Coronavirus news, updates, hotspots and information for 1-27-2021

Coronavirus 411 podcast - news, alerts, and updates on the corona virus COVID 19

This is Coronavirus 411, the latest COVID-19 info and new hotspots… Just the facts… for January 27th, 2021.
The European Union has warned pharmaceutical companies that developed vaccines with money from the EU, the shots better come in on schedule. In fact, it threatened to impose export controls on vaccines made within its borders. Many of the 27 member states are struggling to get their vaccine rollout going.
Lots of eyes are turning to Johnson & Johnson, which says data on its vaccine should come out early next week. Theirs is a single-dose option which should simplify and speed inoculations. The company also says it anticipates being able to meet demand.
The World Health Organization has new advice for treating COVID-19 patients, including long haulers with persistent symptoms after recovery. They advise using low-dose anti-coagulants to prevent blood clots, using a pulse oximeter at home to track oxygen levels, and that patients should be put into the awake prone position, on their front, which improves oxygen flow.
Several European countries are considering requiring masks be surgical or medical-grade respirators. These are typically called N95, KN95 or FFP2 masks. Governments say cloth masks aren’t subject to any standards. But in the U.S., the CDC actually discourages the public from using medical masks, saying they should be conserved for healthcare workers. It says cloth masks work, except now they suggest wearing two of them.
Two more people of note lost to Covid-19, the Defense Minister of Colombia has died at age 69. And longtime NBA reporter Sekou Smith, seen regularly on NBA TV, died at age 48. He covered basketball for more than 20 years and spent the last 11 with Turner Sports.
In the United States cases were down 31%, deaths down 3%, and hospitalizations down 11% over 14 days. The 7-day average of new cases has been trending up since January 24th.
There are now 9,808,357 active cases in the United States. The current top 5 states by number of active cases: California, New York, Florida, Arizona, and Georgia.
The top 10 counties with the highest number of recent cases per capita according to The New York Times: Forest, PA. Dimmit, TX. Chattahoochee, GA. Hitchcock, NE. San Miguel, CO. Hemphill, TX. Milam, TX. Culberson, TX. Uvalde, TX. And Winchester, VA.
The five states with the highest risk levels and most daily new cases per capita over 7 days are Arizona, South Carolina, Rhode Island, West Virginia, and New York.
There’ve been a total 425,062 deaths in the US reported as COVID-related, with a current national fatality rate of 1.67%.
The states with the most new deaths reported as COVID-related: California 728. Texas 332. Alabama 234. Florida 229. Pennsylvania 214. New York 210. Arizona 209. Tennessee 192. Georgia 179. And New Jersey 132.
Globally, cases were down 20%, and deaths up 9% over 14 days. The 7-day average of new cases has been trending down since January 11.
Globally, there are 25,816,304 active cases.
The five countries with the most new cases: the United States 148,265. Brazil 63,626. Spain 36,435. France 22,086. And the U.K. 20,089.
There have now been 2,155,052 deaths reported as Covid-related worldwide.
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