Month: August 2021

Epidemiologist Dr. Anne Rimoin told CNBC that she agrees with White House chief medical advisor Dr. Anthony Fauci when he said that everybody will someday "likely" need a booster shot of the Covid-19 vaccines. "Well, I think Dr. Fauci is right," said Rimoin, a professor of epidemiology at the UCLA School of Public Health. "What's going to warrant a booster shot is, when we see real, waning effectiveness of this vaccine from keeping people from severe disease and from hospitalization or death. We're not there yet, but when we are, that's when we're going to need a booster." The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention gave final approval Friday to start administering Covid-19 booster shots to Pfizer and Moderna vaccine recipients hours after a key panel unanimously voted...

Here’s what you need to know: Oregon Gov. Kate Brown, left, visited the Bly Fire Camp on the southern edge of the Bootleg Fire in Klamath County, Ore., in late July.Credit...Arden Barnes/The Herald and News, via Associated Press Oregon will deploy at least 500 National Guard troops to help its hospitals deal with a flood of coronavirus patients, as the state faces the largest wave of infections it has seen during the pandemic, the state’s governor said on Friday. The governor, Kate Brown, said that hospitals were at risk of becoming overwhelmed, with 733 Oregonians hospitalized with severe cases of Covid-19, including 185 in intensive care. The surge comes despite Oregon’s relatively high rate of vaccination, a fact that Ms. Brown noted in a videotaped address. “I know this is not ...

"It's really tough and hot for us because we are always in full hazmat suit while trying to navigate small alleys and high floors with a body in tow," said Taufiq. So far this month, almost 50 people have died at home from Covid-19, according to LaporCovid-19, an online citizen reporting platform that receives information from families and local officials. The number surged during July to around 2,400 -- a sixfold increase from June, according to Fariz Iban, the site's data analyst, who called the number "the tip of the iceberg." According to LaporCovid-19, most of the deaths were in Jakarta, because that's the only local government sharing figures on deaths at home from Covid-19. Indonesia's Health Ministry doesn't keep records on the number of people who die at home, said ministry spok...

The following is a letter co-signed by members of the Humboldt-Del Norte County Medical Society: Dear Community, We are your physicians. You have honored us by entrusting your lives to us, as well as the lives of your loved ones. We are also your neighbors, your friends, and your relatives. We share with you a deep love of this region and of our communities. Like you, we dream of a safe, Covid-free future. Please get vaccinated. We ask this from the bottom of our hearts. As your physicians, and as the people with whom you have worked, played, laughed, and cried, we must admit we are tired. We will keep working, of course. But we are tired. We are tired of the suffering, pain and death that can be avoided by getting vaccinated. We have studied the data, and we have seen the ben...

A new, little-understood variant of the coronavirus has arrived in North Texas. Doctors at UT Southwestern Medical Center have detected five cases of the so-called lambda variant in patient samples taken at the center between early June and July 18. “This represents what happens when there is continued viral replication and spread across the entire world,” said Dr. Jeffrey SoRelle, a pathologist at UT Southwestern’s genomic sequencing lab, which has analyzed more than 1,000 samples since the start of 2021. Little is known about how contagious the lambda variant is or the severity of illness it can cause. Read more about the new variant from our media partners at The Dallas Morning News here.

Forty-one new cases of COVID-19 were confirmed in Humboldt County today. The total number of county residents who have tested positive for the virus now stands at 5,970. Four hospitalizations were also reported, including one person between the ages of 10 and 20, one person in their 40s, one in their 50s and one in their 60s. Currently, 33 county residents are hospitalized for treatment of COVID-19. The graph below shows average weekly case rates between Dec. 26, 2020 and Aug.7, 2021 in unvaccinated and fully vaccinated individuals. In the week ending Aug. 7, the average case rate for unvaccinated individuals rose to 75 per 100,000 residents, nearly triple the rate for vaccinated individuals, which is 26 cases per 100,000 residents. For additional information, please view a more detailed...