The JHU stopped collecting data as of 10 March 2023. In the U.S., only New York, Arkansas and Puerto Rico still publish case and death counts daily.
UPDATED WEEKLY – Worldometer, Last updated on 26 June 2023
POPULATION - is 336,862,377 of 26 June 2023, 1:47 pm PST, based on Census U.S. and World Population Clock.
* updated information
** no updated information at this reporting
Cases Worldwide
Worldometer
Recovered - 663,345,550
Cases in the U.S.
Recovered - 105,432,085
Cases in California
Recovered - 12,153,511
* Correction
** No updated information
06/26/2023 (WHO) Cases Deaths Recovered
* no updated information at this reporting
** correction
June 15, 2023, a new page displaying updated vaccination data will be available. National and state level data will continue to be reported at CDC COVID Data Tracker: Vaccine Confidence and COVID VaxView.
Changes in Vaccination Data Reporting
On June 16, the COVID-19 vaccination reporting system will track only two types of vaccinations–primary series and CDC’s new up-to-date measure. The reporting system will update data monthly and stop publishing average doses administered and doses on hand.
United States progress ** 11 May 2023, 1:17 pm PST
* Updated information
** No updated information at this reporting
D UPDATE
CDC warns about potential risk of mpox ahead of summer gatherings. May 15, 2023. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention alerted doctors across the country about potential risk of new mpox, or monkeypox, cases could lead to a "resurgence" with summer gatherings. The Mpox infection usually is not life-threatening, appearing as a painful rash or with some experiencing flu-like symptoms.
Public health experts warned that the LGBTQ community, a group disproportionately affected during the 2022 outbreak, should be aware of signs and symptoms ahead of Pride Month celebrations in June.
Mpox cases have plummeted since peaking in the summer of 2022. The World Health Organization called an end to the emergency phase of the outbreak, but the virus is not completely eradicated. The new CDC warning comes on the heels of a cluster of cases in Chicago, where health officials say there have been 12 confirmed cases and one probable case from April 17 to May 5.
Health officials in cities like Chicago, San Francisco and New York State, are amplifying vaccination efforts for mpox as the summer months and upcoming Pride events approach.
Vaccination is still encouraged because people who are fully vaccinated can expect less severe symptoms. Unvaccinated and vaccinated people should avoid close, skin-to-skin contact with someone who has mpox, according to the CDC.
Also recommended is mpox vaccination for people with a known exposure, including close physical contact or sexual contact with someone who had an mpox rash. In addition, vaccination for people with HIV who have a higher risk of exposure, for gay, bisexual and MSM who have recently had more than one sexual partner or a recent sexually transmitted infection. Vaccination is also recommended for sex workers and anyone who has recently visited a sex club or bathhouse.
VARANT UPDATE
The public emergency has ended, but COVID is still here. Here are the CDC guidelines for 2023.
The Daytona Beach News-Journal. May 17, 2023· As of mid-May, the COVID-19 public health emergency is over, but that's the administrative declaration that freed up funds and streamlined processes to help the U.S. government deal with the emerging threat. The virus is still here, mutating, spreading and probably isn't going away.
Florida has seen over 7-1/2 million COVID cases since the pandemic began three years ago, with over 88,000 reported deaths. With the end of the public health emergency, authorization requiring reporting and tracking data from states has changed. This means the Centers for Disease Control, CDC, will no longer provide weekly updates or state- and county-specific data on variants although the agency will continue tracking data through other means. Case reporting in Florida became less complete when more individuals began using at-home testing. The state Department of Health stopped sending statistics to the CDC in April and state officials inexplicably removed more than 32,000 cases without explanation. The FDOH has not issued any statements about how case and death numbers will be reported in the future.
Who should get an updated Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine in 2023?
What is the updated COVID vaccine? When the highly-transmissible, vaccine-resistant BA.4 and BA.5 variants evolved, rapidly became the dominant strains, Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna developed a new "bivalent" vaccine and booster targeting the original virus and the more dangerous versions.
May 10, 2023, Johnson & Johnson’s single-shot COVID-19 vaccine will no longer be available in the U.S. According to the CDC, remaining doses expired May 9 and providers have been directed to dispose of J&J vaccines left over from the 31.5 million doses delivered. More than 19 million doses of the J&J vaccine have been administered in the U.S., according to data from the CDC. The J&J vaccine has had a troubled history.
What do I do if I got the J&J vaccine or I can't or don't want to get a Pfizer or Moderna COVID vaccine? The CDC recommends adult who received one or more doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine should get one updated dose of the mRNA vaccines from Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna.
Novavax is available for those aged 12 and over. The second dose can be taken 3 - 8 weeks after the first, but the CDC recommends waiting till 8 weeks, especially for males 12 - 39, to increase protection and reduce the "rare risk of myocarditis and pericarditis." Those 65 and older or anyone who gets very sick from COVID-19 should get the 2nd dose three weeks after the first. The CDC still recommends an updated Pfizer or Moderna booster for anyone who has received the Novavax vaccine, but Novavax boosters are available for those 18 and over.
What are the COVID quarantine rules in 2023? According to the latest CDC guidelines, whatever your vaccination status, if you have or suspect you have COVID-19, yet don't have test results, you should isolate yourself from others, especially if you may have contact with immunocompromised people.
If you test negative, you can stop isolating.
If you tested positive with no symptoms,
If you tested positive with symptoms,
If you had symptoms and experienced shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, or were hospitalized or have a weakened immune system,
Can I still get free COVID tests by mail? You will be able to order free at-home COVID-19 tests through COVIDtests.gov through at least the end of May.
CDC releases new data on strokes, widening disparities since COVID-19 pandemic. May 18, 2023. According to information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the United States lost progress in reducing disparities in stroke deaths among Black and white adults during the pandemic. “Before the pandemic, the disparity between Black and white was driven by differences in hypertension treatment and control, which are rooted in certain social determinants of health. During the pandemic, these disparities may have been exacerbated,” CDC epidemiologist Adam Vaughan said. “
From early 2020 to 2021, stroke deaths increased among all racial and ethnic groups, but at rates that were higher for minority populations.
Dr. Vaughan noted that the change in data from pre-pandemic to 2023 is driven by more Black adults having strokes than white adults, not because more white adults are surviving the strokes. The CDC identified several potential reasons why the gaps grew over the past three years:
The pandemic disrupted all regular health care
Other risk factors became more prevalent in 2020 and beyond
Study links long COVID with lower brain oxygen. March 3, 2023
Researchers find evidence that people who had a previous COVID-19 infection have lower brain oxygen levels, in a new paper published in Brain, Behavior, & Immunity – Health. The authors combined results from two parallel studies that suggest symptomatic COVID-19 history has a significant impact on cognitive functioning and may be explained by lower oxygen levels in the brain.
One of the studies, researchers compared cognitive function on computer tasks and oxygen saturation in the prefrontal cortex of the brain. The tasks measured executive function, decision making and reaction time. 120 participants all vaccinated with 52 having had a prior COVID-19 infection. Researchers found that previous infection most affected executive functioning, memory and focus. There was also lower oxygen in the right side of the frontal cortex, where it was expected oxygen levels to increase during the tasks.
“We are the first to show reduced oxygen uptake in the brain during a cognitive task in the months following a symptomatic COVID-19 infection. This is important because a lack of sufficient oxygen supply is thought to be one of the mechanisms by which COVID-19 may cause cognitive impairment,” says Peter Hall, lead author and researcher in the School of Public Health Sciences at the University of Waterloo.”
The second study involved two waves of surveys conducted in Canada between September 2021 and March 2022. The survey questioned about symptomatic COVID-19 and self-reported symptoms six months after cognitive dysfunction, depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms or agitation. Participants with a past case of symptomatic COVID-19 self-reported cognitive issues and psychiatric symptoms like depression and anxiety months after a coronavirus infection.
Long Covid linked to increased risk of death and other cardiovascular issues in new study. New York Daily News. March 3, 2023· Individuals experiencing “long Covid” are at a higher risk for cardiovascular and other health issues, such as arrhythmia, stroke, heart failure, coronary artery disease and pulmonary embolisms. Findings showed the chance of patients dying doubled in those who experienced according to the Journal of the American Medical Association.
The study defined PCC, post-COVID-19 condition, as an illness in people “having new, returning, or ongoing health issues occurring more than 4 weeks after onset of initial infection.” Individuals with PCC can experience symptoms for as long as two years after infection or having symptoms for as long as COVID has been around.
VACCINE UPDATE
WHO recommends new COVID shots should target only XBB variants. May 18, 2023·. (Reuters) A World Health Organization (WHO) advisory group recommended this year's COVID-19 booster shots be updated to target one of the currently dominant XBB variants. New formulations should aim to produce antibody responses to the XBB.1.5 or XBB.1.16 variants, that other formulations or platforms that achieve neutralizing antibody responses against XBB lineages could also be considered.
Also suggested, no longer including the original COVID-19 strain in future vaccines. Data shows the original virus no longer circulates in human beings and shots targeting the strain produce "undetectable or very low levels of neutralizing antibodies" against currently circulating variants. Pfizer/BioNtech, Moderna Inc. and Novavax Inc. are already developing versions of their respective vaccines targeting XBB.1.5 and other currently circulating strains.
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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is set to discuss the strain compositions of COVID-19 shots for later this year. Vaccine manufacturers will be expected to update their shots once the strains are selected. The bivalent booster shots developed and distributed last year targeted two different strains, the Omicron variant as well as the original virus.
In late March, WHO revised its COVID vaccination recommendations, suggesting healthy children and adolescents may not need a shot, but older and high-risk groups should get a booster between six and 12 months after their last vaccine. The latest recommendations come about two weeks after WHO ended the global emergency status for COVID-19.
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