U.S.                                                                  California

                                       CASES               DEATHS                                     CASES                        DEATHS       

December 2020        19,111,443           341,149                                   2,120,610                        24,241

2021   Timeline

January                     26,185,362              441,319                                3,310,949                         40,702

February                    28,602,101             513,137                                 3,563,578                        51,953

March                        30,459,874             552,072                                 3,668,277                        59,240

April                           32,225,012             574,280                                 3,742,115                         62,078

May                           33,261,284             594,468                                 3,789,227                         63,247

June                          33,624,871             603,966                                 3,814,890                         63,569 

July                            34,434,136           610,859                                 3,903,052                         64,231

UPDATED WEEKLY - Last updated on 25 July, 2021 12:00 pm PST, John Hopkins Corona Virus Dashboard and Worldometer

Cases Worldwide

                                John Hopkins                                                    Worldometer

• TOTAL CASES      - 193,949,134                             TOTAL CASES        -   194,669,927

              Recovered       -                                                    Recovered         -   176,662,415

• TOTAL DEATHS    -     4,156,373                             TOTAL DEATHS     -        4,172,559

POPULATION - is 333,061,383  as of 25 July, 2021 12:30 pm PST, based on Census U.S. and World Population Clock.

Cases in the U.S.

• TOTAL CASES      -   34,434,136                            TOTAL CASES        -     35,185,052

              Recovered       -                                                  Recovered          -     29,507,123

• TOTAL DEATHS    -        610,859                           TOTAL DEATHS       -          626,717

Cases in California

• TOTAL CASES      -    3,903,052                            TOTAL CASES         -      3,903,614

              Recovered       -                                                  Recovered          -      2,088,821

• TOTAL DEATHS    -        64,231                            TOTAL DEATHS        -           64,230

National unemployment numbers are at 5.9%  as of June 2021.   California unemployment is at 709% as of May 2021.   

07/25/2021                  Cases (WHO)                      Deaths (WHO)                Recovered (WHO)

• Texas**             -   3,075,829                                53,214                           2,932,117
• Florida**           -   2,525,342                                38,670                           2,227,524
• New York         -   2,197,250                                54,179                           2,056,467
• Illinois               -   1,407,929                                25,867                           1,363,270
• Pennsylvania  -   1,224,478                                27,928                           1,182,405
• Georgia**       -   1,157,705                                21,614                           1,078,132
• Ohio                -   1,121,609                                20,467                           1,089,891
• N. Carolina**  -   1,031,929                               13,570                           1,001,590
• Arizona **       -      915,660                               18,170                              874,567
• Tennessee**   -      880,789                               12,673                              858,223

           *  correction   

         **  reporting information is limited, reduced testing and increased cases

   United States progress                                       Updated as of 25 July, 2021 12:00 pm PST

• Doses Distributed                                            391,998,625               
• Doses Administered                                        339,763,765                86%
• 1st dose administered                                    187,216,168                57%
• 2nd dose administered                                  162,174,165                49%
• Total population                                             333,061,383  

State  Progress                                                      Updated as of 25 July, 2021 12:00 pm PST

   .                                                             1st dose    ,           2nd dose           % fully Vaccinated      

• California                                  25,138,815            20,553,610                     52
• Vermont                                        468,218               418,829                       67
• Maine                                            909,814               847,199                       63
• Massachusetts                           4,955,347            4,366,341                       63  
• Connecticut                              2,454,700            2,231,811                       62
• New York                                 12,067,316          10,954,046                       56   
• Pennsylvania                            8,266,324             6,601,178                       51
• Florida                                     12,031,065          10,320,953                        48 
• Alaska                                          371,514               329,981                        45       
• Texas                                       14,569,242          12,503,152                        43  
• Tennessee*                              2,984,774             2,637,211                        38 
• Georgia                                   4,784,315             4,037,519                        38   
• Mississippi**                              1,138,535            1,012,480                        34
• Alabama                                 2,041,288             1,662,812                       33

*    Correction

**  Last on vaccine tracker

• https://usafacts.org/visualizations/covid-vaccine-tracker-states/
• https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/vaccines/us-states
• https://usafacts.org/visualizations/covid-vaccine-tracker-states/
• https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/us/
• https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/vaccines/us-states
• https://usafacts.org/visualizations/weekly-unemployment-claims/?utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=ND-Jobs&msclkid=b11efd9b16dc12762fd79d422c12da27
• https://www.edd.ca.gov/newsroom/unemployment-may-2021.htm

COVID   UPDATE

VACCINE UPDATE - I have been hearing about heart problems in kids and young adults following the COVID vaccine.  Should I still get my child vaccinated?  There have been higher-than-expected numbers of heart inflammation cases after vaccination with the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines, particularly among boys and young men ages 16 to 24.  The CDC still strongly recommends that all children 12 years and older be vaccinated, noting that benefits of vaccination greatly outweigh possible risks.

More than 1,200 reports of myocarditis - inflammation of the heart muscle, and pericarditis - inflammation of the outer lining of the heart, have been reported after vaccination with the Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna mRNA vaccines.  Even with the increased risk, heart inflammation is a rare occurrence.

Cases tended to occur within several days after the second mRNA vaccine dose.  Those who developed myocarditis or pericarditis had mild cases and recovered completely after treatment.

If your child develops any of the following symptoms within a week of vaccination, seek medical care:

• chest pain
• shortness of breath
• a feeling your heart is beating fast, fluttering, or pounding.

At least 470 children ages 0 to 17 years have died from COVID.  Many more have needed to be hospitalized, and long-term health effects even after mild infection in children are now being recognized.

The CDC continues to strongly recommend that all children ages 12 year and older get vaccinated — because the scientific data indicate that the benefits of vaccination continue to greatly outweigh the risks.

VACCINE UPDATE - WHAT IS THE DELTA VARIANT?  What to Know.  The highly transmissible COVID-19 delta variant, also known as B.1.617.2, was found in India in December 2020.  It’s now the dominant strain in India, the United Kingdom and now in the United States.  The delta variant poses a threat to countries where vaccines are scarce.  It has spread rapidly through India, where it was first discovered and where less than 13% of the population has received a shot.  The U.K. has vaccinated 58% of its population, but the variant accounts for more infections than all other virus strains.

The delta variant accounts for 40% of new U.S. cases according to Dr. William Lee, vice president of Science at Helix.  The gamma variant, identified in Brazil, accounts for 15% of new cases.  Helix researchers have noted occasional cases of an "offspring" variant of the delta virus or delta-plus, but aren't seeing evidence these are driving the growth of delta around the country.   The alpha variant is down to 20%.

As of June 14, 2021, the delta variant had reached 74 countries, 6 months after its discovery.  In the U.K., it’s overtaken the alpha variant thought to be 43% to 90% more transmissible than previous COVID-19 variants.  Experts believe the delta variant is 30% to 100% more infectious than the alpha variant. 

Researchers are unsure why the delta variant is so much more transmissible than others.  They assume changes in the variant’s protein may make it easier to enter human cells.  An earlier study suggests a mutation in the delta variant may help it blend better, after it attaches, with human cells making it able to infect more of cells and overpower the immune system.

The Delta variant affects younger people more often.  In the United Kingdom, studies show children and adults under 50 were 2.5 times more likely to become infected.  Studies suggest symptoms appear to be more severe and sufferers have almost double the risk of hospitalization than those affected by the alpha variant. 

Top symptoms reported on the app include:

• Headache
• Sore throat
• Runny nose
• Fever

A cough is becoming less common and loss of smell is no longer listed in the top 10 common symptoms.  Researchers are concerned people may mistake symptoms for a bad cold and avoid quarantine, helping the variant spread.

Vaccinated people safe from delta variant and other COVID-19 mutations.  Pfizer, Moderna, and the Johnson & Johnson vaccines are thought to be effective against the highly transmissible delta variant, meaning another major wave of infections and hospitalizations is unlikely.

“If you're vaccinated, you are safe from the variants that are circulating here in the United States,” said Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

In the U.S., more than half of the population over 12 years old has been fully vaccinated and roughly 67% of adults have received at least one dose.  Of seniors, prioritized due to their increased vulnerability to severe illness, 78% have received both doses of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines or the one dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine.  Deaths due to COVID-19 have also fallen to their lowest averages since March 2020, with about 272 fatalities reported over the past seven days, according to tracking. 

The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine has proven 88% effective against the delta variant compared with 93% effectiveness against the alpha variant, but just a single dose of the two-shot vaccine will leave the person more susceptible to the mutated strain at only 33% effective.  The second dose in the two-shot regimen bumps that efficacy rate to 88%.

Moderna’s two-shot vaccine also decreases the risk of getting seriously ill due to the variant.  Researchers used blood samples from eight trial participants who received second vaccine doses and found they produced antibodies against several variants.  The company’s findings have yet to be peer-reviewed, but CEO Stéphane Bancel called them “encouraging.”

Tests to determine the J&J vaccine’s efficacy against the delta variant are being administered. Dr. Walensky said researchers anticipate the one-shot dose will “perform well against the delta variant, as it has so far against other variants circulating in the United States.”

Two doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine are 92% successful in stopping hospitalization due to the delta variant.  And no deaths have been reported among those vaccinated.

Infectious disease experts are currently weighing the need for a booster with either Pfizer or Moderna shots for people who got the J&J vaccine.  The virus will continue to shape-shift and become more virulent, but that does not mean the U.S. will endure another devastating wave of hospitalizations and deaths due to the disease.  We still see substantial hospitalization rates and substantial death rates, even though they're not as bad as when the virus first showed up. 

Delta variant gains ground in U.S., men do worse with COVID-19.  Men appear more likely than women to experience severe outcomes from COVID-19 regardless if they have underlying health conditions.  Researchers in New York City tracked 5,000 patients of both sexes diagnosed in early 2020 and found that men were sicker when first diagnosed, had a higher need for intensive care treatment and higher rates of death than women.  This was true even though men on average were younger and less likely to have risk factors such as obesity and high blood pressure, previously linked with poor COVID-19 outcomes than women.

Moderna vaccine antibodies neutralize variants in lab study.  Researchers found the vaccine had produced antibodies capable of neutralizing all variants, including versions of the beta variant, identified in South Africa and three lineages of variants first identified in India, including the kappa and delta variants.  

Earlier in June, researchers reported in the journal Nature that the mRNA vaccine from Pfizer and BioNTech elicited antibodies that could neutralize all tested variants, including Delta, although at reduced strength. (https://bit.ly/35ZlmWO; htps://reut.rs/3qBPa54 https://reut.rs/3qBPa54)

Open https://tmsnrt.rs/3c7R3Bl in an external browser for a Reuters graphic on vaccines in development.

India Signals Alarm About New ‘Delta Plus’ Variant.  Public health officials in India are sounding the alarm on another coronavirus variant, which they are calling “Delta Plus.”  The Delta Plus variant is more transmissible, better able to attack lung cells and less responsive to antibodies.  The delta plus variant, a mutation of the Delta strain has also been detected in the U.S., U.K., China, Japan, Poland, Portugal, Russia, and Switzerland.

Public Health England also said another variant, Lambda, was designated a “variant under investigation” was first identified in Peru, has spread to 26 countries.  The six cases identified in the U.K. have been linked to overseas travel, according to the report.

Graphs show where the Delta variant is surging fastest in the US, with huge spikes in Missouri, Colorado, Utah, and Arkansas.  The number of people infected with the delta variant has sky-rocketed in Missouri, Utah, Colorado, and Arkansas and is now the most common virus strain.   

• In Missouri, where the alpha variant caused more than 80% of cases in May, now accounts for about 10% of cases.  The delta variant caused about 30% of sequenced cases in May and more than 80% of new cases now.   Missouri has one of the lowest vaccination rates in the US, at 36% fully vaccinated according to Johns Hopkins University.

Dr. Fauci, the U.S. top infectious-disease expert, warns that the Delta highly infectious coronavirus variant could become the dominant strain in the U.S. if people don't get fully vaccinated. 

"We cannot let that happen in the United States," Dr. Fauci said.   

The Delta variant caused record-breaking infection numbers in India, where it was first identified. A surge in coronavirus infections brought India's health system near collapse. 

The Biden administration is trying to give more than 75% of the U.S. population at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine by July 4 to stop another surge in infections.  More than 51% of Americans have had at least one dose, and more than 42% are fully vaccinated, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

How to Protect Yourself?  Getting vaccinated is your best bet!

IT’S NOT OVER!

Stay safe.  Mask.  Social distance.  Frequent hand washing.  Avoid crowds.

ALWAYS CONSULT YOUR PERSONAL HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONAL

• https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2021/06/08/1004597294/the-highly-contagious-delta-variant-of-covid-is-on-the-rise-in-the-u-s
• https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jun/06/covid-delta-variant-about-40-more-transmissible-says-matt-hancock
• https://news.yahoo.com/covid-data-heading-negative-direction-080434427.html
• https://news.yahoo.com/fauci-warns-delta-coronavirus-variant-111013992.html
• https://news.yahoo.com/vaccinated-people-safe-delta-variant-101600093.html