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The New York Times “State of the virus” updated on Oct. 5, 2021:

  • The national outlook has improved considerably in recent weeks. Hospitalizations and new case reports have been falling since mid-September.
  • More than 700,000 coronavirus deaths have now been reported nationwide. Daily death reports have started to slowly decline, but it remains common for more than 1,800 fatalities to be reported in a day.
  • Alaska has, by far, the most recent cases per capita in the country. The spike there has overwhelmed the state’s medical system and forced doctors to make wrenching decisions about who receives the highest levels of care.
  • Conditions have improved rapidly in the South, which experienced the worst of the summer case surge. Daily caseloads in Mississippi and Florida have declined by roughly 50 percent over the last two weeks.
  • Daily case reports are flat or falling in 40 states, but hotspots have emerged in the northern third of the country, including Montana and Idaho. Parts of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula are reporting their highest caseloads of the pandemic.
  • About two-thirds of eligible Americans are fully vaccinated. The daily pace of vaccination has increased somewhat in recent days as Pfizer booster shots became more widely available.

On Oct. 6, 2021 in the U.S., the seven-day daily average number of new cases was 101,658; the 14-day change in cases was a decrease of 24 percent with a total of 43,925,355 total cases. The seven-day daily average number of new hospitalizations was 73,020; the 14-day change in hospitalization was a decrease of 20 percent. On Oct. 6 in the U.S., the seven-day daily average number of new deaths was 1,808, the 14-day change in new deaths was a decrease of 12 percent, and the U.S. death total has reached 705,934 Fifty six percent of the U.S. population is fully vaccinated, 65 percent have had one jab, and 1.8 percent have had their third shot. As to the states, a Los Angeles Times analysis found that of the nation’s 50 states, Florida had the worst COVID-19 death and coronavirus case rate for the summer, in "How Florida fell so far behind California in battling the coronavirus."

We once again ask you to use the link to The New York Times Covid Map for an in depth review of the data. 

Next to Canada, which a seven-day daily average number of new cases of 3,943, the 14-day change in cases was a decrease of 10 percent with a total of 1,651,603 cases. The seven-day average of new deaths was 43, the 14-day change in new deaths was an increase of 34 percent, and the Canadian death total has reached 28,109. Seventy two percent of Canadians are fully vaccinated, 78 percent have had one jab.

This week's issue offers comparative data for the U.K. France, Italy, and Spain. Like the U.S. and Canada, virtually all of these countries’ new cases and deaths are unvaccinated people. As we reported in the past four issues, France, Italy, and Spain continue to have significant decreases in new cases and deaths this week. Go to the NY Times International Covid Maps’ page for country data. 

In the United Kingdom the seven-day daily average of new cases was 33,107, the 14-day change in cases was an increase of eight percent with a total of 7,967,985 cases. The seven-day average of new deaths was 111, the 14-day change in new deaths was a decrease of 23 percent, and the U.K. death total has reached 137,152. Sixty seven percent of the U.K. is fully vaccinated, 73 percent have had one jab, the same percentages as reported in the last two issues.

In France on Oct. 6, 2021, the seven-day daily average of new cases was 4,731, the 14-day change in cases was a decrease of 29 percent with a total of 7,127,109 cases. The seven day average of new deaths was 54, the 14-day change in new deaths was a decrease of 15 percent, and the French death total has reached 117,728. Sixty seven percent of the French citizens are fully vaccinated, 75 percent have had one jab.

In Italy, the seven-day daily average number of new cases was 3,009, the 14-day change in cases was a decrease of 27 percent with a total of 4,686,109 cases. The seven-day average of new deaths was 44 (11 less than last week), the 14-day change in new deaths was a decrease of 21 percent, and the Italian death total has reached 131,118. Sixty eight percent of Italians are fully vaccinated, 75 percent have had one jab.

In Spain, the seven-day daily average number of new cases was 1,896, the 14-day change in cases was a decrease of 32 percent with a total of 4,967,200 cases. The seven-day average of new deaths was 38, the 14-day change in new deaths was a decrease of 40 percent, and the Spanish death total has reached 86,621. Seventy eight percent of Spaniards are fully vaccinated, 80 percent have had one jab.

The Atlantic in a first of a trio of articles sums up the current status of the U.S. vaccination data in "How America dropped to No. 36,"  reporting in this must read article that “The U.S. has fallen far behind in distributing the vaccines that it pioneered.” Ed Yong is next and offers "We're already barreling toward the next pandemic." Here he cautions, “This one is far from over, but the window to prepare for future threats is closing fast.” Colleague Katherine Wu says of “booster shots” that the phrase took off earlier this year but flew too close to the sun. Maybe we should let it burn” in this great article: "We need a better way to talk about booster shots."

There were many “the mandates are working" articles to choose from, your curators selected what we think is the one that best gets at how a CEO decided to mandate and how workers got the jab. We link to The New York Times' "Inside United Airlines’ decision to mandate Coronavirus vaccines," which reports, "Over the course of a year, the company and its unions grappled with when and how to require vaccination for its 67,000 U.S. employees.”

Medscape reports on the more contentious New York state and city health workers and teachers' mandates in "New York's Largest Health Care Provider Fires 1400 Unvaccinated Employees."

Our skilled nursing industry readers have taught the curators that without fair reimbursement by states there is a great challenge to overcome to keep staff and raise quality of care, Skilled Nursing News offers a bit of light at end of that tunnel in The ‘Lifeblood’ of Nursing Homes, Medicaid Reform Aims to Help Staffing in Illinois.

Our great explainer podcast of the week is again Andy Slavitt’s In the Bubble where Dr Céline Gounder has returned after wrapping  up a two-week rotation at Bellevue Hospital in New York City. She discusses “her current Covid patient load compared to a year ago, the city's new vaccine requirements, and her honest assessment of the Biden administration's Covid record. Plus, why trust is so important when we ask people to do things like getting vaccinated for the common good.” A quick note to all - as we went to press In the Bubble posted a pod with Dr. Ashish Jha, Dean of the Brown University School of Public Health and if you journey to their site on your favorite podcast provider, perhaps go back to the podcast with The Atlantic's Katherine Wu posted last week.

From sitting in a cafe in Pasadena with two of the smartest and nicest California health care payer-provider experts and the bike lanes of West Los Angeles, this is Revitalize for Oct. 6, 2021:
Revitalize: The week in health-care news you need
How Florida fell so far behind California in battling the coronavirus. A Los Angeles Times analysis found that of the nation’s 50 states, Florida had the worst COVID-19 death and coronavirus case rate for the summer. California’s summer death rate was about one-sixth of Florida’s, and its coronavirus case rate was about two-thirds lower.
 
How America dropped to No. 36. The U.S. has fallen far behind in distributing the vaccines that it pioneered.

We're already barreling toward another pandemic. This one is far from over, but the window to prepare for future threats is closing fast.

We need a better way to talk about booster shots. The phrase took off earlier this year but flew too close to the sun. Maybe we should let it burn.

Inside United Airlines’ decision to mandate Coronavirus vaccines. Over the course of a year, the company and its unions grappled with when and how to require vaccination for its 67,000 U.S. employees.
New York's largest health care provider fires 1400 unvaccinated employees.

The ‘Lifeblood’ of nursing homes, Medicaid Reform aims to help staffing in Illinois. Despite improvements to the Medicaid rate in recent years, the state of Illinois’ reimbursement hasn’t kept up with rising costs for skilled nursing facilities — especially at a time when operators need to keep upping their wages to compete with other industries.
 
A 98 percent decrease in Daily Covid Cases (with Céline Gounder). Andy calls up Dr. Gounder, who just wrapped up a two-week rotation at Bellevue Hospital in New York City. They discuss her current Covid patient load compared to a year ago, the city's new vaccine requirements, and her honest assessment of the Biden's Covid record. Plus, why trust is so important when we ask people get vaccinated for the common good. Plus Dean of the Brown University School of Public Health, Dr. Ashish Jha.
Jerry Seelig, CEO
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