 |
| |
| |
| With less than half of the U.S. population fully vaccinated and the delta variant raging across the country, one Alabama physician says she is treating a lot of young, otherwise healthy people for serious coronavirus infections. |
| "One of the last things they do before they're intubated is beg me for the vaccine," Dr. Brytney Cobia, a hospitalist at Grandview Medical Center in Birmingham, wrote in a recent Facebook post widely shared on social media this week. "I hold their hand and tell them that I'm sorry, but it's too late." |
| In her post, Cobia wrote that, when the patient dies, she hugs their family members and urges them to get vaccinated. "They thank me and they go get the vaccine. And I go back to my office, write their death note, and say a small prayer that this loss will save more lives." |
| It's Wednesday, and this is Coronavirus Watch from the USA TODAY Network. Here's more news you need to know: |
| • | The U.S. will continue to restrict nonessential travelers from Mexico and Canada via land and ferry at least through Aug. 21, according to documents to be published in the Federal Register. The previous border restrictions were set to end Thursday. | | • | Dr. Anthony Fauci recommended parents follow the American Academy of Pediatrics guidance calling for everyone older than 2 to wear masks at school regardless of vaccination status. Fauci told "CBS This Morning" the CDC is reviewing its guidance calling for only unvaccinated children and adults to wear masks. | | • | Researchers called the rise in cases and hospitalizations in Arkansas a "raging forest fire," and the state's top health official warned he expects significant outbreaks in schools. Only 35% of Arkansans are fully vaccinated. | |
| Today's numbers: The U.S. has reported more than 34.1 million COVID-19 cases and 609,600 deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. Worldwide, there have been more than 191.7 million cases and more than 4.1 million deaths. About 56% of people in the U.S. have received at least one vaccine shot, and about 49% are fully vaccinated, according to the CDC. |
| Tracking the pandemic: See the numbers in your area here. See where cases are rising here. See vaccination rates here. And here, compare vaccinations rates worldwide and see which countries are using which vaccines. |
| – Grace Hauck, USA TODAY breaking news reporter, @grace_hauck |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
| |
