July 16 coronavirus news

Arizona’s governor has told two school districts their policy requiring unvaccinated students exposed to Covid-19 to quarantine is against state law.

Gov. Doug Ducey’s education adviser sent a letter to two school districts stating the mandatory quarantine practice is contrary to state law because Arizona does not require students to be vaccinated or wear a face covering to attend school.

Ducey’s office sent the letter and tweeted it after the Catalina Foothills Unified School District No. 16 of Pima County and the Peoria Unified School District No. 11 of Maricopa County sent out guidance to parents ahead of the school year.

Ducey’s letter has stoked tensions at a time when students and teachers are preparing to return back to school amid rising Covid-19 case numbers and concerns by some in the state that Ducey is turning return to school policies into a political football.

Lawyers hired by the two schools responded by saying the schools are in “full compliance” with the law and do not require vaccines or face coverings. And with regard to quarantine measures for unvaccinated students, they are merely following state health and US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines when it comes to quarantining after Covid-19 exposure.

Arizona’s health department has issued guidance which notes that “a person who had known close contact with a confirmed COVID-19 case should quarantine for 14 days from their last exposure to the case. However, individuals may be eligible for shortened quarantine or may not be required to quarantine if certain conditions are met.”

Nothing “restricts a school district from following guidance provided by federal, state and local public health authorities with regard to students who have been exposed to COVID-19,” lawyer John C. Richardson wrote in response to the governor’s letter.

“These authorities uniformly provide that a temporary quarantine is the appropriate course of action except for students who can demonstrate that they have been fully vaccinated. It would not be appropriate or reasonable for school districts to ignore these public health standards, and [state law] does not mandate that they do so,” the letter also said.

The law firm is asking the governor’s office to rescind their letters, arguing the districts aren’t acting unlawfully.

“Simply stated, a student's temporary quarantine in conformance with guidance published by the CDC, the Arizona Department of Health and the Pima and Maricopa County Health Departments does not violate either the letter, or sprit of [the state law],” the lawyer for the school districts wrote. “Instead, this practice promotes public health.”

The Arizona Department of Education’s state superintendent and the Arizona School Boards Association (ASBA) both blasted the letter issued by Ducey’s administration.

Arizona State Superintendent Kathy Hoffman said the governor has actually left students vulnerable because of the prohibition of masks and vaccine required and that means many schools have “limited lines of defense against the virus.”

The ASBA declared Ducey’s directive as “nonsensical” and said it “is in direct conflict with the guidance of his own department of health services, and places students at risk for political gain.”

The ASBA said it continues to advise schools to follow the state health department policy.

“Arizona’s school districts are tired of being the battleground for a political argument over response to COVID that has nothing to do with science or public health,” the group wrote in a statement to CNN.

Hoffman added that it was “beyond frustrating” that Ducey single out schools in contradiction of current guidance “just says before the next academic year starts for many schools.”

“I am tired of Arizona’s public schools being a leverage point for the Governor’s political conversation on COVID-19 that growingly has nothing to do with science or public health,” Hoffman wrote.

White House coronavirus coordinator Jeff Zients said on Friday that one in five US Covid-19 cases this week came from Florida.

Zients underscored that as the contagious Delta variant of the virus spreads, “we will likely continue to experience an increase in Covid cases in the weeks ahead, with these cases concentrated in communities with lower vaccination rates.” 

Zients' comments come as data shows cases are increasing across the country. According to a CNN analysis of data from Johns Hopkins University (JHU), for the first time since early January, Covid-19 cases are rising in all 50 states.

The United States recorded an average of 26,448 new Covid-19 cases each day over the past week – up 67% from the week before.

New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio said there were no immediate plans to reinstate a mask mandate during his weekly “Ask the Mayor” segment on WNYC’s “The Brian Lehrer Show."

“We do not have a plan to change course at this point,” De Blasio said on Friday morning.

De Blasio’s comments come after Los Angeles reinstated its mask mandate for all residents regardless of vaccination status. The mandate, announced by Los Angeles Health Commissioner Dr. Muntu Davis on Thursday, will go into effect Saturday night.

De Blasio pointed to stable hospitalization numbers in New York City as evidence that such a change in masking policy is not needed, but emphasized that his administration will adapt to any shifts in data.

“If we see something that we need to change, we’ll say it immediately, and we’ll call people to arms, as we’ve done many times,” De Blasio said. “I have no question that New Yorkers will respond to that.”

People who are unvaccinated face the greatest risks from the Delta variant, while people who are fully vaccinated appear protected from much of the disease burden, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said Friday.

“The bottom line is we are dealing with a formidable opponent in the Delta variant,” Fauci said at a White House Covid-19 Response Team briefing, “and the extreme vulnerability of people who are not vaccinated, which will account for infections, hospitalizations and, ultimately, deaths.”

“The message loud and clear that we need to reiterate is that these vaccines continue to strong protection against SARS-CoV-2, including the Delta variant.”

Fauci spoke about data from the United Kingdom and Israel showing the protection provided by vaccines against the Delta variant.

“Take a look at what's going on worldwide with hospitalizations,” he said.

“Although Israel has the same issue with the dominance of the Delta strain, their hospitalizations have dramatically diminished,” Fauci said, adding that the UK also saw “a dramatic diminution in hospitalizations.”

“The Pfizer, Moderna and the J&J, both in lab studies and in clinical effectiveness studies, show the effectiveness of these vaccines against the Delta variant continually, and importantly, against hospitalization,” he said.

For the first time since early January, Covid-19 cases are rising in all 50 states, according to a CNN analysis of data from Johns Hopkins University (JHU). 

The United States recorded an average of 26,448 new Covid-19 cases each day over the past week – up 67% from the week before. Among states, the week-over-week change ranged from a 5% increase in Montana to more than a 100% increase – or doubling – in Vermont (155%), Alabama (142%), Michigan (137%), Massachusetts (127%), Kentucky (120%) and Iowa (113%).

The last time new cases increased over than the week before in all 50 states was on Jan. 5 – just a few days before the US reached its peak of more than 251,000 new cases each day, JHU data shows.

At that time, only about 5 million people had received at least one dose of Covid-19 vaccine, and less than 1 million people were fully vaccinated, according to data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Now, Covid-19 case rates are highest in states that have lower vaccination rates. Among states that have fully vaccinated less than half of their residents, the average Covid-19 case rate was 11 new cases per 100,000 people last week. But among stats that have fully vaccinated more than half of their residents, the average case rate was four per 100,000 people.

As US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky outlined a “pandemic of the unvaccinated,” the White House on Friday predicted continued rising Covid-19 cases in the coming weeks.

The pandemic “predominately threatens unvaccinated people,” White House Covid-19 response coordinator Jeff Zients said Friday, adding, “As the more transmissible Delta variant continues to spread across the country, we will likely continue to experience an increase in Covid cases in the weeks ahead, with these cases concentrated in communities with lower vaccination rates.”

He predicted that the US will likely see smaller increases in hospitalizations due to vaccines, similar to trends in the US and Israel. 

The administration continues to deploy “trusted messengers,” from pop superstar Olivia Rodrigo to doctors, pharmacists, lawyers, educators, and school administrators.

But Zients pointed to some good news. In the past week, he said, the five states with the highest case rates, Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, Missouri, and Nevada, have had “a higher rate of people getting newly-vaccinated compared to the national average.” 

He noted that the administration is deploying 100 people to the state of Nevada at the governor’s request. That group will help with vaccine access and outreach efforts. The administration is also providing CDC technical expertise to the state of Missouri to help with its response on genetic sequencing data analysis and outbreak response. 

Zients reiterated that the CDC and the Food and Drug Administration still believe that fully-vaccinated Americans do not need a booster shot at this time, however, he added, “The science will guide this… This is a question that they are continually evaluating. We are ready for whatever the science tells us.”

 Zients did say there is enough supply that Americans will be able to get a booster “quickly and easily” if the science warrants.

The bottom line of Zients’ Friday message: “If you’re unvaccinated, please get vaccinated now. The vaccines work. It’s safe, it’s free, it’s readily available, and it’s never been more important.”

Explaining the importance of being fully vaccinated, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky on Friday appealed directly to people who may have delayed getting their second dose of a Covid-19 vaccine. 

According to CDC data through mid-June, almost 11% of people who are able to receive their second dose of a vaccine – about 15 million people – have not. Adults under the age of 30 and children under the age of 18 were the two groups most likely to have missed their second dose.

“Both vaccines are most effective two weeks after the second dose, with each exceeding 90% effectiveness against severe disease, hospitalization and death in real world studies,” Walensky said. “Not completing the series puts those partially vaccinated at risk of illness.”

“Do it for yourself, your family and for your community. And please do it for your young children who right now, can’t get vaccinated themselves,” she said.

Pfizer and BioNTech announced Friday that the US Food and Drug Administration has granted priority review designation to the companies’ application for approval of their Covid-19 vaccine.

The goal date for a decision from the FDA is January 2022, the companies said.

The typical priority review process allows six months, but FDA approval could come before the goal date.

Pfizer and BioNTech began submitting their Biologics License Application for their Covid-19 vaccine for people ages 16 and older in May.

According to the FDA's website, priority review "will direct overall attention and resources to the evaluation of applications for drugs that, if approved, would be significant improvements in the safety or effectiveness of the treatment, diagnosis, or prevention of serious conditions when compared to standard applications."

The website also notes that this designation means the agency's "goal is to take action on an application within 6 months (compared to 10 months under standard review)."

Some more background: The FDA issued emergency use authorization for the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine in Dec. 2020, and it became the first Covid-19 vaccine for emergency use in the United States. An emergency use authorization means what its name suggests: a medical product gets special authorization by the FDA to be used during an emergency — but it is short of a full approval.

Pfizer needed to file a separate application for its vaccine to be fully licensed by the FDA.

CNN's Jacqueline Howard contributed reporting to this post.

Vaccination disparities have led to a pandemic concentrated in unvaccinated populations, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said Friday.

“We are seeing outbreaks of cases in parts of the country that have low vaccination coverage because unvaccinated people are at risk, and communities that are fully vaccinated are generally faring well," she said.

Walensky said the country has made “remarkable progress” since January, but warned of increasing case rates in under-vaccinated areas.

“In the last week, 10% of counties have moved into high transmission risk,” Walensky said, “and 7% of counties have moved into substantial risk.” 

“Those counties most frequently correspond to counties with low vaccination rates," the CDC director continued.

The numbers further emphasize the importance of vaccination, she said.

“The good news is that if you're fully vaccinated, you are protected against severe Covid hospitalization and death, and are even protected against the known variants, including the Delta variant circulating in this country,” Walensky said.

“If you are not vaccinated, you remain at risk," she continued.