The Vaccination Campaign

Total People Fully Vaccinated (two doses of Moderna or Pfizer or one dose of Johnson & Johnson) Massachusetts: 4,393,832 (up 14,167 from Thursday) Rhode Island: 662,549 (As of Friday due to state holiday; up 818 from Thursday) Reported changes from the last issue of this newsletter. View all vaccine news and numbers on Globe.com Top Stories: Vaccinations A big milestone for Maine: More than 80 percent of residents have gotten at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine. All members of the US military will be required to be vaccinated against COVID-19 by Sept. 15.

 

 

The Local Impact Massachusetts:  681,131 cases (up 3,698 from Thursday)  ·  17,730 deaths (up 5 from Thursday)  ·  314 hospitalizations (up 50 from Thursday) Rhode Island: All numbers are from Friday due to a state holiday today. 155,825 cases (up 298 from Thursday)  ·  2,743 deaths (no new deaths from Thursday)  ·  40 hospitalizations (up 1 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 The federal recommendation for indoor mask-wearing now applies to all but one Massachusetts county. As of the end of July, 100 vaccinated people in Massachusetts who contracted the coronavirus had died; the median age was 82.5. In Boston, outdoor events are taking varying approaches to mask-wearing and other coronavirus protocols. The Delta variant is sending more children to the hospital. COVID-19 is once again spreading in Massachusetts nursing homes, but most cases so far seem to be mild. In Provincetown, the outbreak of coronavirus cases after the July 4 holiday was a shock. My colleagues Evan Allen and Hanna Krueger took a closer look. City councilor Andrea Campbell, who is also running for mayor, criticized Acting Mayor Kim Janey today for her handling of the pandemic.

 

 

 

Across the US and Around the World US 351,933,175 vaccinations 35,916,486 cases 617,254 deaths Sources: Johns Hopkins Centers for Disease Control and Prevention The Most and Least Vaccinated US States (% of population fully vaccinated) Top Ranked Vermont (68%) Massachusetts (64.4%) Maine (64.2%) Connecticut (63.9%) Rhode Island (62.2%) Bottom Ranked Alabama (34.9%) Mississippi (35.2%) Wyoming (37%) Louisiana (37.6%) Arkansas (37.7%) Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Worldwide  4,444,890,640 vaccinations 203,217,711 cases 4,300,122 deaths Source: Johns Hopkins  Top Stories: US and Worldwide At a Boston event on Friday, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said more vaccinations and universal masking in schools are the best way to protect students as they head back to classrooms in a few weeks. Across the world, countries are trying any incentive they can think of to get people vaccinated. No intensive care beds were available at Mississippi hospitals today. The European Union decided today not to reinstate restrictions on non-essential travel from the United States. Moderna's coronavirus vaccine has been provisionally approved in Australia.

 

 

What's Next Some people are going to extreme lengths to get an unauthorized COVID-19 booster dose. But doctors say you shouldn't get a booster shot yet. Here's why. For patients with mental illness, the pandemic has been "a crisis on top of a crisis" as they wait days or even weeks for psychiatric treatment. A Washington Post-Schar School poll found that two-thirds of Americans plan to wear masks when they're sick beyond the pandemic. For some local restaurants, the pandemic encouraged business owners to enter the digital era.