- There’s now a cure for Dragon’s Dogma 2’s dreaded pawn pox Dragonsplague: mods Rock Paper Shotgun
- Dragon’s Dogma 2 players are warning each other about potentially killer pawns with rotten food and flesh PC Gamer
- Dragon’s Dogma 2 Players Are Fighting Dragonsplague In New Ways Kotaku
- Dragon’s Dogma 2 players have quietly devised a way to warn others of the dreaded Dragonsplague – but it might not be enough Gamesradar
- Good news, Dragonsplague-fearing idiots, there’s now a Dragon’s Dogma 2 mod that slaps your pawn’s infection level right on their forehead VG247
Tag Archives: pox
Boy given over-the-counter medication for chicken pox — and it almost killed him
A mother has posted shocking images of her son Tommy to social media as a warning: never give your child ibuprofen to relieve chicken pox symptoms.
British mum Verity did, and the consequences were gruesome and almost deadly.
She said she took Tommy to the hospital when his temperature spiked and couldn’t keep down food or fluids. “A male nurse told me to help with the temperature he could have ibuprofen and calpol together,” she told her Facebook followers.
“I questioned this and he told me it was an ‘old wives tale’ and you shouldn’t believe everything you see on Google. He also said ‘in all his time working in a hospital he’s never seen ibuprofen react to chicken pox.’”
“A few hours went by whilst we waited for the doctors to give us a 24-hour pass and I noticed a mark on Tommy’s belly,” she said. “I showed the nurse and he told me it was nothing, and could just be another chicken pox forming. We left the hospital and returned home.”
Verity said by 6 a.m. the following morning, Tommy had developed “what could only be described as a bruise on his belly, but by 8 a.m. this bruise was turning black.”
She said: “I called my doctor who saw us right away. He confirmed he was infected and drew around the marks to see if it spread. It did, and by 4 p.m. his entire belly was swollen, black and blue.”
He was then given an intense course of antibiotics and fluids, and doctors told Verity that Tommy should never been given the ibuprofen. “If he would have had one more dose, it could have been fatal,” she warned.
CPR Kids shared Verity’s post, and said that while such a reaction is rare, it’s not to be taken lightly, and can result in a necrotising soft tissue infection like Tommy’s. The organization calls it “a serious, life-threatening condition that requires immediate treatment to keep it from destroying skin, muscle, and other soft tissues.
“These infections can progress rapidly if they are not aggressively treated,” CPR Kids wrote.
Signs and symptoms of chicken pox
- Chickenpox (varicella) begins with a sudden onset of slight fever, runny nose, feeling generally unwell and a skin rash.
- The rash usually begins as small lumps that turn into blisters and then scabs.
- The rash appears over three to four days.
- Symptoms usually occur two weeks after exposure to the virus.
- Most people recover without complications, but sometimes the infection can lead to serious complications, such as pneumonia and inflammation of the brain.
- Persons who are previously vaccinated can still get chickenpox. If chickenpox occurs in a vaccinated person it is usually mild and less contagious than in an unvaccinated person.
- People are infectious from one or two days before the rash appears (that is, during the runny nose phase) and up to five days after (when the blisters have formed crusts or scabs)
Children showing spots should stay home until spots crust over, and be vigilant with washing hands, while staying away from other people especially pregnant women, babies, the elderly and very sick people.
How to Lower Your Risk of Getting Monkeypox During Sex
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there have been more than 2,000 confirmed cases of monkeypox across 37 different countries in 2022. While it’s true we might not be ready for monkeypox, the CDC is prepping anyone who will listen on how to lower your risk of getting monkeypox while having sex.
How is monkeypox spread?
Before diving into how to reduce the chance of getting monkeypox during sex, it’s important to know how monkeypox spreads. There is a misconception that monkeypox is a sexually transmitted disease; this is not true. While monkeypox can be spread during sex, the CDC notes that it can “spread to anyone through close, personal, often skin-to-skin contact.”
The CDC believes the most common way monkeypox is being spread right now is through direct contact with monkeypox rash, sores, or scabs from a person with monkeypox, though it also mentions contact with objects like clothing, bedding, or towels that have been used by someone with monkeypox is attributing to the spread, as well. It also lists kissing and other face-to-face contact as a form of transmission.
How to reduce the chance of spread of monkeypox while having sex
It should be noted first and foremost that if you’ve tested positive for monkeypox, the CDC recommends you “not have sex of any kind (oral, anal, vaginal) and not kiss or touch each other’s bodies while you are sick, especially any rash or sores.” Additionally, it recommends not sharing towels, fetish gear, sex toys, and toothbrushes.
Having said that, the CDC acknowledges adults are adults, and some of them are going to have sex regardless. If you have monkeypox and still insist of getting down and dirty with your partner, the CDC recommends taking the following steps to reduce your chance of spreading the virus:
- Masturbate together at a distance of at least 6 feet, without touching each other and without touching any rash or sores.
- Consider having sex with your clothes on or covering areas where rash or sores are present, reducing as much skin-to-skin contact as possible.
- Avoid kissing.
- Remember to wash your hands, fetish gear, sex toys and any fabrics (bedding, towels, clothing) after having sex.
- Limit your number of partners to avoid opportunities for monkeypox to spread.
In the event you end up developing an unexplained rash, sores, or other symptoms after sex, the CDC recommends avoiding sex or being intimate with anyone until you’ve been checked out by a healthcare provider. You should also avoid gatherings that involve close contact. In the event you test positive for monkeypox, tell everyone who you’ve had close contact or sexual contact with in the past 21 days, to help stop the disease’s spread.
Alameda County reports first monkey pox case
The Alameda County Health and Human Services agency reported Thursday the first probable case of monkeypox in a resident. This news comes after San Francisco reported its first case on June 4. The resident who tested positive had close contact with someone who also recently tested positive, the agency said.
The California Department of Public Health identified the case, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is conducting additional testing to confirm it, Alameda County health officials said.
The number of confirmed cases in California has grown to eight, but the risk of monkeypox to the general population remains low. After New York, with 11 cases, California has the second-highest number of cases in the United States, the CDC said.
The virus spreads through direct contact with body fluids or sores on an infected person, or with materials such as clothing that have touched body fluids or sores, the CDC says. It presents as a vesicular rash, similar to chickenpox, and other symptoms can include fever, headache and chills.
“Monkeypox can occasionally be deadly, especially in poor places with inadequate health care,” UCSF said.
Infectious diseases expert Seth Blumberg recently said in a UCSF news story that it’s easier to control monkeypox than COVID.
“For one, monkeypox is not as transmissible, unless the biology has changed drastically, and that seems unlikely,” said Blumberg, an assistant professor of medicine at UCSF. “Secondly, it takes much longer for a monkeypox infection to develop within an individual and to become transmissible. Therefore, there is a greater opportunity to protect contacts. Third, monkeypox may not be very transmissible before its visible rash highlights the need for quarantine, while COVID can be transmitted before symptoms emerge and even in asymptomatic cases.”
NC Coronavirus update July 30: Delta variant of COVID 19 is as contagious as chicken pox, common cold, CDC says
RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) — North Carolina, like many other states across the country, is seeing an uptick in COVID-19 cases.
CDC COVID-19 Transmission Levels by U.S. County
Map not displaying correctly? Click here to open in a new window.
10:05 a.m.
The North Carolina Zoo will vaccinate some of its animals against COVID-19.
Our newsgathering partners at the News & Observer confirmed that 15 chimpanzees and seven gorillas will be inoculated with an experimental vaccine designed specifically for animals.
Full story
7:40 a.m.
Israel’s prime minister on Thursday announced that the country would offer a coronavirus booster to people over 60 who have already been vaccinated.
The announcement by Naftali Bennett makes Israel, which launched one of the world’s most successful vaccination drives earlier this year, the first country to offer a third dose of a Western vaccine to its citizens on a wide scale.
“I’m announcing this evening the beginning of the campaign to receive the booster vaccine, the third vaccine,” Bennett said in a nationally televised address. “Reality proves the vaccines are safe. Reality also proves the vaccines protect against severe morbidity and death. And like the flu vaccine that needs to be renewed from time to time, it is the same in this case.”
The decision comes at a time of rising infections and signs that the vaccine’s efficacy dwindles over time.
7:35 a.m.
The Biden administration announced Thursday it will allow a nationwide ban on evictions to expire Saturday, arguing that its hands are tied after the Supreme Court signaled the moratorium would only be extended until the end of the month.
The White House said President Joe Biden would have liked to extend the federal eviction moratorium due to spread of the highly contagious delta variant of the coronavirus. Instead, Biden called on “Congress to extend the eviction moratorium to protect such vulnerable renters and their families without delay.”
“Given the recent spread of the delta variant, including among those Americans both most likely to face evictions and lacking vaccinations, President Biden would have strongly supported a decision by the CDC to further extend this eviction moratorium to protect renters at this moment of heightened vulnerability,” the White House said in a statement. “Unfortunately, the Supreme Court has made clear that this option is no longer available.”
Aides to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Sen. Sherrod Brown, the chairman of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, said the two are working on legislation to extend the moratorium. Democrats will try to pass a bill as soon as possible and are urging Republicans not to block it.
7:30 a.m.
The Delta coronavirus variant surging across the United States appears to cause more severe illness and spread as easily as chickenpox, according to an internal document from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The document – a slide presentation – outlines unpublished data that shows fully vaccinated people might spread the Delta variant at the same rate as unvaccinated people.
CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky confirmed the authenticity of the document, which was first reported by The Washington Post.
“I think people need to understand that we’re not crying wolf here. This is serious,” she told CNN.
“It’s one of the most transmissible viruses we know about. Measles, chickenpox, this — they’re all up there.”
FRIDAY MORNING HEADLINES
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the Delta variant of COVID-19 is highly contagious–likening it to things like chicken pox or the common cold.
That change is part of the basis for why the CDC updated its mask guidance to encourage even vaccinated people to wear masks indoors. Friday, the CDC is expected to release the data they have showing just how contagious the Delta variant really is.
SEE ALSO: Gov. Cooper says everyone in counties with high rates of spread should wear masks indoors
Local lawmakers and business owners are adjusting to the new mask guidelines Wake County leaders are set to talk about the mask guidance at a 10 a.m. meeting.
The pending mask adjustments come as COVID-19 cases are spiking across the country. In North Carolina, the most recent data showed 3,268 new cases Thursday.
THURSDAY
5:52 p.m.
Johnston County students and staffers will be under a mask-optional policy for the coming school year.
At a Special Called Session on Thursday, the Johnston County Board of Education voted 4-3 to make face coverings optional for all students and staff.
The school board did not immediately release any further details regarding the decision.
4:15 p.m.
President Joe Biden is urging local governments to offer $100 to those who get vaccinated with funding from the American Rescue Plan.
Biden will also announce Thursday that all federal government employees and outside contractors will be asked to “attest to their vaccination status,” and those who aren’t vaccinated must social distance, get tested once or twice a week and wear a mask at work no matter where they live. This includes members of the Armed Forces and National Guard.
3:30 p.m.
Governor Roy Cooper and Secretary of Health and Human Services Dr. Mandy Cohen on Thursday announced all state government employees in his administration must prove their vaccination status or submit to regular testing for COVID-19 and wear a mask.
“Our trends have turned sharply in the wrong direction,” he said ahead of that announcement.
Central North Carolina residents react to Cooper’s announcement:
Cooper said he “urges” and “implores” local businesses, corporations, universities, and other government agencies in the Council of State to adopt his administration’s new protocols “at a minimum.”
Cohen said there’s a rapid rise in new COVID-19 cases in the state.
“This is because the COVID virus is now much, much more contagious,” she said.
Cohen said that the original COVID spread from one person to an average of two to three people. But now, the Delta variant spreads from one person to an average of six people.
2:45 p.m.
Approximately one year ago, in late July of 2020, the U.S. had just experienced its COVID-19 summer surge, and was beginning to see a downturn, after six weeks of steady increases throughout the late spring, and early summer.
On July 27, 2020, the U.S. average was averaging about 63,400 new COVID-19 cases a day, down from its peak of 68,000 cases reported a day, a week prior.
Now, a year later, on July 27, 2021, the U.S. case average is back at similar levels, now averaging nearly 62,000 new cases a day.
1 p.m.
A whopping 3,268 new COVID-19 cases were reported in North Carolina on Thursday.
That’s a significant spike from Wednesday and well above the 7-day average.
The number of tests completed also shot up in the state to more than 29,000. That shows that more people in the state are worried they might have COVID.
The percent of positive tests in the state is at 9.3%.
1,141 people are currently hospitalized in the state with COVID-19.
13,618 deaths have been reported since the beginning of the pandemic.
12:15 p.m.
“It’s time to step up. It’s time to get that shot now. Do not wait. Do it for yourself. Do it for your family. Do it for your friends. The shot is safe. The shot is effective,” Gov. Roy Cooper said at a vaccine site in Nashville, North Carolina.
Cooper visited the McDonald’s in Nashville where the National Guard has set up a COVID-19 vaccination site.
The site allows people to get vaccinated without leaving their cars. People who got the shot also received a coupon for a free McDonald’s sandwich.
Cooper spoke at the event, but declined to talk about pending changes to the state’s vaccination requirements or mask guidelines. Cooper will address those topics during his 3 p.m. press conference–which you can watch in the above video player or on ABC11.
Instead, Cooper praised North Carolinians who already received the vaccine and encouraged them to keep advocating for their friends and family to get vaccinated.
“People who are vaccinated I know are frustrated and mad right now, because they have stepped up and done their part. But I want vaccinated people to encourage the unvaccinated now more than ever. Because vaccinated people can be some of our best messengers.”
Cooper went on to say the only way to finally get back to what life was like before the virus is to get vaccinated.
“It’s time for us to step up and put this pandemic in the rear-view mirror, and we can’t do it until we get more people vaccinated.”
8:45 a.m.
President Joe Biden will announce Thursday that millions of federal workers must show proof they’ve received a coronavirus vaccine or submit to regular testing and stringent social distancing, masking and travel restrictions.
An individual familiar with the president’s plans, who spoke on condition of anonymity to confirm details that had yet to be announced publicly, emphasized that the new guidance is not a vaccine mandate for federal employees and that those who decide not to get vaccinated aren’t at risk of being fired.
The new policy amounts to a recognition by the Biden administration that the government – the nation’s biggest employer – must do more to boost sluggish vaccination rates, as coronavirus cases and hospitalizations rebound, driven largely by the spread of the more infectious delta variant.
THURSDAY MORNING HEADLINES
Gov. Roy Cooper is expected to share new COVID-19 guidelines when he speaks publicly this afternoon at 3.
Coronavirus cases are on the rise in North Carolina and across the country. New research on the highly contagious Delta variant shows even vaccinated people can spread it.
That new research prompted the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to change its mask guidance–now suggesting that all people wear masks inside in areas where cases are prevalent.
The CDC also now suggests vaccinated people get tested for COVID-19 after they are exposed to a known positive case.
SEE ALSO: Some Triangle businesses reinstate mask mandate as COVID cases surge
But what do these changes mean for North Carolina? That’s what we expect Gov. Cooper to address this afternoon.
Wednesday saw the state confirm more than 2,600 new cases, with a positivity rate at 10.8 percent. That’s the second straight day above 10 percent and the highest daily case count since February.
Health experts continue to stress how important it is to get vaccinated. As the vast majority of all these cases, and even more so the cases that result in hospitalization, are among unvaccinated people.
WATCH: Healthcare worker has message for vaccine-resistant hospital workers
WEDNESDAY
5:15 p.m.
North Carolina State University announced that face coverings will be required in classrooms and laboratories for the first three weeks of the semester.
Face masks will not be required outdoors.
In other indoor spaces, those who are vaccinated are the exception to this requirement. The university encourages anyone who has not been fully vaccinated to continue wearing masks indoors and when in close contact with others.
The requirement extends to the campus’ bussing system.
4:30 p.m.
Duke University announced all individuals, regardless of vaccination status, will be required to wear face masks in all Duke-owned and leased buildings effective Friday, July 30, until further notice.
The university cited the rapid increase in COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths in North Carolina related to a combination of the Delta variant and the number of people who remain unvaccinated, as its reasoning.
Masks will not be required in on-campus residence halls.
Triangle hospitals say they are seeing an increase in COVID-19 hospitalizations.
Dr. Lisa Pickett, chief medical officer at Duke University Hospital, said their numbers are double from what they were two weeks ago.
While they don’t know if patients have the Delta variant since they don’t sequence at the time of admission, they presume many do, since it’s the most prevalent strain in our area, Dr. Pickett said.
WakeMed Health & Hospitals is reporting their COVID inpatient hospitalizations tripled in the last month.
A spokeswoman said more than 92 percent of COVID inpatients are unvaccinated and that the Delta variant is responsible for a spike in cases. She is stressing vaccination and said the comprehensive use of masks and other personal protective equipment inside all of their facilities is helping keeping staff and patients and their families safe.
UNC Health has 150 COVID patients in hospitals. That’s about the same as a year ago and up from about 50 patients a month ago, according to a spokesperson. UNC Health said most of their cases are among the unvaccinated and due to the Delta variant.
“A couple of days ago (North Carolina) crossed 1,000 people again for the first time in quite a few months in terms of hospitalized bed numbers and it is baked into the system, that the number is going to go up for at least a couple of weeks,” said Dr. Cameron Wolfe, Duke Health infectious disease specialist, in a virtual news conference Wednesday.
A new Lambda variant was first identified in Peru and some cases have been reported in the U.S. but the World Health Organization doesn’t consider it a variant of concern. It does consider the Delta variant one though.
Q&A: Is it still safe to travel amid rising COVID-19 cases?
“We’re part of a team that works with the people who are doing the genetic surveillance and looking at what other variants are out there,” said Dr. David Montefiori, director of the Laboratory for AIDS Vaccine Research and Development at Duke University Medical Center, in the news conference. “They’re not prevalent enough to be a variant of interest or a variant of concern yet but do they have the potential to escape our vaccines? Does this virus have the ability to completely escape our vaccines? That’s a question that we’re studying and that other people are studying.”
Dr. Wolfe said if you’re outdoors, there’s typically a lower risk of contracting the Delta virus than indoors. He said vaccinations matter and that a mask helps further reduce the spread.
“If your outdoor activity is a spaced out game on the soccer field, in reality your risk is extremely low,” Dr. Wolfe said. “So athletics last year, for example, were very good at going through degrees of proving that in fact on field transmissions were exceptionally uncommon.”
“I think if your situation is an outdoor concert venue where for protracted periods of time, you’re sitting in close proximity, perhaps yelling and screaming at the concert, that risk has gone up,” Dr. Wolfe said. “And the way that it stands at the moment is our chance of having someone in close proximity to you, who has, unbeknownst to them, COVID, has also gone up.”
Montefiori said it’s critical to keep the pandemic under control to keep the virus from mutating and becoming more resistant to vaccines, something routinely seen with influenza strains.
“Every time the virus gets transmitted from one person to another, it has an opportunity to mutate, to change, and so the more we can shut this pandemic down and slow down the spread of the virus, the less opportunities it’s going to have to continue to mutate and change and become more contagious and potentially even escape our vaccines,” he said.
That leads to the question on booster shots and Montefiori said that could be a real possibility.
“I think we’re probably getting very close to a time where we’re going to know if and when a boost is necessary,” he said. “I believe that boosting will be necessary. It’s very likely going to strengthen the immune response against the variants.”
4:25 p.m.
The Durham County Department of Public Health will offer COVID-19 vaccines at Durham Academy and Lakewood Shopping Center during the week of July 26, 2021.
When: Thursday, July 29, 4:30pm-6:00pm
Where: Durham Academy. 3116 Academy Rd., Durham, NC 27707
Vaccines offered: Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson; first & second doses
How to be vaccinated: Appointments & walk-ins. Open to all people 12 and older. To schedule an appointment, call 919-560-9217.
When: Saturday, July 31, 5:00pm-8:00pm
Where: Lakewood Shopping Center. 2000 Chapel Hill Rd., Durham, NC 27707
Vaccines offered: Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson; first & second doses
How to be vaccinated: Appointments & walk-ins. Open to all people 12 and older. To schedule an appointment, call 919-560-9217.
2:45 p.m.
Pfizer released new data showing its vaccine’s ability to protect against severe illness remains strong six months out. Efficacy against symptomatic disease also remains high, but appears to taper off over time.
Pfizer is using this data to bolster its argument that booster shots are needed six months out.
But the FDA – not the company – will decide if and when booster shots are needed. This data has not yet been peer reviewed.
12:15 p.m.
2,633 new COVID-19 cases were reported in North Carolina on Wednesday. That’s even higher than the count on this day last year — which was 1,805 new cases. This marks the highest daily cases since Feb. 27.
The percent positive in the state is at 10.8%. Tuesday marked the first time over 10% since the end of January. Tuesday’s percent positive was 10.2%.
1,091 people are currently hospitalized with COVID-19 in the state. Tuesday marked the first day with hospitalizations above 1,000 since May 7.
The number of patients hospitalized has doubled in the last two weeks.
13,606 people have died since the start of the pandemic.
The percent of the adult population that has at least one dose of the vaccine in North Carolina has inched up one percent to 61%.
Despite vaccines declining since early June, the state finally saw an increase last week. Last week, about 94,000 doses were administered. That’s a 17% increase from the week before. Most of the new vaccines were first doses. 17,000 more people got a first dose last week than the week before. 59,000 total people last week got a first dose.
12 p.m.
In the last week, the US reported the highest number of new COVID cases in the world, according to the WHO.
For the week of July 19-25, the US reported a 131% increase in new COVID cases, over the previous week, according to the latest WHO epidemiological report.
There were 3.8 million new COVID cases reported worldwide in the last week, an 8% increase over the previous week.
The number of new COVID related deaths increased sharply this week to over 69,000, up 21% from 57,000 last week.
The Americas and European regions are reporting the highest weekly case incidence per capita: 123.3 and 108.3 new cases per 100,000 residents respectively.
10:50 a.m.
Anyone working for NCDHHS at state-operated facilities will have to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by September 30.
North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services released a statement about its decision Wednesday saying the vaccine is the most effective weapon in the fight against the pandemic.
The agency’s decision falls in line with recommendations from the North Carolina Healthcare Association, the American Medical Association and the American Nursing Association.
The full statement is below:
“NCDHHS will require that that all employees, volunteers, students, trainees, as well as contracted and temporary workers working at state-operated facilities be fully vaccinated or receive an approved medical or religious exemption by September 30, 2021.
Vaccination for COVID-19 is the most effective prevention against the disease. Over 75% of DSOHF facility staff are vaccinated, with three facilities over 90%. As a health care system, we have a responsibility to protect the patients and residents that we serve – many of whom are at high risk for COVID-19 complications, are without other options for care, and in our care for long periods of time. It is well documented that health care personnel often unintentionally introduce the virus into institutional settings prompting an outbreak. That’s why numerous professional organizations recommend that vaccines be required for all healthcare and long-term care staff, including the North Carolina Healthcare Association and over 50 national groups such the American Medical Association and the American Nursing Association.
Rigorous clinical trials among thousands of people ages 12 and older, have proven that vaccines are safe and effective at preventing COVID-19 and virus-related hospitalization and death. More than 160 million Americans have been safely vaccinated.”
9:20 a.m.
A third dose of the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine can “strongly” boost protection against the delta variant — beyond the protection afforded by the standard two doses, suggests new data released by Pfizer on Wednesday.
The data posted online, which are expected to be discussed in a company earnings call on Wednesday morning, suggest that antibody levels against the delta variant in people ages 18 to 55 who receive a third dose of vaccine are greater than five-fold than following a second dose.
9:15 a.m.
Dr. Rochelle Walensky says new mask-wearing guidance, coupled with higher rates of vaccination against COVID-19, could halt the current escalation of infections in “a couple of weeks.”
The director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention told “CBS This Morning” she hopes more stringent mask-wearing guidelines and other measures won’t be necessary as the country heads into the fall.
“We can halt the chain of transmission,” she said. “We can do something if we unify together, if we get people vaccinated who are not yet vaccinated, if we mask in the interim, we can halt this in just a matter of a couple of weeks.”
With the delta variant fueling a surge of infections across the country, the CDC on Tuesday recommended even vaccinated people return to wearing masks indoors in areas where the variant is prevalent.
Walensky says the new guidance was prompted by data that vaccinated people can pass on the virus. However, the vast number of infections are occurring in unvaccinated people, she noted. Walensky said 80% of the counties with the highest number of infections have less than 40% of people vaccinated.
The nation is averaging more than 57,000 cases a day and 24,000 COVID-19 hospitalizations. The guidance on masks in indoor public places applies in parts of the U.S. with at least 50 new cases per 100,000 people in the last week.
9 a.m.
WakeMed Health & Hospitals has told workers it will require them to get a COVID-19 vaccine. The Raleigh-area hospital system is the leading provider in the state’s second largest county. It has three acute care hospitals and one physical rehabilitation hospital.
The timeline for when the vaccine requirement will take effect has not yet been determined. The move comes amid growing concern of the more contagious delta variant. Several other North Carolina hospital systems have announced plans to compel workers to come in get vaccinated. WakeMed’s vaccine requirement will apply to all employees, providers and volunteers in the “near future.”
8:45 a.m.
Duke University announced all individuals, regardless of vaccination status, will be required to wear face masks in all Duke-owned and leased buildings effective Friday, July 30, until further notice.
The university cited the rapid increase in COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths in North Carolina related to a combination of the Delta variant and the number of people who remain unvaccinated, as its reasoning.
Masks will not be required in on-campus residence halls.
WEDNESDAY MORNING HEADLINES
Gov. Roy Cooper and the state’s coronavirus task force will not be issuing an update today as previously planned.
The governor’s office said Tuesday afternoon that the previously planned Wednesday update would be pushed to Thursday.
Meanwhile, Cooper said he is reviewing mask guidance issued Tuesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC changed its mask recommendations in light of new evidence about the Delta variant of COVID-19.
That variant has become the most dominant form of the virus in the US. The CDC’s new evidence suggests that vaccinated people remain well protected against all forms of COVID-19, including the Delta variant. However, unlike other variants, vaccinated people can still spread the Delta variant.
That’s why the CDC said all people should wear masks indoors in parts of the U.S. where the coronavirus is surging.
Since the COVID-19 vaccines still provide strong protection against the Delta variant, health officials continue to urge people to get vaccinated.
Many healthcare facilities have begun mandating vaccines for their employees.
President Joe Biden is expected to announce federal employees will be required to be vaccinated or else face “stringent COVID-19 protocols.”
Q&A: With the Delta variant spreading, can vaccinated people feel safe without a mask?
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Delta seems more dangerous than other COVID-19 variants, contagious as chicken pox, reports say
An internal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention document obtained by several news outlets warns that the COVID-19 Delta variant could be more likely to produce severe illness and can spread as fast as chickenpox.
The Washington Post, which was first to report on the CDC slide presentation, said new research also indicates that fully vaccinated people can spread the virus at higher rates than previously thought. The paper reported that the CDC document says health officials need to acknowledge the “war has changed.”
TOP SCIENTIST WHO QUESTIONED IF COVID-19 WAS ENGINEERED CHANGED HIS TUNE AFTER CALL WITH FAUCI, REPUBLICANS CLAIM
The CDC did not immediately respond to an after-hours email from Fox News. The information in the document reportedly played a role in the new mask guidelines announced earlier this week. The Biden administration has been more assertive in recent days to compel Americans to sign up for a vaccine due to the emergence of variants.
Admiral Brett Giroir, the former assistant health secretary under President Trump, told Fox News’ “America Reports” on Thursday that the variant is so contagious that it is “just a matter of time” before everyone who is not vaccinated and hasn’t had COVID-19 comes down with the infection.
“If you have prior immunity you do have some protection, but more and more data are telling us that that protection is not so good against Delta,” he said. “Remember, you can get the flu every year. It’s not because your immunity isn’t good. It’s because the flu changes and Delta is really a new strain that is different than everything we’ve seen. So, I am really concerned that natural immunity, although real, is not going to be sufficient against Delta.”
Giroir’s comments seem to echo the CDC’s document. The agency said there needs to be a new public messaging to get people to sign up for the vaccine.
There have been lingering issues for those resistant to the vaccines. The Food and Drug Administration has not fully approved the jabs that are still being administered under an Emergency Use Authorization.
The death count in the U.S. also remains comparatively low. There were 398 deaths due to the virus on Thursday in the U.S. compared to the winter months when the numbers were 10 times that amount.
Matthew Seeger, a communication expert at Wayne State University, told the Post that health officials may have had some messaging issues with the public.
“We’ve done a great job of telling the public these are miracle vaccines,” he said. “We have probably fallen a little into the trap of over-reassurance, which is one of the challenges of any crisis communication circumstance.”
The Post’s report pointed out that fully vaccinated people who come down with the Delta variant can carry the same viral load as those without the vaccine and infect others.
The New York Times, which also viewed the document, reported that Dr. Rochelle P. Walensky, the head of the CDC, has said transmission from vaccinated individuals is rare, but some scientists believe it is more common than earlier believed.
John Moore, a virologist at Weill Cornell Medicine, told the Times that Delta “is the troubling variant we already knew it was.”
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“But the sky isn’t falling and vaccination still protects strongly against the worse outcomes,” he said.
CDC document warns Delta variant appears to spread as easily as chicken pox and cause more severe infection
The document — a slide presentation — outlines unpublished data that shows fully vaccinated people might spread the Delta variant at the same rate as unvaccinated people.
“I think people need to understand that we’re not crying wolf here. This is serious,” she told CNN.
“It’s one of the most transmissible viruses we know about. Measles, chickenpox, this — they’re all up there.”
The CDC is scheduled to publish data Friday that will back Walensky’s controversial decision to change guidance for fully vaccinated people. She said Tuesday the CDC was recommending that even fully vaccinated people wear masks indoors in places where transmission of the virus is sustained or high.
And she said everyone in schools — students, staff and visitors — should wear masks at all times.
“The measures we need to get this under control — they’re extreme. The measures you need are extreme,” Walensky told CNN.
She said the data in the report did not surprise her. “It was the synthesis of the data all in one place that was sobering,” she said.
The CDC presentation says the Delta variant is about as transmissible as chickenpox, with each infected person, on average, infecting eight or nine others. The original lineage was about as transmissible as the common cold, with each infected person passing the virus to about two other people on average.
That infectivity is known as R0.
“When you think about diseases that have an R0 of eight or nine — there aren’t that many,” Walensky told CNN.
And if vaccinated people get infected anyway, they have as much virus in their bodies as unvaccinated people. That means they’re as likely to infect someone else as unvaccinated people who get infected.
“The bottom line was that, in contrast to the other variants, vaccinated people, even if they didn’t get sick, got infected and shed virus at similar levels as unvaccinated people who got infected,” Dr. Walter Orenstein, who heads the Emory Vaccine Center and who viewed the documents, told CNN.
But vaccinated people are safer, the document indicates.
“Vaccines prevent more than 90% of severe disease, but may be less effective at preventing infection or transmission,” it reads. “Therefore, more breakthrough and more community spread despite vaccination.”
It says vaccines reduce the risk of severe disease or death 10-fold and reduce the risk of infection three-fold.
The presentation also cites three reports that indicate the Delta variant — originally known as B.1.617.2 — might cause more severe disease.
The CDC, the document advises, should “acknowledge the war has changed.” It recommends vaccine mandates and universal mask requirements.
The virus is once against surging across the US — especially in areas where fewer people are vaccinated.
The US averaged more than 61,300 new daily cases over the last week — an average that’s generally risen since the country hit a 2021 low of 11,299 daily cases on June 22, according to Johns Hopkins University data.
“The number of cases we have now is higher than any number we had on any given day last summer,” Walensky told CNN.
As of Wednesday, cases have risen in all but one state in the past seven days compared with the week before, according to Johns Hopkins.
“The one thing I will say is I’ve been heartened in the past couple of days to see more people taking action in response to the fact that it’s bad — more organizations, businesses, states, localities taking the action that’s needed to get us out of this,” Walensky said.
The CDC document walks through new “communication challenges” as a result of breakthrough infections, along with the need to retool public health messaging to highlight vaccination as the best defense against the Delta variant.
The agency should “improve (the) public’s understanding of breakthrough infections” and “improve communications around individual risk among vaccinated,” it says.
Earlier Thursday, President Joe Biden announced a number of new steps his administration will take to try to get more Americans vaccinated, including requiring that all federal employees must attest to being vaccinated against Covid-19 or face strict protocols.
“This is an American tragedy. People are dying — and will die — who don’t have to die. If you’re out there unvaccinated, you don’t have to die,” Biden said during remarks at the White House. “Read the news. You’ll see stories of unvaccinated patients in hospitals, as they’re lying in bed dying from Covid-19, they’re asking, ‘Doc, can I get the vaccine?’ The doctors have to say, ‘Sorry, it’s too late.’ “
This story has been updated with additional reporting.
CNN’s John Bonifield contributed to this report.