The U.S. county where they don't want to get vaccinated 3:55
(CNN) -
As the United States continues its path to near-pre-pandemic normalcy, experts remain concerned about low vaccination rates and the spread of covid-19 variants, which could exacerbate a life-disrupting pandemic over the years. over a year and inflicted damaging aftermath on Americans and the world.
New York and California, which were home to some of the nation's deadliest virus epicenters last year, are fully reopening in time for summer, while Sunday marked 500 days since the first known death from covid-19. In U.S.A.
California officials announced in April 2020 that a 57-year-old woman who died on February 6 of that year passed away from complications from the coronavirus, more than three weeks before what was previously believed to be the nation's first death, in Washington state.
Since then, at least 601,818 Americans have died of COVID-19, according to the most recent data from Johns Hopkins University.
The last few months have generally brought fewer cases, hospitalizations and deaths, progress that health experts attribute to vaccines.
With more than 300 million total vaccine doses administered as of this week, the US has passed through major coronavirus milestones worth celebrating - since reporting a current seven-day moving average of 13,997 new daily cases this week compared to the peak of 251,834 cases on January 10, to an average of more than 3 million doses of vaccines per day in April, according to data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
But there is still a long way to go, CNN medical analyst Dr. Leana Wen warned Saturday night.
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“We certainly have to admit that we have come a long way, and we are out of the worst.
We're not going to see the massive waves we saw over the holidays, ”said Wen, who is a former Baltimore Health Commissioner.
“The problem, however, is that we should really look at the numbers for each community instead of looking at the US as a whole, because while the US as a whole is doing much better, and there are parts of the country where we have very high vaccination rates, we also have parts of the country that are actually experiencing massive waves right now where their hospitals are filling up again, ”Wen said.
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While health experts agree that full vaccination offers protection against some variants of COVID-19, Wen added that it is unknown whether a vaccine-resistant variant will emerge.
We just don't know.
If there is anything we have learned during covid-19, it is how humble we need to be in the face of this virus, "he said.
He noted that it is "true" that new variants will be developed, which could make the vaccines a bit ineffective, but not entirely.
"This is another reason why those who are not vaccinated should get vaccinated as soon as possible," Wen said.
Vaccination delays continue in some states
As of Sunday, 45.1% of the total US population was fully vaccinated against COVID-19, while 53.3% had received at least one dose.
Fourteen states have fully vaccinated more than half their population, CDC data shows, and 16 states and Washington have met President Joe Biden's goal of vaccinating 70% of adults with at least one dose for the July 4th.
Nationwide, 65.4% of adults have received at least one dose, with the current vaccination rate of 1.2 million doses per day, according to CDC data Sunday.
Mississippi, one of the southern states where vaccination rates are among the lowest in the country, has fully vaccinated 30% of its total population, while 33% have received at least one dose, state data shows. health published on Friday.
Jackson, Mississippi Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba told CNN on Saturday that the state is so far behind on vaccinations in part because of "a dynamic of so many people who don't have primary health care doctors every day, and this it's another example of how this pandemic is highlighting disparities in healthcare.
In Hinds County, where Jackson is located, 40% of the total population is at least partially vaccinated while 36% are fully inoculated, according to state data.
"If we see people who don't have primary care doctors and we ask them to get vaccinated, we ask them to deviate from the norms that they have in all other forms of their lives," Lumumba added.
"People who have not been to the doctor in many years, and in some cases never, and now we are trying to encourage them to ... go get an injection in the arm."
Lumumba noted that one way to encourage vaccination is to "meet people where they are," whether in barbershops or churches.
He noted that vaccine accessibility and historical distrust within Black and Latino communities are contributing factors to the low vaccination rate in his city, whose population is roughly 85% black.
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Variants on the rise
CDC: Delta variant of covid-19 will predominate in the US 1:57
Alabama, Louisiana, Arkansas, Tennessee, and Wyoming join Mississippi in being among the states with the lowest vaccination rates.
That's a problem because experts have been warning that emerging variants could cause serious illness in the unvaccinated.
The CDC has predicted that the delta variant, which was first identified in India, could become the dominant strain in the US.
The delta variant, along with the gamma or P.1 variant, have been considered variants of concern by the CDC, meaning its danger comes from its ability to transmit more easily or cause more serious disease.
The gamma variant, first identified in Brazil, has been detected in every US state where the CDC has information on variants.
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Vaccination has been shown to be the best way for the US to get ahead of variants.
A recent study by Public Health England found that two doses of a coronavirus vaccine are "highly effective against hospitalization" caused by the delta variant.
The study found that the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine is 96% effective against hospitalization after two doses.
Chief Health Officer Vivek Murthy previously told CNN that there is not enough data to indicate the effectiveness of Johnson & Johnson's one-dose vaccine against the delta variant, but it has shown that it can help prevent hospitalizations and deaths when people are infected with other variants.
"The key is to get vaccinated, get both doses," Murthy said.
Steve Edwards, CEO of CoxHealth, a Missouri-based system of hospitals and clinics, told CNN on Friday that the delta variant is different from others.
“We cannot say why one patient is doing badly and another is doing well.
There is something different about how this variant is affecting our patients' immune systems, "Edwards said.
Along with low vaccination rates in Missouri, he added, the delta variant is playing a major role in increasing cases at its hospitals.
"I think the delta variant is what drives this," he said.
"Much of the South, the Midwest, a lot of the places that have low vaccination rates, if they deal with the delta variant, they will see a similar kind of surge in patients that we're starting to see now.
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Study suggests delta variant grows faster where vaccination is low
A new study appears to confirm that the delta variant is growing the fastest in US counties with lower vaccination rates.
The delta variant and the gamma variant are overtaking the alpha variant, or B.1.1.7 first identified in the UK, as the dominant variant in the United States, according to the Helix scientists study.
The researchers analyzed nearly 20,000 covid-19 tests collected since April 2021 and just under 250,000 covid-19 sequence results from samples collected by Helix since January 2021.
"In the United States, this analysis showed that the growth rate of B.1.617.2 was faster than P.1," the research said.
However, the growth rates of the two variants differed according to the county vaccination rate.
The samples the study analyzed came from 747 counties.
The county sequence data was compared to county vaccination rates from the CDC.
They defined a county with a lower vaccination rate as one that had less than 28.5% of the population fully vaccinated on May 1, the others were considered counties with a higher vaccination rate.
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"The growth curve for B.1.617.2, which is more transmissible but against which vaccines are highly effective, shows faster growth in counties with lower vaccination rates," the study said.
"In contrast, P.1, which is less transmissible but against which vaccines are somewhat less effective, is more prevalent in counties with higher vaccination rates."
The study is scheduled to be published as preprint in the next few days.
CNN's Virginia Langmaid, Susannah Cullinane, and Naomi Thomas contributed to this report.
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