Month: January 2021

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's most recent forecast projected there will be between 405,000 and 438,000 deaths by the end of the month. The previous forecast, published December 30, projected up to 424,000 deaths by January 23. US Surgeon General Jerome Adams said Thursday that states able to vaccinate beyond phase 1a recommendations -- which include health care workers and residents of long-term care facilities -- should do so. "States not only can, but SHOULD aggressively expand vaccinations to other phases if current supply exceeds demand in phase 1a," the surgeon general said on Twitter. The guidance by the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices that identifies prioritized groups for vaccination, Adams said, are "recommendations -- not mandates....

Though the first Covid-19 vaccines are now being given to health care workers, other frontline workers, and the elderly in the United States, it will likely be months before enough Americans are vaccinated to stop the spread of SARS-CoV-2. And with a more-infectious variant, called B.1.1.7, spreading globally — for which vaccine effectiveness is still unknown — more must be done to prevent as many infections and save as many lives as possible. Wearing a mask can help do that. Wearing a mask or face covering in two high-risk scenarios can help prevent the spread of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19. These include being indoors with others outside of your immediate social bubble, in places like grocery stores, indoor malls, restaurants, churches, public transportation, and the like...

Photo: David Silverman (Getty Images) New research released Wednesday should provide comfort to covid-19 survivors worried about losing their natural immunity to the coronavirus anytime soon. The findings suggest that in most people, a robust immune response to the virus lasts for at least eight months—and there are good signs that it could even last years. There have been concerns about waning immunity since nearly the start of the pandemic. Related coronaviruses that cause the common cold are known to often reinfect people, and scattered reports of reinfections from covid-19 emerged in 2020. Some studies had also suggested that antibody levels to the virus can drop off significantly within three months. On the flip side, immunity is a complicated mess. Antibodies are not the only...

New Jersey says it plans to vaccinate 70% of its adult population — about 4.7 million people — in the next six months. Officials have said doses should be available for the general public by April or May. That includes workers who live out-of-state, students who come into New Jersey and undocumented workers, state officials said. “The Department has consistently said we will provide equitable access to all who live, work and are being educated in New Jersey,” said Donna Leusner, spokeswoman for the health department. On Wednesday, State Police Commissioner Pat Callahan said law enforcement officers who live out of state but work in New Jersey, or who live here but work out-of-state, can get the vaccines in the Garden State. “We have a lot of federal law enforcement partners. Maybe an ag...