June 18 coronavirus news

Yankee Stadium will open to a full capacity crowd when the New York Yankees host the Oakland Athletics on Friday night.

The occasion represents the first full capacity crowd since October 18, 2019, when the Yankees hosted the Houston Astros in the American League Championship Series.

The stadium’s capacity is 46,537, the team said.

Some of New York state’s mass vaccination sites will begin downscaling and will shift their resources to localized vaccination efforts, according to a news release from Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s office.

The decision to downscale the mass vaccination sites was made given overall statewide progress on vaccinations, the governor’s office said.

On Tuesday, Cuomo announced that 70% of New Yorkers had received at least one Covid-19 vaccine dose and that most state-mandated restrictions would be lifted immediately.

The state now plans to shift resources to communities where the vaccination rate is below the state average.

On Thursday, Cuomo announced that 12 new pop-up vaccination sites would be opening in such areas, including in the Bronx and Brooklyn.

The state sites designated for downscaling are chosen based on demand, proximity to other vaccination sites, and other local vaccination efforts, Cuomo’s office said.

The downscaling will begin on Monday, with the closing of mass vaccination sites in Corning, Oneonta, Potsdam and York College, the release stated.

Buffalo Bills wide receiver Cole Beasley blasted the league’s strict protocols for unvaccinated players on Friday. “I’d rather die actually living,” Beasley wrote on Twitter in response to getting vaccinated against Covid-19. 

“Everyone — Hi, I’m Cole Beasley and I’m not vaccinated!” Beasley wrote in a post he called a “Public Service Announcement.” 

“I will be outside doing what I do. I’ll be out in the public. If your scared of me then steer clear, or get vaccinated. Point. Blank. Period. I may die of covid, but I’d rather die actually living.”

Earlier in the week, the NFL sent a league-wide memo to all teams highlighting the differences in protocols between vaccinated and unvaccinated players. 

The league relaxed protocols for individuals who are fully vaccinated including weeks between Covid-19 testing and not requiring face coverings for team meetings, workouts and travel. While protocols for unvaccinated individuals were much stricter including daily testing and constant mask wearing at team facilities and travel. Unlike their fully vaccinated counterparts, unvaccinated individuals must also remain physically distant from others in club facilities and will not be allowed to eat with teammates or other staff. While away for travel, unvaccinated individuals will not be allowed to leave the team hotel to eat in restaurants, go to nightclubs, or attend concerts.

Beasley added, “I’m not going to take meds for a leg that isn’t broken. I’d rather take my chances with Covid and build up my immunity that way. Eat better. Drink water. Exercise and do what I think is necessary to be a healthy individual. That is MY CHOICE based on MY experiences and what I think is best.”

Beasley concluded with, “A lot of other NFL players hold my position as well but aren’t in the right place in their careers to be so outspoken. I feel for you and I’m hoping I’m doing my part to represent you guys well.”

The 32-year-old finished the 2020 NFL season with 967 yards and four touchdowns and was named second team All-Pro for the first time in his nine-year career. 

Mississippi’s state of emergency due to the Covid-19 pandemic will end at 11:59 p.m. on Aug.15, Gov. Tate Reeves announced.

“I want to thank all Mississippians for their sacrifices over the past 15 months. Your actions resulted in a significant decline of COVID-19 cases and allowed our state to effectively manage the impacts of the virus. I’m also extremely proud of the way our Mississippi National Guard, MS Department of Health, MEMA, and other state agencies have capably handled this pandemic. With their help, we’ve administered nearly 2 million COVID-19 vaccinations,” Reeves said in the release.

“While a State of Emergency should no longer be necessary after August 15, all Mississippians should remain vigilant, get vaccinated, and follow public health guidance.”

The National Guard will also end their support in the state for Covid-19 on July 15, a news release said.

The numbers: As of Thursday, nearly 2 million vaccines have been administered in the state with 952,865 Mississippians fully vaccinated and 1,071,623 having received at least one dose of the vaccine, according to the state’s dashboard. 

New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced the state will lift all pandemic health restrictions on July 1.

According to a news release from the governor’s office, the state has been broadly open for the past few months but “opening day” is set for two weeks from now. That means businesses may once again operate at 100% capacity and limitations on both indoor and outdoor mass gatherings will be gone.

“I know some will say this day is late in coming. I sure wish we’d gotten here sooner,” said Lujan Grisham. “I said all along: Vaccines are the way out, getting shots gets us there quicker. We were always going to put health and safety first. All along we have taken the approach that will protect the most New Mexicans, knowing the unique health risks of our population, understanding and respecting how dangerous this virus is. I believe, on the whole, New Mexicans made the right public health decisions in their day-to-day lives, following the science and helping us get to this point quickly and, more importantly, as safely as we possibly could.”

Masks have not been required in New Mexico for vaccinated individuals since May 14, but businesses may still require them if they choose.

As of Friday, the New Mexico Department of Health reports 59.4% of eligible New Mexicans are completely vaccinated.

New Jersey has surpassed its goal of getting 4.7 million people fully vaccinated against Covid-19 before June 30, Gov. Phil Murphy said Friday. 

“This is not mission accomplished,” the governor said. “We are not close to stopping. This is not in any way, shape or form the end of history.”

The state’s original version of the goal was 4.7 million fully vaccinated adults, which amounts to roughly 70% of New Jersey’s total eligible adult population. However, as younger and younger residents have become eligible to receive Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine, Murphy has since tweaked the goal from 4.7 million fully vaccinated adults, to “individuals who live, work, or study in New Jersey.”

Since New Jersey’s first resident received their initial Covid-19 vaccine dose on Dec. 15, new confirmed cases have plummeted from 4,000 to 5,000 cases a day to roughly 200, according to the state’s Covid-19 dashboard. Hospitalizations similarly dropped from roughly 3,500 to the 300 range during the same period. 

According to Murphy, communities under the 50% mark for fully vaccinated eligible residents are “disproportionately communities of color,” underscoring that the vaccine equity gap still remains an issue.

Next week, the department will be sending “vaccine ambassadors” to high-risk counties to work with local leaders to get more residents vaccinated, Health Commissioner Judy Persichilli said, reiterating that more work still needs to be done.

President Biden said there was still work to be done in making sure more people of color get the Covid-19 vaccine.

“The more we close the racial gap in vaccination rates, the more lives we’ll save now as our vaccination program is saving tens of thousands of lives. With that count growing each day, it’s also allowing millions of Americans to get back to living their lives,” Biden said this afternoon during a speech at the White House.

Biden went on to urge Americans to get fully vaccinated to protect against Covid-19 variants, particularly the Delta variant.

“The new variant will leave unvaccinated people even more vulnerable than they are a month ago. This is a serious concern especially because of what experts are calling the Delta variant. It’s a variant that is more easily transmissible, potentially deadlier, and particularly dangerous for young people. But the good news is we have the solution. The science and the data are clear — the best way to protect yourself against these variants are to get fully vaccinated,” he said.

President Biden commemorated distributing 300 million Covid-19 shots in 150 days during a speech at the White House Friday.

“Thanks to this wartime response, we’ve gotten 300 million shots in the arms of Americans in 150 days, months ahead of what most anyone thought was possible when we started,” Biden said.

He continued: 

“In fact, if you remember, a lot of people were skeptical that we could even get 100 million shots in my first 100 days, into people’s arms, but we did it.”

So far, 44.7% of US population has been fully vaccinated against Covid-19; which represents 148.5 million people, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Covid-19 dashboard.

Here are some more data points on vaccinations in the US:

Vice President Kamala Harris stressed that there is still much work to be done in order to reach the Biden administration’s goal of having 70% of Americans with at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine by July 4, a date a little more than two weeks away.

“Even though we have made a lot of progress, there are still a whole lot of folks out there who are not vaccinated,” Harris said during remarks at Clark Atlanta University, a historically Black college and university.

The vice president told the crowd that only 42% of Georgians have received at least one shot. 

“So we know what the numbers tell us. We got to get those numbers up. We can do better,” she said. 

Harris addressed a slew of barriers that the administration feels have kept people from getting vaccinated, including access, paid time off from an employer, child care and transportation. She pointed to increased pharmacy hours in June, child care partnerships and a deal with Uber and Lyft to take people to get vaccinated free of charge as steps the administration is taking to combat all of those issues.

The vice president also said that misinformation is a major issue that needs to be addressed, telling the crowd that those who question the efficacy of the vaccines should be assured that the vaccines went through rigorous testing standards to ensure that they are safe.

“So when people say ‘oh, it seems like this vaccine just came about overnight,’ no it didn’t, it actually is the result of many, many, many years of research. And then they also went through what we call the FDA clinical trials, so that they would be ensured to be safe, where they were tested on a whole lot of people. All of that to say, we can say with confidence that vaccines are safe. They are safe, and they are free, and they are effective,” Harris said.

She added that while she did feel some side effects after receiving her second dose of the vaccine, the trade-offs — being able to speak in a crowded room without a mask and returning to a more normal lifestyle — are “100% worth it.”

US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Dr. Rochelle Walensky said she anticipates the Delta coronavirus variant that was first discovered in India will be the “predominant variant in the months ahead” in the United States.

The two-dose Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are highly effective against the variant, Walensky said, and studies are underway on the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

The CDC elevated the Delta variant to a variant of concern this week. The variant, also known as B1.617.2, accounts for 99% of new coronavirus cases in the UK, according to the latest data from Public Health England.

Walensky also said “we’re doing everything we can” to meet President Biden’s goal of having 70% of US adults at least partially vaccinated by July 4. According to the CDC, only 53% of the population has received at least one dose of the vaccine.

“We’re really doing everything we can to meet people where they are. And to understand what their hesitancy is so that they can get information if they want to understand the safety, if they want to understand how these vaccines got to us so quickly, we’re doing all of that hard work right now,” Walensky said to CNN’s Ana Cabrera. 

In some states and counties with low vaccination rates, Walensky said officials are connecting with leaders in communities to be vaccine advocates.

Time frames for booster shots are also being examined and will be discussed in next week’s meeting at the CDC, Walensky added.

“We’re carefully monitoring and have numerous studies, over 20 studies now, looking for breakthrough infections, should they be happening, and that’s exactly the science we’re monitoring just right now,” she said.

Vice President Kamala Harris greeted workers at a pop-up vaccination site at the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta Friday.

There, she asked how they help those who have hesitations about vaccines, and they told her they explain it is a responsibility to help protect others in the community. 

Harris arrived at a second stop a few minutes later, where she met George Mitchell, who was receiving his vaccine. She thanked him for being there and the room cheered after he was jabbed and received a sticker.

“That’s wonderful,” Harris said as Mitchell was seated in a waiting area.

Harris thanked a vaccinator for the work she is doing, discussing the importance of instilling confidence in the vaccine.

Harris then addressed a small, socially distanced group. (It was not immediately clear whether these were also people receiving vaccines or if these were medical staffers.)

“What you are doing truly is about leadership,” she said, adding that getting vaccinated is about loving thy neighbor and loving your community.

“We’ve gotta get the word out,” she said, asking those present to help by talking to their friends and neighbors. “Help us get the word out.”

Sen. Raphael Warnock Warnock, who is also the senior pastor at Ebenezer Baptist Church, said that Harris “preached a great sermon today,” to which the group said, “Amen.”

California health officials announced the launch of a new website where residents can access a digital version of their Covid-19 vaccination cards that can be used as proof of immunization, but said the electronic record would not be mandated to use.

“While CDPH recommends that vaccinated Californians keep their paper CDC card in a safe and secure place, we recognize that some people might prefer an electronic version,” California State Epidemiologist Dr. Erica Pan said in a briefing Friday. “If one of the state’s nearly 20 million vaccinated Californians misplaces their paper card, the Digital Covid-19 Vaccine Record provides a convenient backup.”

Gov. Gavin Newsom mentioned the electronic records plan earlier this week, but said it would not be a “vaccine passport” or required to use.

Amy Tong, state Chief Information Officer and director of the California Department of Technology, assured that the system follows national standards for security and privacy and is built by the state.

By entering the name, date of birth, e-mail address or phone number that was associated with the vaccine record, residents will be able to pull up their digital vaccination card that has the same information shown on the paper card from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, explained Tong.

The website will also generate a QR code which makes all the details readable by a QR scanner. People are encouraged to take a screenshot so they can bring it up any time they want to and have it available, Tong said. 

“We achieved our goal to quickly produce an intuitive portal that offers Californians another way, and an easier way, to access their own Covid-19 immunization history,” added Tong. 

As Americans start their summer vacations and Covid-19 restrictions loosen, US national parks are seeing a big spike in visitors.

“We’re so excited to welcome Americans back to their national parks as more people are vaccinated and traveling this summer. But we want people to plan ahead,” Jenny Anzelmo-Sarles, chief spokesperson for the US National Park Service, told CNN’s Kate Bolduan. 

“Many of the most popular destination national parks — the big ones you think of — the campgrounds and the hotels are either fully booked or nearly fully booked through Labor Day. Campground reservations across the national park system are up 73% from prior years, so [it’s] important to have a place to stay before you hop in your car,” Anzelmo-Sarles said.

In May, Yellowstone National Park saw the most visitors it has ever recorded — more than 483,100 people — according to the park, which is roughly an 11% increase from May 2019. Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming also set a May record, with more than 363,700 visitors, up roughly 30% from May 2019 numbers.

But along with the increase in visitors comes an increase in trash and damage. 

“We’re seeing some damage in high-use areas,” Anzelmo-Sarles said. “…So it is a challenge. We ask visitors to take care of the place, leave no trace, make sure that you’re leaving it in good shape for your friends and family that come behind you.” 

Watch:

President Biden will commemorate a milestone of 300 million shots in 150 days during his remarks Friday afternoon, a White House official says. 

“Today, the President will mark the milestone that the United States has administered 300 million shots in 150 days,” the official said in a statement. 

“Thanks to the President’s whole-of-government vaccination effort, the virus is in retreat, which has brought COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths down to their lowest levels since the start of the pandemic last year. The President will also make clear that there is more work to be done, and highlight the ongoing work by the Biden-Harris Administration to achieve equity in our pandemic response,” the statement continued.

Biden is expected to make the remarks at 2:15 p.m. ET in the State Dining Room. 

International Rescue Committee President and CEO David Miliband said that “the race between vaccines and variants” is being won in first-world countries, while poorer nations are still in danger. 

“The simple truth is that the race between vaccines and variants is being won in rich countries, like the US and in Europe, and it’s being lost in the poorer countries where we work. Essentially 1% of the population are getting vaccinations in the poorer parts of the world, Africa and elsewhere, and when it comes to health workers, the numbers aren’t that much better,” Miliband told CNN’s Poppy Harlow.

While the pledge of a billon vaccines from G7 nations announced last week will help, Miliband said that ramping up production and distribution chains is vital to combating the virus in poorer countries. 

“The numbers are simple. There’s seven or eight billion people in the world. They need, more or less, two vaccines each. So if there’s five billion adults, four-and-a-half billion adults, you can see that one billion vaccines doesn’t get you close enough to the kind of global universal coverage that’s necessary,” he said. 

Covid-19 is also exacerbated the world’s refugee crisis, as a record number of people — 82.4 million — were forcibly displaced by the end of 2020, according to a new report from the United Nations.

“The last year has been very tough for everyone because of Covid, but it’s been brutal for people whose lives are uprooted by conflict and disaster,” Miliband said. 

Watch:

The Delta variant is on its way to becoming the globally dominant coronavirus variant, Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, chief scientist of the World Health Organization, said during a news briefing in Geneva today.

According to the WHO’s weekly epidemiological report released Tuesday, 80 countries have reported the Delta variant. 

US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said Friday she anticipates that the Delta variant will become the dominant strain in the United States. 

About the Delta variant: Officially the B.1.617.2 variant, it was first detected in India in February and has now spread across the globe. Some fear it could overwhelm health care systems and reverse reopening plans before vaccinations take hold.

It is also more contagious — perhaps 60% more contagious than the Alpha variant, which was responsible for a surge in Michigan this spring.

But remember: People who are fully vaccinated seem to have good protection against it. Those who have gotten only one shot of a two-dose vaccine do not.

Canada has extended its Covid-19 restrictions on non-essential international and US travel until at least July 21, according to the Canadian Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness.

Minister Bill Blair tweeted:

Blair also added, “As we have said, the government is planning measures for fully vaccinated Canadians, Permanent Residents, and others who are currently permitted to enter Canada and will provide further details on Monday, June 21.” 

The US and Canada mutually agreed to shut down the border in March of 2020 as the coronavirus pandemic was just beginning. The current travel advisories for Canada and all can be found here.

President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are both due to give updates on the Covid-19 pandemic in the US today.

Harris is traveling to Atlanta this morning as part of a nationwide tour to encourage Covid-19 vaccinations. 

Just before noon, she’s scheduled to visit a pop-up vaccination site at Ebenezer Baptist Church. After that, at 1:40 p.m. ET, she’ll give a speech at the Covid-19 vaccination mobilization event at Clark Atlanta University, according to her schedule.

Biden will speak at 2:15 p.m. ET from the White House about the US’s Covid-19 response and the vaccination program, according to his schedule.

Earlier this week, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention designated the Delta variant as a “variant of concern,” which means scientists believe it is more transmissible or can cause more severe disease.

Here’s what we know about it:

The Covid-19 Delta variant, which is also known as B1.617.2 and was first identified in India, accounts for 99% of new coronavirus cases in the UK, according to the latest data from Public Health England (PHE).

At least 33,630 cases of the Delta variant were identified in the week to 14 June, bringing the UK’s total number of cases of the variant to 75,953, PHE said on Friday.

As of Monday, a total of 806 people have been hospitalized with the Delta variant, an increase of 423 since last week, the report said.

The new data suggests that both the Oxford Astra/Zeneca and Pfizer/BioNTech coronavirus vaccines are about 75 percent effective in preventing hospitalization from the Delta variant after a single dose and 94% effective after two doses.

Dr. Jenny Harries, Chief Executive of the UK Health Security Agency, warned on Friday that cases of the Delta variant were “rising rapidly” in the UK and that the variant is now “dominant.”

“The increase is primarily in younger age groups, a large proportion of which were unvaccinated but are now being invited to receive the vaccine,” she added. 

The European Union’s governing body has recommended that the bloc should lift Covid-19 restrictions on non-essential travel from 14 countries, including the US. 

In a statement on Friday, the European Council said member states should “gradually lift the travel restrictions at the external borders” for residents of the following third countries:

Travel restrictions should also be gradually lifted for the special administrative regions of China Hong Kong and Macao. The condition of reciprocity for these special administrative regions has been lifted, it added. 

The decision was based on criteria covering the “epidemiological situation and overall response to COVID-19, as well as the reliability of the available information and data sources.” It adds that reciprocity should also be taken into account on a case by case basis.

The list is to be reviewed every two weeks.

With the odds stacked against the US reaching the target of 70% of adults at least partially vaccinated by July 4 — a goal set by President Joe Biden — a vaccine expert said time is running out to get ahead of the potential spread of Covid-19 variants.

“Vaccines are our only way out of this,” Dr. Paul Offit told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer. “Unless we vaccinate a significant percentage of the population before winter hits, you’re going to see more spread and the creation of more variants, which will only make this task more difficult.”

The numbers of Covid-19 cases and infections have decreased, Offit said. But with hundreds of people dying and at least 10,000 people infected most days, the rates are still too high to prevent the summer lull from turning into a winter surge, he said.

Already the US has seen surges of the highly transmissible Alpha and Delta variants, while the spread of the Gamma variant is growing in several states.

In order to attain herd immunity, or the point at which the virus cannot easily spread within the community, experts have offered estimates of it requiring the innoculation through infection or vaccination of between 70 to 85% of the population. According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, only 53% of the population has received at least one dose of the vaccine.