Vaccination Rates Are Rising; Virus Lethal During Pregnancy Says Fauci- Latest COVID-19 Updates

Amidst the surging COVID-19 pandemic and following Pfizer and Moderna vaccines’ full approval by the FDA, the rate of vaccination is rising in the country and polls suggest that opposition is decreasing.

Released on Tuesday, the most recent Axios-Ipsos Coronavirus Index, concludes that the vaccination-hesitancy is decreasing and one out of five Americans are likely to decline the vaccines. This number is the lowest since the beginning of the index. The people of the US who strongly stand against vaccination have dropped to only 14% of American adults.

Vaccination Rates Are Rising; Virus Lethal During Pregnancy Says Fauci

This change is especially noteworthy among parents. The number of parents wanting to vaccinate their kids against the virus has increased. Now, 68% of the parents say they would want to get their children vaccinated. 31% of parents still stand against vaccinating their children.

The poll says that the country has more than 45 million kids under the age of 12 years, who are ineligible to get vaccinated. This change in numbers suggests that once the FDA approves vaccines for children, there will be a significant upward change in vaccination rates.

On Tuesday, the White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator, Jeff Zients, said in a press conference that the country is administering nearly 900,000 vaccinations every day. In mid-July, the number was 500,000 per day. The pace of vaccination is speeding up. He said that the country has averaged 14 million vaccine shots in August which is 4 million more shots than July.

Zients said that more than eight hundred colleges and universities, numerous local governments, businesses, 200 health care facilities among many others have mandated vaccines. He added that these mandates are already pacing up more people to get vaccinated.

In Pennsylvania, Governor Tom Wolf announced on Tuesday that masks are mandated for K-12 school members, teachers, and students, as the reopening of schools is sending many children to hospital beds. The order by the Department of Health will be effective from the next day of Labor Day, 7th September. During a press conference, the governor said that the delta variant has become aggressive and it has changed everything. It is extremely contagious and the cases are rising all across the US.

After what the delta variant did, there was rising concern about a new strain called “C.1.2”. But fortunately, International health agencies do not categorize it under a concerning variant. It is not even considered a variant of interest. But as the pandemic continues, scientists are closely observing all the strains for what might become lethal overnight.

South African researchers flagged C.1.2 variant to be monitored, but international agencies do not believe this variant carries a threat, especially nothing compared to the delta variant. The Cleveland Clinic’s section head of microbiology, Dr. Daniel Rhoads, said that he wouldn’t lose sleep worrying about C.1.2. He said that the real problem at present is the delta and it is much more concerning.

The country’s top expert on infectious diseases said that catching coronavirus during pregnancy is very serious and it becomes important for pregnant women to get vaccinated. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the US Surgeon General and National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases director, said that if caught the infection, there can be serious adverse effects on the baby and mother.

From January 2020 to August 2021, nearly 110,000 COVID-19 infections were reported in pregnant women according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data. Among them, 19,000 were admitted to hospitals and 131 succumbed to the virus. Fauci said that COVID-19 in pregnancy is lethal and the only solution is to get vaccinated.