Coronavirus weekly-need-to-know: Shot walk-ins, J&J anxiety, unvaccinated advice & more
Each week, we offer you a round-up of our noteworthy coronavirus coverage.
More than 32.6 million people in the United States have tested positive for the coronavirus as of Friday morning, May 7, according to Johns Hopkins University. That includes more than 580,000 people who have died nationwide.
Globally, there have been more than 156 million confirmed cases of the highly infectious virus, with more than 3.2 million reported deaths.
More than 108 million Americans are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 as of May 6 — about 33% of the total population, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tracker shows.
Here’s what happened between April 30 to May 6.
Can you safely gather with vaccinated people if you’ve had COVID-19?
Federal health officials have made it clear that people who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 can safely dabble in the activities they enjoyed before the onset of the pandemic.
But what about those who are not vaccinated and have recovered from the disease? Experts agree one group is not like the other because immunity from natural infection and vaccination differ.
What to know.
Can you safely gather with vaccinated people if you’ve already had COVID? What to know
CVS is latest pharmacy to offer walk-in COVID-19 vaccines
CVS said it’s joining a list of pharmacies offering people the coronavirus vaccine without requiring an appointment. Same-day scheduling as soon as one hour ahead of time is also available.
Walk-ins are available at 8,300 CVS locations across the country. The company has more than 9,900 locations across 49 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico.
Continue reading to learn more.
CVS is latest pharmacy to offer walk-in COVID vaccines. Here’s what to know
Anxiety led dozens to faint or get dizzy after Johnson & Johnson vaccine
Five mass COVID-19 vaccination sites in California, Colorado, Georgia, Iowa and North Carolina have reported 64 anxiety-related events after administering the Johnson & Johnson shot among more than 8,600 people.
Of the cases that occurred over a three-day span earlier this month, 17 involved fainting. The other most common signs and symptoms were dizziness, paleness or excessive sweating, nausea or vomiting and low blood pressure. All of the cases were resolved within 15 minutes, and none were considered serious.
Read on to learn what else to know about reactions after the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine.
Anxiety led dozens to faint or get dizzy after Johnson & Johnson COVID vaccine, CDC says
Do temperature checks really catch COVID infections? Depends on age
Many businesses, offices and events are still depending on temperature checks to detect coronavirus infections among the seemingly healthy. But fevers aren’t always a part of the COVID-19 package, especially among older adults.
A better alternative: measuring oxygen levels in the blood with a noninvasive, painless and inexpensive device called a pulse oximeter, according to two nursing professors from Washington State University.
Here’s why.
Do temperature checks really catch COVID infections? Depends on your age, experts say
Tool helps you determine how risky indoor spaces are
Since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, health officials have been telling the public to maintain a 6-foot distance from others to curb the spread of COVID-19. Now, two professors from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology say such spacing doesn’t protect against contagious aerosols floating in the air and mixed throughout a room.
The pair developed an interactive, physics-based “COVID-19 Indoor Safety Guideline” that provides individuals, businesses, schools and policymakers a tool to understand how long, on average, a person can safely engage in an activity in a certain room — restaurant, church, classroom, office, subway car, airplane, living room — before catching the coronavirus, given an infected person is in the space.
Use the tool here.
How risky are indoor spaces during COVID pandemic? This tool helps you figure it out
Biden: Schools should ‘probably’ be open in fall despite no vaccines for kids
President Joe Biden said in an interview that all schools should “probably” reopen in the fall despite a lack of vaccines for children.
Biden originally pledged in December to reopen most schools during his first 100 days in office, saying it was “a national priority to get our kids back into school and keep them in school.”
The CDC recently released guidance for reopening schools, stressing the importance of masks, social distancing and regularly cleaning classrooms in order to prevent spreading COVID at schools.
Schools should ‘probably’ be open in the fall despite no vaccines for kids, Biden says
Unvaccinated people may be COVID-19 variant ‘incubators,’ Bill Nye says
Although millions of Americans are getting vaccinated against COVID-19 each day, the daily number of administered doses has been on a steady decline in recent weeks. And some experts are worried the decrease in demand could slow the country’s progress on the pandemic.
Some say daily vaccinations have dropped because more people have received a shot, but others say hesitancy is playing a larger role.
Bill Nye “the science guy” told MSNBC’s Mehdi Hasan that the more people who refuse to get a shot, the more opportunities the coronavirus has to mutate into more dangerous variants.
Here’s the full scoop.
Unvaccinated people may be COVID variant ‘incubators,’ Bill Nye says: ‘It’s not fair’
How do you politely ask someone if they got their COVID-19 vaccine?
As states continue to vaccinate people against COVID-19, some Americans are catching up with friends and family members they haven’t seen in months.
But asking loved ones whether they’ve been vaccinated can be uncomfortable, especially if people in your circle don’t see eye to eye on getting their shots.
Here are some tips for asking questions and having discussions with people who are hesitant about getting vaccines.
How do you ask someone if they got their COVID vaccine? Experts offer some tips
Can COVID-19 precautions help norovirus resurges?
As the U.S. reopens after months of lockdown during the global coronavirus pandemic, another virus is resurging.
Noroviruses, which can cause vomiting and diarrhea, are on the move as people return to restaurants and classrooms, and other ordinary pursuits. But unlike coronavirus, face masks and hand sanitizers aren’t much use at curbing the spread of noroviruses.
Here’s everything you need to know.
Norovirus resurges as pandemic restrictions end. Can COVID precautions help?
