July 14 coronavirus news

The Delta variant might spread faster than other strains of the coronavirus because it makes more copies of itself inside our bodies quicker than other strains of the coronavirus. 

In research posted online last week, Chinese scientists detected Delta viral loads that were about 1,260 times higher than earlier strains on initial positive tests. They compared 62 Delta cases with 63 cases from the early epidemic wave in 2020.

Moreover, the amount of time it took quarantined people to test positive for Covid-19 on PCR also shortened – from about six days with the earlier infections to four days with Delta.

Some context: Delta outbreaks in China have prompted some local governments to shorten the window for a negative test in order to travel from 72 hours to 48 hours. 

According to Public Health England, a number of analyses have shown Delta to be more transmissible, including lab studies that suggest “increased replication in biological systems that model human airway, and evidence of optimized furin cleavage” – a process that activates the virus’ entry into the human cell. The variant has also been observed to spread faster in real-world epidemiological studies. 

According to the World Health Organization, Delta is estimated to spread roughly 55% faster than the Alpha variant first identified in the UK, and roughly twice as fast as variants that do not rise to the level of “interest” or “concern.”

Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves said today that more than 90% of those who have recently tested positive or been admitted to the hospital are unvaccinated people. 

Reeves said the state is seeing a "slight uptick" in total Covid-19 cases since the first of July, but he's doesn't think the state is "headed to a third wave."

He said during a press conference Wednesday afternoon that the best way to protect yourself from the Delta variant or any others is to get vaccinated. 

Reeves said that for those who choose not to get vaccinated, "I personally don't think that's a good choice."  

More than 160 million people in the US are fully vaccinated, according to data published Wednesday by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Here’s more of the latest data on vaccination efforts in the US:

Many states that have policies in place prohibiting requirements for showing proof of Covid-19 vaccination status also have some of the lowest vaccination rates in the United States, a CNN analysis finds.

As of June 22, at least 13 states have enacted laws that limit requirements for individuals to demonstrate their vaccination status or immunity against Covid-19 in general, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas and Utah. 

Overall, 48% of people in the US are fully vaccinated, but among those 13 states that have enacted the laws, an average of only 41% of residents are fully vaccinated. 

Alabama and Arkansas, for instance, are the only states nationwide -- other than Mississippi -- to have fully vaccinated fewer than 35% of their residents. Average daily case rates in each state were among the 10 worst in the country last week. Iowa is the only one in the group to have vaccinated a larger share of residents than the US overall, with less than 49% of residents fully vaccinated.

At least another 21 states have introduced similar bills that are pending legislation, according to the NCSL, which has been tracking legislation related to coronavirus vaccines. 

In comparison, states that have not enacted or proposed legislation to ban proof of Covid-19 vaccination have fully vaccinated an average of about 50% of residents, above the national rate.

Vermont, Massachusetts and Maine lead the nation, each with more than 62% of their residents fully vaccinated. Each of these states reported among the 10 lowest case rates in the country last week, and none have proposed or enacted legislation banning proof of Covid-19 vaccination status.

If certain high- and middle-income countries proceed with booster doses of a Covid-19 vaccine, they’ll use up more than 800 million doses just in reaching people over 50, according to an internal analysis from the World Health Organization.

WHO officials expressed concern on Monday about countries planning to add a third dose to the mostly two-dose vaccine regimens. WHO fears they’ll use vaccines that other countries could be using to get first doses to people.

“If 11 high and upper middle income countries decide, some of them are large countries, that we will go for a booster for their populations or even subgroups, this will require an additional 800 million doses of vaccine,” she said, not naming any of the countries.

WHO confirmed the numbers from this analysis in an email to CNN on Wednesday.

“It is based on some internal analysis showing that if 11 (high and upper-middle income countries) decided to give boosters to people over 50 years, then it would need between 800 to 900 million doses and would further impact global supplies of vaccines,” a spokesperson said.

Cuba reported a record 51 Covid-19 related deaths on Wednesday, according to the country’s health ministry. The death toll in Cuba since the start of the pandemic is 1,659.

Additionally, the island added 6,080 new cases of coronavirus, bringing the total number of cases to 256,607.

After controlling the infection rate for much of the pandemic, in recent weeks Cuba has seen the number of cases and deaths spike. 

The record number of deaths reported Wednesday comes as the communist-run island faces growing political turbulence, after unprecedented anti-government protests shook the nation on Sunday, involving thousands of people taking to the streets across the country. Many Cubans have been critical of the government's Covid-19 response and the deep economic toll the pandemic has had on the country.

Cuba has announced optimistic efficacy rates for their home-grown Covid-19 vaccines. However, as of Tuesday, out of Cuba’s population of 11.4 million, only 1,894,508 people have been fully vaccinated.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Wednesday that pushing back against dangerous misinformation about the Covid-19 vaccine is “literally a matter of life and death.

She confirmed that US Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy will be speaking about a new report on misinformation at Thursday’s briefing, reported by CNN’s Kaitlan Collins, Kevin Liptak, and Jeff Zeleny earlier Wednesday.

“Certainly the push back against disinformation that is, you know, literally a matter of life and death, is something that is going to be a continued focus of this administration,” Psaki said.

Some context: This comes as CNN reported White House officials are devising ways to fight the spread of dangerous falsehoods about Covid-19 vaccines, administration officials told CNN, as Republicans and their media allies ramp up their vocal skepticism about vaccines. Biden himself could soon take on some of the corrosive messages emanating from the right, officials said, as the administration's vaccination efforts hit a wall just as the highly transmissible Delta variant of the virus rips across the country.

CNN spoke with five people in the administration who described the White House's efforts to fight back against the misinformation swirling about Covid-19 vaccines.

Psaki suggested that any decision to regulate or hold to account a social media platform “would certainly be a policy decision,” and declined to preview any changes on the matter. 

She said there was no plan as of now for the President to meet with Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg.

Legislative leaders are seeking answers from Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee regarding his decision to fire the state's top vaccination expert in the middle of a pandemic. 

Dr. Michelle Fiscus said she was fired after sharing a decades-old state policy about some teenagers being able to receive vaccinations without parental consent. 

During a virtual meeting with state legislative members on Wednesday, Tennessee's Senate Caucus Chairwoman Raumesh Akbari said the state's top leadership decision to fire Fiscus has put the state in a more dangerous position.

Akbari said she is concerned that the lack of leadership is going to have a downward effect on hospitals, healthcare workers, and schools in the fall. 

State Senator Jeff Yarbro said the firing of Fiscus is going to set the state's efforts back and is calling on the governor to make sure that the Department of Health is providing accurate information and keeping the people of Tennessee safe.

Read more about this here.

Local health officials in the United States aren't just concerned about the Covid-19 risks for people who are unvaccinated, but also the risks for a "significant" number of people who are partially vaccinated — especially those who are overdue for their second dose or skipped their second-dose appointments.

The Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna coronavirus vaccines are administered as two doses, 21 and 28 days apart, respectively. Studies have shown that the Covid-19 vaccines are much more effective against the Delta variant after completion of the two-dose series. Those who have received one dose should still follow Covid-19 mitigation steps, such as wearing masks, until they are fully vaccinated.

About 185 million people in the US have received at least one dose of coronavirus vaccine so far but some 160 million people are fully vaccinated, as of Tuesday, according to data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That means about 25 million people who have received at least one dose are only partially vaccinated. 

"It's a significant number," Lori Freeman, chief executive officer of the National Association of County and City Health Officials, told CNN on Wednesday. 

Not all of those people have missed their second dose — they may be in the waiting period between doses. But the CDC reported last month that about 1 in 10 people eligible to receive their second dose had not done so. As of June 16, about 88% of those eligible to receive their second dose had completed their two-dose series, down from 92% earlier in the year, according to the CDC.

Public health officials worry about those who skipped their second dose appointments and are still not fully protected against Covid-19; Freeman said this was discussed on a call Tuesday between local health officials and the White House.