The Latest: CDC head says Africa needs higher vaccine target

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NAIROBI, Kenya — The manager of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is raising the vaccination people helium believes is needed to supply wide extortion against COVID-19 connected the continent, citing the much infectious delta variant present contiguous successful 32 countries.

Africa CDC Director John Nkengasong told reporters connected Thursday that wellness officials erstwhile estimated astatine slightest 60% of Africa’s colonisation of 1.3 cardinal radical needed to beryllium vaccinated to execute alleged herd immunity.

Nkengasong says helium present thinks the proportionality should beryllium "in excess of 70% to 80%.” Even astatine that level, helium said, “are we going to get to herd immunity? I uncertainty that conception is applicable anymore.”

Africa is good abbreviated of its archetypal vaccination people arsenic wellness officials knock richer countries for hoarding doses and rolling retired booster shots portion radical successful poorer nations are inactive awaiting vaccines. .

Only 2.5% of Africa's colonisation is afloat vaccinated now, and 93 cardinal doses person been administered. The Africa CDC has estimated that possibly conscionable 30% of Africa’s colonisation tin beryllium vaccinated by the extremity of the year.

“Things volition get much challenging earlier they get better,” Nkengasong said.

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MORE ON THE PANDEMIC:

— Pfizer seeking FDA OK for COVID-19 vaccine booster dose

— Japan suspends usage of 1.63M Moderna vaccine doses implicit contamination concerns

— WHO: Coronavirus root window of opportunity stalled, ‘closing fast’

— New NY politician adds 12,000 deaths to publicized COVID-19 tally

— Do you request a COVID-19 vaccine passport? More backstage venues, workplaces and governments requiring them.

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— Find much AP sum astatine https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic and https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-vaccine

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HERE’S WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING:

PARIS — France’s premier curate has announced plans to springiness COVID-19 booster shots to radical implicit property 65 and individuals surviving successful nursing homes starting adjacent month.

Prime Minister Jean Castex, speaking Thursday connected French vigor RTL, said the booster changeable is needed due to the fact that vaccine effectiveness decreases implicit time.

Castex said the eligible older radical volition beryllium capable to marque appointments to get the shots and a booster vaccine thrust volition commencement connected Sept. 12 successful nursing homes.

France’s wellness authority, the HAS, recommended this week administering a 3rd dose of the Pfizer oregon Moderna vaccines to radical implicit 65 and those with underlying wellness conditions astatine slightest six period aft they received their 2nd shot.

The HAS said those who received the single-dose Johnson & Johnson jab should beryllium offered a Pfizer oregon Moderna changeable astatine slightest 4 weeks aft they archetypal got vaccinated.

Over 47 cardinal radical successful France, oregon 71.2% of the population, person received astatine slightest 1 vaccine shot. More than 42 million, oregon 62.8%, are afloat vaccinated.

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COPENHAGEN, Denmark — A apical wellness authoritative successful Norway says the Scandinavian state is experiencing its 4th question of the coronavirus pandemic.

Norway reported 1,294 caller confirmed cases successful 24 hours, a grounds fig and 682 much than the aforesaid time a week ago, the Norwegian quality bureau NTB reported Thursday.

Espen Rostrup Nakstad, the lawman caput of the Norwegian Directorate of Health, told Norwegian paper Dagbladet that vaccinations against COVID-19 were keeping hospitalizations down during the existent outbreak. .

“Nevertheless, it is important to support power truthful that not truthful galore radical go infected that the (hospital) admittance numbers besides summation a lot,” helium said.

More than fractional of Norway’s colonisation of 5.3 million, oregon 51.8%, has been vaccinated against the virus.

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SYDNEY — Authorities successful Australia’s New South Wales authorities accidental they volition easiness pandemic restrictions for vaccinated adults adjacent period adjacent arsenic they are reporting a grounds 1,029 coronavirus infections and 3 deaths from COVID-19.

The grounds reported Thursday surpassed the erstwhile precocious for a 24-hour play of 919 infections conscionable a time earlier.

State Premier Gladys Berejiklian says the flimsy easing of restrictions is coming due to the fact that the authorities reached 6 cardinal vaccine doses successful a colonisation of 8.2 million.

Beginning Sept. 13, families successful the highest-risk parts of Sydney volition beryllium allowed to permission their homes for an hr of recreation arsenic agelong arsenic immoderate adults are afloat vaccinated. The recreation hr is successful summation to the hr radical are already allowed retired to exercise.

Elsewhere successful the state, groups of 5 volition beryllium allowed to congregate arsenic agelong arsenic each adults are afloat vaccinated.

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WELLINGTON, New Zealand — New Zealand has reported 68 caller assemblage cases of the coronavirus, the largest regular summation since April of past twelvemonth arsenic an outbreak of the delta variant continues to grow.

The authorities enactment the federation into a strict lockdown past week arsenic it tries to stamp retired the outbreak, which has grown to a full of 277 infections.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said Thursday that she is assured the lockdown is moving and caller cases volition soon statesman to drop.

Also connected Thursday, nationalist bearer Air New Zealand reported an yearly nonaccomplishment of 440 cardinal New Zealand dollars, oregon astir $306 cardinal U.S., aft gross dropped astir 50% owed to the pandemic-induced plunge successful planetary travel.

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MIAMI — Cruise companies are adapting to a changing scenery amid a emergence successful COVID-19 cases that is threatening to dampen the industry’s comeback.

Cruise lines person detected infections among vaccinated unit members and passengers, including a caller lawsuit successful an aged traveler that resulted successful death.

Last Friday, the CDC began advising travelers who are astatine a higher hazard for terrible COVID-19 unwellness to debar cruises. It is besides recommending that passengers amusement some a caller antagonistic COVID trial and impervious they’ve been immunized.

In summation to the surging delta virus, the CDC changed its cruise guidelines for high-risk groups due to the fact that of the adjacent proximity of vessel passengers, the constricted options for attraction connected committee and the challenges of medically evacuating travelers astatine sea, Centers spokeswoman Kristen Nordlund said Tuesday.

Some cruise lines — and cruise destinations — are besides revising their ain guidelines.

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BEIJING — China went connected the violative Wednesday up of the merchandise of a U.S. quality study connected the origins of the coronavirus, bringing retired a elder authoritative to impeach the United States of politicizing the contented by seeking to blasted China.

Fu Cong, a Foreign Ministry manager general, said astatine a briefing for overseas journalists that “scapegoating China cannot whitewash the U.S.”

“If they privation to baselessly impeach China, they amended beryllium prepared to judge the counterattack from China,” helium said.

China, the United States and the World Health Organization are entangled successful a feud that centers connected whether the microorganism that causes COVID-19 could person leaked from a laboratory successful the metropolis of Wuhan, wherever the illness was archetypal detected successful precocious 2019.

A associated WHO-China study published successful precocious March concluded that a laboratory leak was “extremely unlikely,” and China wants the probe to determination connected to different possibilities. The astir apt scenario, the study said, is that the microorganism jumped from bats to different carnal that past infected humans.

But the findings are not conclusive, and WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that “all hypotheses are connected the array and warrant implicit and further studies.” He added successful July that determination had been a “premature push” to regularisation retired the laboratory leak theory.

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Tennessee authorities wellness commissioner says children present relationship for much than a 3rd of the state’s COVID-19 cases, a crisp emergence from earlier arsenic the delta variant of the coronavirus continues to spread.

Health Commissioner Lisa Piercey said Wednesday that Tennessee had 14,000 pediatric cases successful the erstwhile 7 days, which she said was 57% much than the erstwhile week. She says specified cases present marque up 36% of full COVID-19 cases, “when it’s historically been successful the 10 to 15 percent range.”

The spike successful cases among school-age children has brought calls from immoderate wellness officials for much forceful protective measures specified arsenic disguise mandates astatine schools. Gov. Bill Lee has resisted specified suggestions.

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SANTA FE, N.M. — Top wellness officials successful New Mexico are informing that the authorities is astir a week distant from having to ration aesculapian attraction arsenic coronavirus infections proceed to climb.

The authorities wellness caput said Wednesday the authorities is tracking on with its worst-case projections erstwhile it comes to dispersed of the microorganism and hospitalizations for COVID-19. Dr. David Scarse says determination was a 20% summation successful pandemic patients needing attraction successful conscionable the past day.

Scarse says that the effect whitethorn beryllium that “we’re going to person to take who gets attraction and who doesn’t get care, and we don’t privation to get to that point.”

He says the biggest constraint close present is the shortage of wellness attraction workers.

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RALEIGH, N.C. --- Hospitals successful the Raleigh portion of North Carolina accidental younger and different steadfast adults are progressively being hospitalized for COVID-19 amid the dispersed of the coronavirus delta variant.

The main doc enforcement for WakeMed Health & Hospitals said Wednesday that the mean property of patients it is treating for COVID-19 is astir 20 years younger connected mean than during the archetypal surge of the pandemic.

The manager of Wake County’s EMS bureau says it is getting much calls for assistance than ever before, with regular totals often 33% higher than pre-pandemic levels of astir 300 calls.

The main aesculapian serviceman astatine UNC REX Healthcare says the hospita’s ICU capableness is present full.

The much than 3,500 patients presently successful North Carolina hospitals owed to COVID-19 is the highest since Jan. 21.

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NEW YORK — A survey from Israel says COVID-19 carries a acold higher hazard of bosom inflammation than Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine.

Researchers successful Tel Aviv estimation determination were 3 bosom cases for each 100,000 radical vaccinated with the Pfizer shot. The hazard was 11 per 100,000 successful radical who were infected with the virus.

The findings were published Wednesday successful the New England Journal of Medicine.

Dr. Grace Lee is an infectious illness adept astatine Stanford University and says the insubstantial was the archetypal to measure the imaginable risks of vaccination “in the discourse of knowing the imaginable benefits of vaccination.”

Previous reports person linked the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines to inflammation of the bosom muscle. The occupation was chiefly seen successful antheral teens and young men, who developed thorax symptom a fewer days aft vaccination.

The Clalit Research Institute researchers looked astatine hundreds of thousands of radical who were vaccinated and not vaccinated. Separately, they looked astatine unvaccinated radical who were infected oregon not.

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JACKSON, Miss. — Mississippi wellness officials said Wednesday that a kid younger than 5 has died from COVID-19.

Dr. Paul Byers, the authorities epidemiologist, said it was the sixth pediatric decease from the microorganism successful Mississippi since the pandemic began. He said the Health Department would not supply immoderate identifying information, including wherever the kid lived.

State Health Department spokeswoman Liz Sharlot besides said Wednesday that instrumentality enforcement officers are investigating threats against the authorities wellness officer, Dr. Thomas Dobbs. He has been imploring radical for months to get vaccinated, but Mississippi inactive has among the lowest vaccination rates successful the United States.

Dobbs wrote Tuesday connected Twitter that helium has received threatening telephone calls from radical promoting mendacious “conspiracy theories” astir his family.

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NEW ORLEANS — A kid nether property 1 is among the latest reported COVID-19 deaths successful the authorities of Louisiana.

The authorities wellness section didn’t supply the child’s nonstop property oregon wherever the decease occurred. The child’s decease was 1 of 110 successful the Wednesday report, which said 85 of the deaths were listed arsenic “confirmed” COVID-19 deaths and 25 arsenic “probable.”

“We past reported a COVID decease successful a kid 6 months ago,” the wellness section said connected Twitter. “In total, 11 children younger than 18 person died from COVID successful Louisiana.”

The section reported much than 6,619 confirmed and probable cases connected Wednesday. Statewide hospitalizations dropped by 12 to 2,844.

The illness is blamed for much than 12,000 confirmed deaths successful Louisiana.

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