The Vaccination Campaign

The Local Vaccination Campaign Total People Fully Vaccinated (two doses of Moderna or Pfizer or one dose of Johnson & Johnson) Massachusetts: 5,301,941 (up 3,233 from Tuesday) Rhode Island: 854,904 (up 482 from Tuesday) Reported changes from the last issue of this newsletter. View all vaccine news and numbers on Globe.com Top Stories: Vaccinations An expert group convened by the World Health Organization now “strongly supports urgent and broad access” to booster doses — a reversal of a previous recommendation. United Airlines will bring back employees who were placed on unpaid leave last year because they refused to get vaccinated. Pfizer has launched a study of its COVID-19 treatment pill for children ages 6 and up who are at risk for severe disease.

 

 

 

 

The Local Impact Massachusetts:  1,547,487 cases (up 1,577 from Tuesday)  ·  22,966 deaths (up 50 from Tuesday)  ·  290 hospitalizations (down 1 from Tuesday) Rhode Island:  357,647 cases (up 381 from Tuesday)  ·  3,421 deaths (up 2 from Tuesday)  ·  89 hospitalizations (down 7 from Tuesday) 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 Boston Mayor Michelle Wu plans to use millions in federal COVID-19 relief money toward her campaign promises, like accessible housing, climate resiliency, and fare-free public transit.  The Boston Public Health Commission recommended that city public schools lift their mask mandate when daily COVID rates reach 10 cases per 100,000 residents. Eleven charter schools in Rhode Island are keeping their mask mandates for now, too.  Massachusetts reported 3,194 more COVID-19 cases and 60 deaths among fully vaccinated people since last week.

 

 

Across the US and Around the World US 555,639,944 vaccine doses administered 79,446,167 cases 965,069 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 (81%) Vermont (80.4%) Maine (78.6%) Connecticut (78%) Massachusetts (77.9%) Bottom Ranked Alabama (50.4%) Wyoming (50.8%) Mississippi (51.1%) Louisiana (52.8%) Idaho (53.3%) Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Worldwide  10,650,051,822 vaccine doses administered 452,586,568 cases 6,027,510 deaths Source: Johns Hopkins  Top Stories: US and Worldwide A new study found that COVID may cause greater loss of gray matter and tissue damage in the brain than occurs naturally in uninfected people.  A $30 billion request from the White House to prepare for the next phase of the pandemic has fallen apart in Washington, meaning that it’s unlikely there will be much more federal funding for COVID.  Hawaii will be the last state to drop its mask mandate when it ends on March 26.