Monthly Archives: January 2022

Earlier this month Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte announced the state had ordered 650,000 rapid COVID-19 tests.

Those test kits are now rolling in, and counties like Missoula are starting to announce distribution locations and times.

The kits are arriving just as Montanas COVID-19 hospitalizations have jumped nearly 90% over the past two weeks.

Missoula County officials will distribute their allotment of nearly 26,000 free rapid test kits starting at 10:00 Sunday morning at Fort Missoula Regional Park.

County Office of Emergency Management Director Adriane Beck says early detection not only identifies individuals who are positive so they can self-isolate,

But also as new therapeutics come online, being able to start those therapeutics early on, knowing when youre positive has much better outcomes.

Free kits will also be distributed Sunday at local fire stations in Frenchtown, Clinton and Seeley Lake. Each contains two tests and initially will be limited to one per household.

Tests are rolling out, or will soon be available across the state. For information visit hometest.mt.gov. That website will be regularly updated as more information on distribution is made available by local public health departments.

Excerpt from:

Thousands of free rapid COVID-19 tests are arriving in Montana - MTPR

The next coronavirus variant could be more contagious than the omicron variant, experts said Tuesday. The main question, though, is whether or not it will be more deadly.

The news: World Health Organization officials said Tuesday that the new major COVID-19 variant will have the ability to spread quickly because it will work to overtake omicron, according to CNBC.

Why it matters: With omicron cases on the downturn, theres been an ongoing theory that the pandemic might have reached its endgame. But this isnt the case, according to experts.

Warnings: Kerkhove warned against the ongoing theory that the coronavirus will morph into more mild variants.

The bigger picture: For Dr. Anthony Fauci, a variant that evades the COVID-19 vaccine would be the worst-case scenario for what happens next in the pandemic, as I reported for the Deseret News.

See the original post here:

What is the next COVID variant? Experts already have predictions - Deseret News

The percentage of Americans who follow COVID-19 news very closely has increased slightly since March 2021, the last time this question was asked, according to a Pew Research Center survey conducted Jan. 10-17, 2022. The survey also found that large partisan gaps remain in attention to and views about the pandemic.

Overall, 37% of U.S. adults say they are following news about the coronavirus outbreak very closely. That is up from 31% in March 2021 and back to the level of interest seen in fall and winter of 2020 a time whencases were increasing, businesses faced closures and many schools returned to virtual learning.

In late March 2020, during the early stages of the outbreak, over half of all Americans (57%) were following news about the coronavirus very closely, a percentage that marked the high point in public attention. Earlier in the month, 51% of U.S. adults said the same.

Over the past two years, Pew Research Center has tracked Americans views on the COVID-19 pandemic. This survey sought to measure how much attention the public has paid to it over time, their assessment of how it was handled and whether they believe it was made into a bigger deal or smaller deal than it really is.

For this recent survey, 5,128 U.S. adults were surveyed from Jan. 10-17, 2022. Everyone who took part is a member of the Centers American Trends Panel (ATP), an online survey panel that is recruited through national, random sampling of residential addresses. This way nearly all U.S. adults have a chance of selection. The survey is weighted to be representative of the U.S. adult population by gender, race, ethnicity, partisan affiliation, education and other categories. Read more about the ATPs methodology.

Here are the questions used for the report, along with responses, and its methodology.

This is the latest report in Pew Research Centers ongoing investigation of the state of news, information and journalism in the digital age, a research program funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts, with generous support from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.

One finding that has remained fairly steady since late 2020 is that Democrats and those who lean toward the Democratic Party are much more likely than Republicans and Republican leaners to say they follow news about the outbreak very closely. According to the new survey, 45% of Democrats are paying very close attention to news of the outbreak compared with 30% of Republicans, both slight increases from March 2021. That party divide was not seen early in the pandemic, but it emerged in the summer of 2020 and has been the case since.

One key COVID-19 issue that has produced a strong partisan divide is whether the United States has or has not controlled the coronavirus outbreak as much as it could have.

Since the question was first asked in September 2020, Republicans have been far more likely than Democrats to say it has been controlled as much as it could have. While that is still the case, the gap between the two has narrowed, with Republicans becoming less likely to hold this view and Democrats more likely.

As of January, 41% of the public overall says the outbreak has been controlled as much as possible, about equal with the 42% who held this view last March. Within those numbers, though, are large shifts on both sides of the political aisle. Currently, 56% of Republicans say the U.S. has controlled the outbreak as much as it could have. While still a majority, this is down from 70% in March 2021. Democrats, on the other hand, have become more likely to hold this view: 30% now feel this way, up from 19% in March.

There was less partisan movement on the question of whether the coronavirus outbreak has been made into a bigger deal or smaller deal than it really is, or if attention to it was about right. Roughly four-in-ten U.S. adults (39%) now say the pandemic has received about the right amount of attention. About the same portion (38%) say it has been made into a bigger deal, and 22% say it has been made into a smaller deal numbers that have remained fairly steady since September 2020.

The large partisan differences on this question have also shifted very little. Four times as many Republicans (64%) as Democrats (16%) now say the pandemic has been exaggerated. At the same time, Democrats are almost four times as likely as Republicans (33% vs. 9%) to say it has been downplayed.

Finally, Democrats remain more likely than Republicans to discuss the COVID-19 outbreak with others. A sizable portion of Democrats (45%) say they discuss the outbreak with others almost all or most of the time, versus 28% of Republicans. Conversely, Republicans are about twice as likely as Democrats to say they hardly ever or never discuss it (21% vs. 11%). The remaining 51% of Republicans and 44% of Democrats say they sometimes discuss the outbreak with others.

Followers of both parties are less likely now than in April 2020 to say they discuss the pandemic almost all or some of the time. The share of Democrats who say this fell 5 percentage points from 50% in 2020 to 45% in the new survey, while the share of Republicans dropped 11 points, from 39% to 28%.

Note: Here are the questions used for the report, along with responses, and its methodology.

More here:

Small increase in attention to COVID-19 news; fewer Republicans now say US controlled pandemic well enough - Pew Research Center

The vaccine deployment in December 2020 signaled a turning point in the COVID-19 pandemic. By the end of May 2021, 40% of the U.S. population was fully vaccinated. But as vaccination rates lagged over the summer, new surges of COVID-19 came, including Delta in the summer of 2021, and now the Omicron variant, which comprises the majority of cases in the U.S.

Researchers around the world have reported that Omicron is more transmissible than Delta, making breakthrough and repeat infections more likely. Early research suggests this strain may cause less severe illness than Delta and the original virus, however, health officials have warned an Omicron-driven surge could still increase hospitalization and death ratesespecially in areas with less vaccinated populations.

The United States as of Jan. 25 reached 870,916 COVID-19-related deaths and 72 million COVID-19 cases, according to Johns Hopkins University. Currently, 63.4% of the population is fully vaccinated, and 40.1% have received booster doses.

Stacker compiled a list of the counties with highest COVID-19 infection rates in California using data from the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services and vaccination data from Covid Act Now. Counties are ranked by the highest infection rate per 100,000 residents within the week leading up to Jan. 24, 2021. Cumulative cases per 100,000 served as a tiebreaker.

Keep reading to see whether your county ranks among the highest COVID-19 infection rates in your state.

New cases per 100k in the past week: 412 (558 new cases, -73% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 11,413 (15,471 total cases) 40.4% less cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 92 (125 total deaths) 53.3% less deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 64.1% (86,830 fully vaccinated) 6.3% lower vaccination rate than California

New cases per 100k in the past week: 479 (136 new cases, -65% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 19,265 (5,470 total cases) 0.5% more cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 137 (39 total deaths) 30.5% less deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 52.9% (15,023 fully vaccinated) 22.7% lower vaccination rate than California

New cases per 100k in the past week: 487 (2,116 new cases, -64% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 16,212 (70,370 total cases) 15.4% less cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 150 (651 total deaths) 23.9% less deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 69.1% (299,763 fully vaccinated) 1.0% higher vaccination rate than California

New cases per 100k in the past week: 496 (323 new cases, -59% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 18,788 (12,228 total cases) 1.9% less cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 218 (142 total deaths) 10.7% more deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 41.2% (26,794 fully vaccinated) 39.8% lower vaccination rate than California

New cases per 100k in the past week: 515 (1,129 new cases, -57% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 14,820 (32,484 total cases) 22.7% less cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 160 (350 total deaths) 18.8% less deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 51.3% (112,469 fully vaccinated) 25.0% lower vaccination rate than California

New cases per 100k in the past week: 518 (998 new cases, -54% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 12,884 (24,845 total cases) 32.8% less cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 93 (179 total deaths) 52.8% less deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 59.3% (114,280 fully vaccinated) 13.3% lower vaccination rate than California

New cases per 100k in the past week: 537 (101 new cases, -42% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 13,022 (2,449 total cases) 32.0% less cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 64 (12 total deaths) 67.5% less deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 53.8% (10,111 fully vaccinated) 21.3% lower vaccination rate than California

New cases per 100k in the past week: 537 (466 new cases, -67% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 13,767 (11,943 total cases) 28.1% less cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 119 (103 total deaths) 39.6% less deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 66.3% (57,512 fully vaccinated) 3.1% lower vaccination rate than California

New cases per 100k in the past week: 539 (970 new cases, -34% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 16,987 (30,590 total cases) 11.3% less cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 250 (450 total deaths) 26.9% more deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 45.1% (81,143 fully vaccinated) 34.1% lower vaccination rate than California

New cases per 100k in the past week: 576 (229 new cases, -52% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 17,770 (7,064 total cases) 7.3% less cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 184 (73 total deaths) 6.6% less deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 51.0% (20,264 fully vaccinated) 25.4% lower vaccination rate than California

New cases per 100k in the past week: 589 (370 new cases, -66% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 17,757 (11,153 total cases) 7.3% less cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 140 (88 total deaths) 28.9% less deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 68.3% (42,884 fully vaccinated) 0.1% lower vaccination rate than California

New cases per 100k in the past week: 615 (111 new cases, -79% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 21,509 (3,880 total cases) 12.3% more cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 277 (50 total deaths) 40.6% more deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 59.8% (10,791 fully vaccinated) 12.6% lower vaccination rate than California

New cases per 100k in the past week: 629 (1,627 new cases, -48% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 11,779 (30,486 total cases) 38.5% less cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 98 (253 total deaths) 50.3% less deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 85.6% (221,487 fully vaccinated) 25.1% higher vaccination rate than California

New cases per 100k in the past week: 637 (2,539 new cases, -55% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 14,655 (58,374 total cases) 23.5% less cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 129 (512 total deaths) 34.5% less deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 64.5% (256,921 fully vaccinated) 5.7% lower vaccination rate than California

New cases per 100k in the past week: 644 (887 new cases, -71% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 15,103 (20,803 total cases) 21.2% less cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 81 (111 total deaths) 58.9% less deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 75.7% (104,298 fully vaccinated) 10.7% higher vaccination rate than California

New cases per 100k in the past week: 650 (630 new cases, -59% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 19,049 (18,472 total cases) 0.6% less cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 205 (199 total deaths) 4.1% more deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 57.4% (55,682 fully vaccinated) 16.1% lower vaccination rate than California

New cases per 100k in the past week: 656 (301 new cases, -52% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 13,084 (6,006 total cases) 31.7% less cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 207 (95 total deaths) 5.1% more deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 51.7% (23,734 fully vaccinated) 24.4% lower vaccination rate than California

New cases per 100k in the past week: 660 (658 new cases, -52% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 13,719 (13,685 total cases) 28.4% less cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 112 (112 total deaths) 43.1% less deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 61.5% (61,362 fully vaccinated) 10.1% lower vaccination rate than California

New cases per 100k in the past week: 674 (367 new cases, -57% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 18,317 (9,979 total cases) 4.4% less cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 167 (91 total deaths) 15.2% less deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 50.7% (27,596 fully vaccinated) 25.9% lower vaccination rate than California

New cases per 100k in the past week: 678 (3,036 new cases, -55% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 15,040 (67,327 total cases) 21.5% less cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 87 (391 total deaths) 55.8% less deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 63.9% (285,943 fully vaccinated) 6.6% lower vaccination rate than California

New cases per 100k in the past week: 680 (7,848 new cases, -62% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 14,114 (162,809 total cases) 26.3% less cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 95 (1,091 total deaths) 51.8% less deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 79.7% (919,855 fully vaccinated) 16.5% higher vaccination rate than California

New cases per 100k in the past week: 685 (3,770 new cases, -54% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 20,355 (112,088 total cases) 6.2% more cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 253 (1,393 total deaths) 28.4% more deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 54.2% (298,362 fully vaccinated) 20.8% lower vaccination rate than California

New cases per 100k in the past week: 700 (551 new cases, -57% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 17,860 (14,050 total cases) 6.8% less cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 131 (103 total deaths) 33.5% less deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 46.4% (36,508 fully vaccinated) 32.2% lower vaccination rate than California

New cases per 100k in the past week: 707 (6,230 new cases, -61% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 12,462 (109,859 total cases) 35.0% less cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 80 (702 total deaths) 59.4% less deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 81.8% (720,694 fully vaccinated) 19.6% higher vaccination rate than California

New cases per 100k in the past week: 719 (5,514 new cases, -62% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 13,271 (101,729 total cases) 30.7% less cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 76 (585 total deaths) 61.4% less deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 81.8% (627,070 fully vaccinated) 19.6% higher vaccination rate than California

New cases per 100k in the past week: 723 (1,595 new cases, -49% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 14,686 (32,382 total cases) 23.4% less cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 124 (273 total deaths) 37.1% less deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 67.4% (148,639 fully vaccinated) 1.5% lower vaccination rate than California

New cases per 100k in the past week: 728 (2,061 new cases, -53% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 15,915 (45,057 total cases) 16.9% less cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 136 (385 total deaths) 31.0% less deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 62.4% (176,720 fully vaccinated) 8.8% lower vaccination rate than California

New cases per 100k in the past week: 773 (11,998 new cases, -59% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 15,964 (247,778 total cases) 16.7% less cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 162 (2,510 total deaths) 17.8% less deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 64.4% (999,980 fully vaccinated) 5.8% lower vaccination rate than California

New cases per 100k in the past week: 775 (112 new cases, -56% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 19,565 (2,826 total cases) 2.1% more cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 28 (4 total deaths) 85.8% less deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 61.9% (8,939 fully vaccinated) 9.5% lower vaccination rate than California

New cases per 100k in the past week: 777 (14,987 new cases, -60% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 13,382 (257,994 total cases) 30.2% less cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 103 (1,993 total deaths) 47.7% less deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 83.2% (1,604,234 fully vaccinated) 21.6% higher vaccination rate than California

New cases per 100k in the past week: 779 (3,477 new cases, -59% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 16,287 (72,722 total cases) 15.0% less cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 132 (589 total deaths) 33.0% less deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 66.6% (297,290 fully vaccinated) 2.6% lower vaccination rate than California

New cases per 100k in the past week: 779 (2,163 new cases, -55% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 20,580 (57,147 total cases) 7.4% more cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 262 (727 total deaths) 33.0% more deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 48.5% (134,651 fully vaccinated) 29.1% lower vaccination rate than California

New cases per 100k in the past week: 804 (13,439 new cases, -57% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 12,860 (214,939 total cases) 32.9% less cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 94 (1,575 total deaths) 52.3% less deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 78.8% (1,317,216 fully vaccinated) 15.2% higher vaccination rate than California

New cases per 100k in the past week: 813 (6,198 new cases, -59% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 19,252 (146,726 total cases) 0.5% more cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 257 (1,960 total deaths) 30.5% more deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 58.0% (441,769 fully vaccinated) 15.2% lower vaccination rate than California

New cases per 100k in the past week: 836 (2,283 new cases, -55% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 13,028 (35,593 total cases) 32.0% less cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 87 (237 total deaths) 55.8% less deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 72.8% (198,809 fully vaccinated) 6.4% higher vaccination rate than California

New cases per 100k in the past week: 842 (1,324 new cases, -47% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 20,994 (33,030 total cases) 9.6% more cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 209 (329 total deaths) 6.1% more deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 51.5% (81,086 fully vaccinated) 24.7% lower vaccination rate than California

New cases per 100k in the past week: 844 (4,174 new cases, -52% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 13,663 (67,543 total cases) 28.7% less cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 85 (422 total deaths) 56.9% less deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 75.8% (374,847 fully vaccinated) 10.8% higher vaccination rate than California

New cases per 100k in the past week: 944 (1,710 new cases, -57% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 28,727 (52,057 total cases) 49.9% more cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 453 (820 total deaths) 129.9% more deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 83.6% (151,411 fully vaccinated) 22.2% higher vaccination rate than California

New cases per 100k in the past week: 956 (8,089 new cases, -53% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 18,399 (155,655 total cases) 4.0% less cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 148 (1,250 total deaths) 24.9% less deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 69.4% (587,494 fully vaccinated) 1.5% higher vaccination rate than California

New cases per 100k in the past week: 959 (20,901 new cases, -56% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 23,570 (513,848 total cases) 23.0% more cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 287 (6,267 total deaths) 45.7% more deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 54.2% (1,182,312 fully vaccinated) 20.8% lower vaccination rate than California

New cases per 100k in the past week: 984 (4,586 new cases, -42% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 22,976 (107,113 total cases) 19.9% more cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 260 (1,211 total deaths) 32.0% more deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 51.2% (238,908 fully vaccinated) 25.1% lower vaccination rate than California

New cases per 100k in the past week: 1,062 (10,613 new cases, -35% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 20,126 (201,080 total cases) 5.0% more cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 243 (2,429 total deaths) 23.4% more deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 58.2% (581,043 fully vaccinated) 14.9% lower vaccination rate than California

New cases per 100k in the past week: 1,110 (191 new cases, +4% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 11,748 (2,021 total cases) 38.7% less cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 35 (6 total deaths) 82.2% less deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 43.3% (7,451 fully vaccinated) 36.7% lower vaccination rate than California

New cases per 100k in the past week: 1,134 (1,735 new cases, -43% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 28,243 (43,195 total cases) 47.4% more cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 259 (396 total deaths) 31.5% more deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 42.6% (65,116 fully vaccinated) 37.7% lower vaccination rate than California

New cases per 100k in the past week: 1,153 (28,489 new cases, -39% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 21,660 (535,126 total cases) 13.0% more cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 228 (5,623 total deaths) 15.7% more deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 56.3% (1,389,738 fully vaccinated) 17.7% lower vaccination rate than California

New cases per 100k in the past week: 1,302 (398 new cases, +115% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 26,716 (8,168 total cases) 39.4% more cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 180 (55 total deaths) 8.6% less deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 28.1% (8,582 fully vaccinated) 58.9% lower vaccination rate than California

New cases per 100k in the past week: 1,602 (50,875 new cases, -18% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 16,056 (509,891 total cases) 16.2% less cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 187 (5,946 total deaths) 5.1% less deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 70.2% (2,230,634 fully vaccinated) 2.6% higher vaccination rate than California

New cases per 100k in the past week: 1,709 (15,384 new cases, +37% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 21,459 (193,176 total cases) 12.0% more cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 216 (1,946 total deaths) 9.6% more deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 50.8% (457,147 fully vaccinated) 25.7% lower vaccination rate than California

New cases per 100k in the past week: 2,161 (72,148 new cases, -26% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 19,997 (667,568 total cases) 4.4% more cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 137 (4,559 total deaths) 30.5% less deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 78.5% (2,618,962 fully vaccinated) 14.8% higher vaccination rate than California

New cases per 100k in the past week: 2,495 (250,469 new cases, -14% change from previous week) Cumulative cases per 100k: 23,736 (2,382,863 total cases) 23.9% more cases per 100k residents than California Cumulative deaths per 100k: 279 (28,038 total deaths) 41.6% more deaths per 100k residents than California Population that is fully vaccinated: 70.4% (7,066,535 fully vaccinated) 2.9% higher vaccination rate than California

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Counties with highest COVID-19 infection rates in California - fox5sandiego.com

People can get better immune responses from COVID-19 booster shots if the dose doesn't match the vaccine received during initial vaccination, according to a lead researcher on the matter from the University Of Maryland School Of Medicine.

People can get better immune responses from COVID-19 booster shots if the dose doesnt match the vaccine received during initial vaccination, according to a lead researcher on the matter from the University Of Maryland School Of Medicine.

Only about 40% of Americans who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 have received booster shots, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data indicates.

If your primary series and the boost were the same, you got a good response. But you could increase that response if you mixed the vaccines, said Dr. Kirsten E. Lyke, professor of medicine at UMSOM, and the co-chair and the principal investigator for the ongoing study.

For instance, if you got a Johnson and Johnson and you followed that with either a Pfizer or Moderna, you could really enhance your immune response, she said.

Lyke also presented data to the U.S. Food and Drug Administrations expert vaccine panel in October that was pivotal in recommending adults and teens receive COVID-19 booster shots of their choosing starting in fall 2021.

Lyke said the lowest boost of immunity in the ongoing study has occurred among people receiving the Johnson and Johnson boost after initial vaccination with the Johnson and Johnson vaccine.

While that might, short term, give you protection, if you followed that with one of the mRNAs [Pfizer or Moderna], its much more likely that you would have a longer immune response and a much higher antibody response, she said.

As for which specific mix and match regimen might be most effective, thats unclear.

We can definitely quantify, if you want to get the highest neutralizing antibodies, we can definitely say: this appears to have the highest neutralizing antibody, Lyke said.

But that doesnt necessarily mean that if you have a neutralizing antibody of 1,000 is that really much different than a neutralizing antibody and 700? I dont think we really know those nuances.

Lyke said whats most important is that people get boosted.

We can show that boosters are your best chance of getting protection against severe disease and death. Will there be breakthrough infections? Yes, theres going to be breakthroughs, but they will be mild, Lyke said.

The concept of getting a more vigorous immune response from mix and matching vaccines isnt new. It also happens, for example, with the Ebola vaccine.

Before the pandemic, Lykes primary focus was on malaria and Dengue fever as director of the Center for Vaccine Development and Global Health.

She said its been gratifying to step into the COVID arena.

For instance, malaria weve been working for 50 years, and its still a slog to get a viable vaccine. But this has been extremely gratifying. And this isnt the only study weve participated in, she said.

I was fortunate to be a co-lead for the original Pfizer vaccine. We vaccinated patient number one in the United States here at the University of Maryland. So we weve kind of been in the mix right from the get go.

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Mix-and-match approach to COVID-19 booster shots results in better immune response - WTOP