (Mexico), Sinovac (China), Beijing Institute of Biological Products-Sinopharm (China), Sinopharm-Wuhan (China), Oxford/AstraZeneca (Brazil), EpiVacCorona (Turkmenistan) New additions and recent updates:

 The Israel Institute for Biological Research moves to Phase 2/3 – Aug 9  California-based City of Hope moves to Phase 2 – Aug 9  China’s Shanghai Zerun and Walvax Biotechnology move to Phase 2 – Aug 9  The University of Tübingen in Germany moves to Phase 2 – Aug 9  South Korea’s Cellid moves to Phase 1/2 – Aug 9  China’s Shanghai Zerun and Walvax Biotechnology enter Phase 1 – August 2

Drug and Treatment Tracker (last updated August 4)

3 (2) 3 1 13 4 3

FDA Approved Tentative or mixed Pseudoscience or Widely used Promising evidence Not promising (Emergency) evidence fraud

FDA Approved: Remdesivir, Monoclonal antibodies – Bamlanivimab/Etesevimab/REGN-COV2 (emergency use), Regeneron (emergency use) Widely Used: Prone positioning, ventilators and other respiratory support devices, Dexamethasone and Other Corticosteroids Promising: Azithromycin Pseudoscience or fraud: Drinking or injecting bleach and disinfectants, UV light, Silver New additions and recent updates:

 The FDA. pauses the use of bamlanivimab and etesevimab because of the rise of Beta and Gamma coronavirus variants – June 26  The FDA. authorizes tocilizumab for emergency use in hospitalized patients – June 26  The US warns that some coronavirus variants are proving resistant to the combination of bamlanivimab and etesevimab – May 26  The FDA pushes back against claims that leronlimab is effective against Covid-19 – May 18  Moved blood filtration from “mixed evidence” to “not promising” – May 18  Moved cytokine inhibitors from “promising” to “mixed evidence” – May 18  Moved dexamethasone from “promising” to “widely used” – May 5

US Restrictions and Policy Actions Data compiled by the Kaiser Family Foundation, updated on change, Table available at CVOB website for sorting Last updated August 4 (previous update July 30, any changes will be highlighted with earlier counts noted) Please note that the Kaiser website is no longer being updated but we will keep this section through the end of this week and look for a new source for the information. Statewide Face Mask Indoor Only (3); Unvaccinated People Only (6); No (42) Requirement Emergency Declaration Yes (24); No (27)

Status of Reopening Reopened (50); Easing Restrictions (1)

Stay at Home Order Stay at Home Order Lifted (45); No Action (6) Mandatory Quarantine for Traveler Quarantine Mandate in Place (3); Traveler Quarantine Mandate Travelers Lifted (29); No Action (19) Non-Essential Business All Non-Essential Businesses Open (50); Some or All Non-Essential Closures Businesses Open with Limits (1) Large Gatherings Ban >10 Prohibited (1); >50 Prohibited (1); No Limit (49)

Restaurant Limits Open (51)

Bar Closures Open (51)

Back-to-Normal Index The Moody’s Analytics and CNN Business US Back-to-Normal Index is comprised of 37 national and seven state-level indicators, ranges from 0% - representing no economic activity, to 100% - representing the economy returning to its pre-pandemic level in March, and is being updated irregularly.

As of Tuesday, August 10, the Index was 92% (+-0), with 15 (-19) states showing an improvement since the previous reporting period Recent Historical Trending 10 27 20 13 29 22 15 25 18 11 27 20 13 3- 6- 8- 1- 4- 6------Au Ju Ju Ju M Ap Au Ju Ju Ju Ju Ju Ju M M M Ap Ap Ap g l n n ay r g l l l n n n ay ay ay r r r 92. 92. 92. 92. 91. 90. 91. 93. 92. 91. 89. 90. 90. 89. 88. 88. 87. 88. 87. 0 1 2 2 6 7 9 3 7 4 3 7 4 5 9 8 2 1 1 % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % % %

Data as of August 12

Primary Statistics Sources John Hopkins University CSEE Tracking, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Kaiser Family Foundation, Moody’s Analytics and CNN Business Back-to-Normal Index

News References CNN, CNBC, Washington Post, ABC News, CBS News, NBC News, New York Times, Bloomberg, Reuters, U.S. News and World Report, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Yahoo News, Associated Press, BBC, Reddit

Recently Removed Sections

 Vaccinations – US Current Doses: Based on Survey feedback, this data was removed from our emails and will now be included on a new US Vaccine Type Table on the CVOB website Vaccinations tab.  US Testing: Based on Survey feedback and increasing number of states which have stopped reporting testing data, this section was removed from our emails but the overall numbers will continue to be included on the CBOV website Dashboard.

Compiled Informational FAQ’s, Insight, Tips and Best Practices - Please visit our website COVID-19 Reference page at COVID-19 Reference Document (sunknighty.net) and/or previous communications.

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Release Date Aug 19, 2021

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