The Vaccination Campaign

Total People Fully Vaccinated (two doses of Moderna or Pfizer or one dose of Johnson & Johnson) Massachusetts: 5,403,357 (up 4,114 from Thursday) Rhode Island: 881,366 (up 1,125 from Thursday) Reported changes from the last issue of this newsletter. View all vaccine news and numbers on Globe.com Top Stories: Vaccinations Moderna’s Omicron-targeting vaccine triggered the production of antibodies against the strains’ newest variants. An expert panel backed Moderna’s vaccine option for kids ages 6 to 17 Thursday, though Pfizer shots are already available to this age group.

 

 

 

 

The Local Impact Massachusetts:  1,755,678 cases (up 8,965 from Thursday)  ·  19,657 deaths (up 64 from Thursday)  ·  459 hospitalizations (down 19 from Thursday) Rhode Island:  400,834 cases (up 1,853 from Thursday)  ·  3,605 deaths (up 9 from Thursday)  ·  54 hospitalizations (down 17 from Thursday) Reported increases or decreases from the last issue of this newsletter. Sources: Massachusetts Department of Public Health Rhode Island Department of Health View all COVID-19 news and numbers on Globe.com Top Stories: COVID-19 Impact Only one Massachusetts county, Hampden, currently has a high level of COVID. That number is down from a high of 11 last month. The levels of coronavirus detected in Eastern Massachusetts waste water fluctuated up and down in the week ending Tuesday, rather than making a much hoped-for race to the bottom. Early research shows no clear answers about whether COVID infections during pregnancy affects the fetus. In fact, two recent studies came to opposite conclusions.   State-run COVID testing sites in Vermont are closing for good by Saturday.

 

 

Across the US and Around the World US 592,313,778 vaccine doses administered 86,708,080 cases 1,015,162 deaths Sources: Johns Hopkins Centers for Disease Control and Prevention The Most and Least Vaccinated US States (% of population fully vaccinated) Top Ranked Rhode Island (83.6%) Vermont (81.8%) Maine (80.3%) Connecticut (80%) Massachusetts (79.8%) Bottom Ranked Wyoming (51.3%) Alabama (51.5%) Mississippi (52.2%) Louisiana (53.8%) Arkansas (54.9%) Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Worldwide  11,632,365,317 vaccine doses administered 541,793,948 cases 6,325,157 deaths Source: Johns Hopkins  Top Stories: US and Worldwide Florida governor Ron DeSantis initially said the state would not order and distribute shots for children under 5. Now, he’s permitting individual doctors to order vaccines for their patients. Pandemic-era staffing shortages are causing delays and frustration at Logan Airport and beyond.  Dr. Deborah Birx, the COVID response coordinator under former President Donald Trump, told a House panel that a lack of messaging about the seriousness of the virus in the earliest months created a false sense of security among Americans and resulted in inaction.  Public health experts said that community transmission of monkeypox is occurring largely undetected, and the critical window in which to control the outbreak is closing quickly.