Coronavirus weekly need-to-know: Paxlovid, COVID cases, infection for 471 days & more
In the United States, more than 88 million people have tested positive for the coronavirus since the start of the pandemic as of Saturday, July 9, according to Johns Hopkins University.
In addition, more than 1 million people in the U.S. have died. Worldwide, there have been more than 554 million confirmed cases of COVID-19, including about 5 million cases in the past week. Additionally, over 6.3 million have died from the virus globally.
About 222 million people in the U.S. are fully vaccinated as of July 8 — about 67% of the population — and over 106 million of those have gotten their first booster shot, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data.
Roughly 80% of the U.S. lives in a location with low or medium COVID-19 Community Level, the agency says as of July 8.
About 21% of Americans reside in an area with a high COVID-19 Community Level. For them, it’s recommended to wear a mask while indoors in public.
The omicron variant’s BA.5 subvariants — BA.2.12.1, BA.2, BA.4, and BA.5 — dominated U.S. cases for the week ending July 2. BA.5 was the most dominant and made up slightly more than 50% of COVID-19 cases.
Here’s what happened between July 3 and July 8.
Yes, you can now get Paxlovid from a pharmacy. What to know about the COVID treatment
Pharmacists can now prescribe the COVID-19 treatment pill Paxlovid — the antiviral medication created by Pfizer — at pharmacies throughout the U.S., the Food and Drug Administration announced on Wednesday, July 6.
This comes after physicians were the only ones able to prescribe it to COVID-19 patients, McClatchy News reported.
Now state-licensed pharmacists can also decide whether Paxlovid is appropriate for those who test positive for the coronavirus, according to the FDA. However, there are standards they must follow.
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Yes, you can now get Paxlovid from a pharmacy. What to know about the COVID treatment
COVID for 471 days: Cancer patient had virus evolve three times in body, study finds
A cancer patient with a continuous COVID-19 infection — lasting at least 471 days — had the virus evolve three times in their body, according to a new study led by researchers at Yale.
The findings, which have not been peer-reviewed, suggest that a long-lasting COVID-19 infection may cause the virus to evolve more quickly and allow for infectious new variants, such as delta and omicron, to emerge.
It was estimated that COVID-19 evolved in the cancer patient twice as fast compared with how it does globally on average, according to scientists.
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COVID for 471 days: Cancer patient had virus evolve three times in body, study finds
He rapped about COVID fraud. Now he faces prison — for COVID fraud, feds say
A Tennessee rapper agreed to plead guilty to federal fraud and firearms charges after posting a YouTube music video rapping about committing pandemic-related unemployment benefits fraud, federal officials said in a July 6 news release.
Fontrell Antonio Baines, 33, who goes by “Nuke Bizzle,” agreed to plead guilty to one count of mail fraud and one count of unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon, according to the Department of Justice. The plea is expected in coming days in the United States District Court in Los Angeles.
Between July 2020 and September 2020, Baines participated in a scheme to fraudulently gain unemployment benefits through the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) provision under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (CARES), his plea agreement says.
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He rapped about COVID fraud. Now he faces prison — for COVID fraud, feds say
Study: COVID-19 endemic stage could be 2 years away
A new Yale study has found that COVID-19 will transition to endemic status possibly within two years, according to the university.
The researchers used rats, which, like humans, “are also susceptible to coronaviruses,” to help study when and how COVID-19 might become endemic, according to the university.
“By collecting data on coronaviral reinfection rates among rats, (researchers) were able to model the potential trajectory of COVID-19,” the university said.
The study was published July 5 in the journal PNAS Nexus.
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Study: COVID-19 endemic stage could be 2 years away
CDC adds Sweden, two other nations to high-risk COVID list
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on July 5 added Sweden, Guatemala and Morocco to its list of countries with a high-risk of COVID-19.
The three countries were previously considered to be a moderate risk, according to a web archive of the CDC’s list of countries on its travel advisory list. The high-risk designation means potential travelers should not visit a country if they are not up to date on their COVID-19 vaccines.
The CDC’s four-tier system of travel advisories notes how big a risk of contracting the COVID-19 is by traveling to the country. Level one and two designations, denoting a “low” and “moderate” risk, respectively, mean travelers should be up to date on the vaccines ahead of visiting.
CDC adds Sweden, two other nations to high-risk COVID list
This report also contains reporting from McClatchy News’ Moira Ritter, The Hartford Courant and The Hill.
