California, Maryland latest states to meet Biden’s July 4 goal; India reports plummeting cases: Live COVID-19 updates

California and Maryland are the 11th and 12th states to make the July 4 benchmark set by President Joe Biden who announced last month that he was making it a goal to inoculate 70% of U.S. adults with at least one COVID-19 shot by that date.

So far, at least 62% of adults are there, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 70% of adults in California have received at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Monday. Maryland also reached the milestone Monday.

But many states are lagging behind. Alabama, Idaho, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Wyoming all have vaccination rates under 40%.

In Alabama, 36% of the state has received at least one dose. 

“It’s very distressing because we have vaccines and we have it in every corner of Alabama,” said Dr. Karen Landers, assistant state health officer.

Several vaccination sites have closed because of the lack of demand, and some areas have considered turning down vaccine shipments. In Opelika, East Alabama Medical Center said “very low demand” and plenty of vaccine supply meant a community clinic would close after giving patients a second round of shots on June 14.

“We need you. We need you to bring it home. Get vaccinated,’’ Biden said during his May announcement. “In two months, let’s celebrate our independence as a nation and our independence from this virus. We can do this. We will do this.’’

Also in the news:

►India, after a spike in cases that began in February and surged in April and early May, has reported plummeting infections for the past three weeks. But the death toll is still high and began to drop slightly last week, according to Johns Hopkins University data.

►2020 saw a surge in US legal cannabis sales from 2019, up 46% to $17.5 billion, according to data from market researcher BDSA.

►The World Health Organization has created a new system to name COVID-19 variants, getting away from place-based names that can be hard to pronounce, difficult to remember and stigmatize a specific country.

►There were no reported deaths from COVID-19 on Sunday in Wisconsin, according to state data. Meanwhile, Oregon had its lowest number of new daily cases of COVID-19 in two months on Monday with 220 new cases announced by the Oregon Health Authority.

►Brazil will host Copa America, the main men’s soccer tournament contested among national teams in South America, for the second consecutive time after Colombia and Argentina were stripped of hosting rights. The announcement prompted Brazilian health experts to criticize the decision to hold the troubled event in one of the countries hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. The tournament is confirmed to begin on June 13.

►The Transportation Security Administration reported the number of passengers screened at U.S. airports Friday through Sunday topped 1.6 million each day; Friday had a high of 1.96 million. That’s the biggest figure since March 8, 2020, just before the pandemic was starting to take hold in this country. Last Memorial Day weekend, the total for the first three days was 861,000.

? Today’s numbers: The U.S. has more than 33.26 million confirmed coronavirus cases and 594,500 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University data. The global totals: Over 170.5 million cases and 3.54 million deaths. More than 135 million Americans have been fully vaccinated — 40.7% of the population, according to the CDC.

? What we’re reading: The COVID-19 vaccines are among the best ever created. Drug companies are trying to make them even better.

Keep refreshing this page for the latest updates. Want more? Sign up for our Coronavirus Watch newsletter for updates to your inbox and join our Facebook group.

Peru says death toll nearly triple official numbers

Officials from Peru announced Monday that the country’s pandemic death toll reached 180,764 through May 22, almost triple the official death toll, which was 68,000 until now. 

The country of 32.6 million has been hard hit by the pandemic. Scenes of cemeteries filling up with new burials and hospitals buying refrigerated containers to act as makeshift morgues suggested the situation was far worse than the official data showed, even at the beginning of the pandemic.

“What is being said is that a significant number of deaths were not classified as caused by COVID-19,” Health Minister Oscar Ugarte said, adding that the criteria for assigning the coronavirus as a cause of death were changed.

Ugarte said that previously only those who “had a positive diagnostic test” were considered to have died from the virus, but other criteria have since been incorporated.

‘Would not have got it any other way’: Mobile vaccination units hit tiny US towns to boost immunity

Two Federal Emergency Management Agency mobile trailers have meandered through Nevada to towns without pharmacies, clinics or other vaccination sites, giving doctors, nurses and National Guardsmen a first-hand look at rural and tribal communities where finding vaccinations has been difficult for residents.

To preserve the vaccine, the trailers are equipped with ultra-cold refrigerators powered by generators-on-wheels. On Monday, the two mobile clinics completed six-week loops through Nevada that included returning to finish two-shot regimens in the state that covers an area that would stretch from Boston to Baltimore and Buffalo, New York.

Initially, the goal was to vaccinate 250 people a day at each stop. But the numbers have varied, as vaccine supply has increased and demand has fallen.

“Just a month ago, people were still having a hard time finding vaccination sites. That’s really changed in the last three or four weeks and now we’re trying to find people that are more vaccine-hesitant,” said Marc Reynolds, a doctor from Fallon who has volunteered at the mobile clinic in his hometown and the state prison in Lovelock.

The clinics have delivered 7,600 shots during two tours of Nevada and have also been used in Arizona, Illinois, Kentucky and other states. Nevada Division of Emergency Management Chief Dave Fogerson said people in the remote communities of the state “probably would not have got it any other way.”

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