Over the previous three weeks, the US has averaged greater than 1,000 Covid-19 deaths per day.
“Covid is now the No. 3 cause of death in the US — forward of accidents, accidents, lung illness, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, and many, many different causes,” mentioned Dr. Thomas Frieden, a former director of the Facilities for Illness Management and Prevention.
Coronary heart illness and most cancers are the main causes of death in the US, in accordance to the CDC.
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The speed of deaths from Covid-19 is additionally a lot larger in the US than in many different international locations, Frieden mentioned.
“Final week, People have been eight occasions extra seemingly to get killed by Covid than have been Europeans,” he mentioned.
Much less testing = extra contaminated folks strolling round
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Simply as extra college students head again to college, well being consultants are nervous a couple of disturbing development: lowering testing mixed with excessive take a look at positivity charges.
In different phrases, Covid-19 is nonetheless spreading rampantly, however there’s much less testing to find and isolate cases.
The quantity of checks carried out every day in the US dropped by a mean of 68,000 in contrast to the day by day fee in late July, in accordance to knowledge from the Covid Tracking Project.
Fifteen states carried out fewer checks this previous week in contrast to the earlier week: Mississippi, Louisiana, North Carolina, Washington state, Rhode Island, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Nevada, Idaho, Montana and Alaska.
But take a look at positivity charges — the proportion of checks which might be optimistic — are nonetheless increased than the advisable 5% in more than 30 states, in accordance to knowledge from Johns Hopkins College.
“The testing scenario is not good in the United States. What we’re not choosing up is people who find themselves contagious,” mentioned William Haseltine, chairman and president of ACCESS Well being Worldwide.
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“We’re in all probability lacking eight out of 10 people who find themselves contagious. And any lower in testing is worrisome as a result of we’re not already doing properly. And in case you do not decide folks out of a crowd who’re contagious, then the epidemic spreads. … This epidemic is nonetheless spreading broadly.”
Why are some states testing much less?
Medical consultants say there may very well be a number of causes.
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“One of the causes that testing is lowering is that provides aren’t being shipped to locations that may take a look at. I feel it is half of a method not to depend how many individuals are contaminated,” Haseltine mentioned.
Another excuse is that individuals could also be much less motivated to get examined, figuring out it might probably take several days or longer to get outcomes. And major delays can make some tests “borderline useless.”
Dr. Kent Sepkowitz mentioned he is nervous some states could also be taking cues from President Donald Trump, who mentioned “whenever you do extra testing, you find extra cases,” which could make the US “look bad.”
Sepkowitz famous that a number of states which have touted decreased case counts also had some of the highest test positivity rates — an indicator that the virus is spreading rampantly.
“So whilst the charges are worsening, many states have determined to scale back their efforts to find cases,” he wrote. “Because of this, by wanting much less, they’re discovering fewer cases and certain sufficient, the case numbers are happening.”
Scarcity of minority volunteers may delay vaccines
Whereas medical consultants hope a vaccine will be publicly available in 2021, researchers have encountered an issue: not sufficient Black and Latino volunteers have signed up for medical trials.
Of the 350,000 individuals who’ve registered on-line, 10% are Black or Latino, in accordance to Dr. Jim Kublin, govt director of operations for the Covid-19 Prevention Network.
That is not practically sufficient, as trial contributors are supposed to mirror the inhabitants that is affected. Analysis exhibits greater than half of US Covid-19 cases have been amongst Black and Latino folks.
Much of the distrust stems from a historical past of medical atrocities in opposition to minorities. From 1932 to 1972, Black males have been topics in the Tuskegee syphilis study with out their data or consent and weren’t provided penicillin to deal with their illness.
In the 1800s, Dr. J. Marion Sims experimented on slaves and carried out surgical procedures with out their consent and with out anesthesia.
And from the 1940s till the 1970s, researchers in a number of research uncovered lots of of topics — principally Black folks — to dangerous amounts of radiation.
Well being officers are trying to gain the trust of minority communities and recruit extra numerous volunteers for Section 3 coronavirus vaccine trials.
Thus far, phases 1 and 2 have proven the vaccine to be protected. Some volunteers skilled fever and muscle aches, however they felt higher after a day or two.
A quick, cheap take a look at simply obtained emergency approval
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There is some excellent news: A brand new saliva take a look at may give People a fast approach of studying if they’ve Covid-19 — and in the event that they want to isolate to assist stop the unfold.
Researchers from the Yale College of Public Well being created the SalivaDirect test, which obtained emergency use authorization from the Meals and Drug Administration on Saturday.
“If low cost options like SalivaDirect will be carried out throughout the nation, we could lastly get a deal with on this pandemic, even earlier than a vaccine,” mentioned Nathan Grubaugh, a Yale assistant professor of epidemiology.
Not like another checks that require specialized supplies, the SalivaDirect take a look at would not require a selected swab or assortment system. It can be used with reagents from a number of distributors.
“We simplified the take a look at in order that it solely prices a pair of {dollars} for reagents, and we anticipate that labs will solely cost about $10 per pattern,” Grubaugh mentioned.
Researchers mentioned the new take a look at can produce outcomes in lower than three hours, and the accuracy is on par with outcomes from conventional nasal swabbing. They mentioned SalivaDirect checks may turn into publicly accessible in the coming weeks.
‘We have to break by way of to our younger folks’
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Shortly after their lecture rooms reopened, hundreds of college students must stay home and quarantine after coronavirus clusters at their colleges.
Well being consultants are urging youthful People to take precautions critically, particularly after the CDC mentioned Covid-19 cases amongst kids have been “steadily rising” from March to July.
“Current proof means that kids seemingly have the similar or increased viral hundreds in their nasopharynx in contrast with adults and that kids can unfold the virus successfully in households and camp settings,” the CDC mentioned.
Outbreaks have additionally emerged at schools and universities.
Oklahoma State College mentioned Sunday that a minimum of 23 sorority members in an off-campus home examined optimistic for the virus. Your entire home is in isolation or quarantine and “might be prohibited from leaving the facility,” the college mentioned.
Lower than every week after beginning courses, the College of North Carolina at Chapel Hill introduced its fourth cluster of coronavirus. The clusters have been situated at two residence halls, a non-public house complicated that serves college students and the Sigma Nu fraternity.
The North Carolina Division of Well being and Human Providers defines a cluster as 5 or extra cases in shut proximity.
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“We have to break by way of to our younger those that they don’t seem to be immune to the virus,” Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot mentioned.
The town has seen a gentle enhance in cases, which she attributed to 18 to 29-year-olds.
CNN’s Elizabeth Cohen, Dana Vigue, Madeline Holcombe, Lauren Mascarenhas, Carma Hassan and Chandler Thornton contributed to this report.
Passionate news enthusiast with a flair for words. Our Editorial Team author brings you the latest updates, in-depth analysis, and engaging stories. Stay informed with their well-researched articles.
Florida has become the first State in the US to ban laboratory grown meat. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a bill on Wednesday which bans the sale of any form of lab grown meat. The bill is clearly a move to appease the state’s cattle industry.
In a statement the state’s commissioner of agriculture said it was protecting the interests of the state’s farmers as well as the integrity of American agriculture. The lab grown meat ban is also one of the many other pet causes of DeSantis.
DeSantis said just after the bill was signed,
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“Today, Florida is fighting back against the global elite’s plan to force the world to eat meat grown in a petri dish or bugs to achieve their authoritarian goals,”
In a press release it was said that Florida was negating the World Economic Forum’s goal of forcing the world to eat lab-grown meat and insects.
However it must be remembered that lab grown meat is still not available for the consumers. Lab grown meat is harvested from animal cells and the FDA has given approval to two entities Upside Food and Good Meat to make the lab grown meat. The two companies also do not have any outlets to sell this meat. Till date only two high end restaurants China Chilcano, Chef José Andrés’ high-end Peruvian restaurant in Washington, DC, and Bar Crenn, a Michelin-starred restaurant in San Francisco have served lab grown meat to the consumers. However both these restaurants have stopped featuring the lab grown meat on their menu.
The lab grown meat industry has not even started competing with the farmers but it seems the ban is a way to preempt any such possibility. A section of the population believes that the move is a consequence of a conspiracy theory which stated that the “globalists” are forcing people to eat bugs and live in pods. This theory is also known as the “Great Reset,” which was first coined in 2020 after a World Economic Forum initiative that urged governments to use the pandemic to promote sustainable development. The Right Wing experts connected it with a 2016 World Economic Forum blog post which talked about the possible use of bug protein and a 2013 book about insect farming published by the United Nations.
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Lab Grown or cultivated meats are harvested in bioreactors using cells from animals. Startups are working on chicken, fish and beef meat. The promoters of lab grown meat contend that the process will in the long run significantly lower the greenhouse gas emissions associated with producing meat. The process of making lab grown meat involves extracting living cells from an animal and feeding it with nutrients such as proteins, sugars and fats. The final product is much akin to traditionally produced meat in taste as well as composition.
For example the Los Angeles startup Meat uses the plasma of cows to grow meat for ground beef. It takes about three years to raise a cow to 300 kilograms of meat. However 2000 kg of meat can be produced in a year from a single cow’s plasma and there is no need to slaughter the animal also.
However lab grown meat is extremely energy intensive and the startups have not been able to scale up the production and bring the price down.
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The U.S. Cattlemen’s Association, an association which represents the traditional meat producers have vehemently opposed cultivated meat citing safety concerns and have been lobbying to prevent the lab grown meat to be referred as beef.
Good Meat, a lab grown Meat Company which is the first in the world to sell lab-grown meat, wrote on X it was “disappointed” by the new Florida law.
Southern Brazil experienced heavy rains which have caused destruction in the area. Due to heavy rains, a hydroelectric dam located in the Rio Grande do Sul state collapsed.
Due to this, over 30 people met their ultimate demise in the disaster. The BBC has reported that more than 60 people are also reported missing.
Since Saturday, more than 15000 people have been forcibly evacuated from their houses as the rescue efforts intensify.
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Dam Collapse Causes Chaos
The hydroelectric dam collapse between the Bento Gonçalves and Cotiporã resulted in a two-meter wave. As a result, it worsened the critical situation in the flood-stricken areas.
Emergency responders and residents both panicked hard as the difficulties were exacerbated.
This Brazil flooding is described as one of the worst in recent history. Almost 500,000 people were devoid of critical resources, such as access to clean water and electricity.
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Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the Brazilian President, responded to the chaos and extended the central government’s support. Rescue operations were carried out in multiple municipalities as per urgent orders given by Governor Eduardo Leite.
Helicopters were also sent if any person is trapped and needs evacuation. Due to heavy destruction, aerial winching has been proved to be the most effective means of extraction.
Cause Of Heavy Rain and Flood
Meteorologists studied the cause and announced that the level of unprecedented rainfall intensity can be attributed to higher-than-average temperatures coupled with upgrading humidity and strong winds.
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Thus, El Niño worsened Southern Brazil’s situation and its extreme weather conditions.
According to The Economic Times, Forecasters from the meteorological department predicted the continued rainfall “with the passage of a cold front, Rio Grande do Sul’s communities’ resilience is being tested to the limit.”
Internet trends sometimes get infiltrated by games that result in dangerous situations for those involved. We had Blue Whale and then Pokémon Go, and now we have “Senior Assassin.” In this game, players receive a target and must eliminate them using water guns, paintball guns, and other similar items.
Warning Issued Against Dangerous Game ‘Senior Assassin’
The target is a real person. The game has gone so far that participants are running and chasing people in public, including outside school boundaries. The stakes have been raised as people now carry fake firearms resembling real ones while chasing others for the game. Although the game did not originate from TikTok, videos of participants “eliminating” their targets have gone viral on the platform.
Recently, a group of high school students was running around with fake firearms when they encountered a licensed gun owner. The police have stated that this game can lead to dangerous situations because someone with a real gun might feel threatened and end up shooting someone without knowing the full context.
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Tragically, the game has already caused the death of a boy. Six-year-old Justin Johnson, who had sickle cell disease, was lured out of his room by the trend, while others began chasing him with toy guns. After a few moments, Justin suffered heart palpitations, prompting his father to call for help.
Unfortunately, Justin had stopped breathing by the time help arrived. The family’s lawyers are now pursuing legal action against the “Senior Assassin” game, which they believe caused Justin’s death. “It’s supposed to be a game that involves individuals trying to tag other individuals with water guns or pellet guns or paintball guns,” claimed the lawyer during the hearing of this case.
Investigations are ongoing, and the police have issued a warning about the dangers associated with the game.
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