COVID Bits

  • “If we can get through this winter … I hope we can get some good control in the spring of 2022.”—Dr. Anthony Fauci, who noted it will be impossible to get a grip on the pandemic until vaccination rates dramatically increase.
  • More than 90 million eligible Americans are still unvaccinated.
  • According to Johns Hopkins University, the U.S. is now averaging about 140,000 new cases and 1,000 deaths per day.
  • According to Delta Air Lines, the average hospital stay for the virus costs of its employees is $40,000. Not coincidentally, Delta, which is self-insured, will charge employees on the company health plan $200 a month if they don’t get vaccinated.
  • Starting Sept. 7, Goldman Sachs will require anyone who enters the bank’s U.S. offices—including clients—to be fully vaccinated.
  • Beginning Oct. 1, immigrants seeking green cards must show proof of vaccination.
  • 75 percent of active-duty members of the Navy are fully vaccinated. That’s the highest of the main four branches of the U.S. military.
  • According to the Biden Administration, half of U.S. adolescents ages 12-17 have received at least one COVID vaccine. The inoculation rate among teens is growing faster than any other age group.
  • Mississippi: 37 percent of the population has been fully vaccinated.
  • According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 13 percent of Americans worked from home at some point in July—in contrast to a pandemic peak of 35 percent in May 2020.
  • “I think it’s important that we reduce the number of visitors coming here to the islands.”—That was Hawaii Gov. David Ige, who pleaded with tourists not to visit the islands through at least the end of October.
  • The week of Aug. 20-27 saw Florida report 1,727 COVID deaths, the highest number of COVID fatalities reported in a single week since the beginning of the pandemic.
  • As of last Friday, Florida was recording an average of 242 virus deaths a day—or almost as many as California and Texas combined.
  • “The delta variant is exceptional at finding vulnerable populations.”—Dr. Jason L. Salemi, a USF epidemiologist.
  • The Diocese of St. Petersburg is now—at least temporarily—requiring students, staff and campus visitors to wear masks.

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