A version of this story appeared in the April 1 edition of CNN’s Coronavirus: Fact vs. Fiction newsletter. Sign up here to receive the need-to-know headlines every weekday.
With only 15.8% of the US population fully vaccinated so far – and anti-vaxxers and vaccine hesitancy preventing America from returning to normal faster – it’s time for a reality check, Collinson argues.
Many of the deaths were avoidable and likely caused by a lack of access to medical care, according to the authors of the study, which was published in the medical journal The Lancet.
The findings, however horrifying, shouldn’t come as a surprise.
Public health experts have warned about the pandemic having a disproportionate impact on women and their health from the outset.
They knew the risk because this has happened before – previous epidemics of Ebola and Zika caused major setbacks for women and girls in the regions most affected by the outbreaks. Studies have shown that the number of stillbirths and maternal deaths increased in some countries hit by Ebola, because women were unable to access the appropriate services.
In the review, researchers from St. George’s, University of London said hospitals were overburdened with coronavirus patients, and some women may have been reluctant to go to the doctor, concerned they’d be exposed to Covid-19.
The study also found a nearly sixfold increase in ectopic pregnancies – when the fertilized egg grows outside a woman’s uterus, the review found. Untreated, ectopic pregnancies can cause life-threatening bleeding.
The higher risk of maternal mortality is just one of the many ways the pandemic has affected women. The World Economic Forum said this week that the global gender gap has widened because of Covid-19 and that it will now take 36 years longer – 136 years in total – to close it.
Dr. Anthony Fauci has pleaded with the US public to “hold out just a bit longer” as health experts fear coronavirus variants and pandemic fatigue could lead to a spring surge in Covid-19 cases.
YOU ASKED. WE ANSWERED.
Q. Are blood clots linked to the AstraZeneca shot more common in women?
A: Covid-19 was the third leading cause of death in the United States last year, after heart disease and cancer, according to provisional data released on Wednesday by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The death rate from 2019 to 2020 increased by 15.9%, going up from 715.2 to 828.7 deaths per 100,000 people, according to the report.
The early data showed that the top five leading causes of death in 2020 were:
- Heart disease
- Cancer
- Covid-19
- Unintentional injury
- Stroke
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WHAT’S IMPORTANT TODAY
Meanwhile, pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson said Monday it would supply 200 million Covid-19 vaccines to Europe, including Norway and Iceland, in the second half of April. On the same day, British pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline announced it has agreed to support the manufacture of up to 60 million doses of Novavax’s vaccine candidate for use in the UK.
The new, more contagious variant of coronavirus is likely partially driving the latest Covid-19 surge in the United States. The CDC reported more than 11,500 cases of the B.1.1.7 variant – but the agency has said the number is likely larger.
The highest B.1.1.7 case counts are in Florida, which has welcomed crowds of spring-breakers, followed by Michigan, where officials say another surge is well on its way.
The vaccines that are being administered across the US appear to protect people well against the B.1.1.7 variant. But only 16.4% of Americans have been fully vaccinated and a big part of the population remains vulnerable to the virus – which is why the White House senior Covid-19 response adviser Andy Slavitt urged governors, mayors and local leaders to listen to President Joe Biden and maintain or reinstate mask mandates to “save lives.”
Covid-19 vaccine protection likely to last over six months, experts say
Inside Cuba’s race to vaccine sovereignty
The sign on the door was written by hand and the lights were off to save electricity, but inside the clinic Cuban doctors were administering what they say is a cutting-edge vaccine against the coronavirus.
Despite a worsening economy and increased US sanctions, the communist-run island has pulled off a feat no other Latin American country can claim: the development of five Covid-19 vaccine candidates, two of which are in their final Phase 3 trials.
As the number of coronavirus cases on the island continues to rise, its vaccine candidates and the island’s aspirations to be a biomedical powerhouse will be put to the test. On Wednesday, Cuba hit a new record in Covid-19 infections – 1,051 new cases diagnosed in 24 hours.
Quality issue at a plant delays some of J&J’s vaccine
Drugmaker Johnson & Johnson said yesterday it had found a quality problem at a Baltimore plant helping manufacture its single-dose coronavirus vaccine under contract.
The New York Times reported that workers at Emergent BioSolutions, the plant that has been making the vaccine, accidentally mixed up some of the ingredients, ruining as many as 15 million potential doses and delaying US Food and Drug Administration authorization of the plant.
Johnson & Johnson said that none of the lost doses affects the company’s goal of delivering 20 million Covid-19 vaccine doses in March. Those doses come from J&J’s Janssen vaccine plant in the Netherlands.
ON OUR RADAR
- It’s OK to squeeze more doses out of vials of Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine, the US Food and Drug Administration said yesterday, revising Moderna’s emergency use authorization.
- Johnson & Johnson said it is still on track to deliver 24 million more doses of its Covid-19 vaccine in the US in April, despite the manufacturing snafu at one of the company’s contract manufacturers.
- They survived Covid-19. But the feeling that death was only moments away has caused PTSD in millions of people.
- Florida’s case and death counts are lower than expected despite loose mitigation measures – and that’s drawing new scrutiny of the state’s official Covid-19 data.
- Panama has authorized emergency use of Russia’s Sputnik V Covid-19 vaccine.
TODAY’S TOP TIPS
With millions getting vaccinated every day, some have complained about subsequent fever, fatigue and other ailments they weren’t expecting.
TODAY’S PODCAST
Redfield, who led the CDC under the Trump administration, opens up to CNN’s Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta about some of the challenges the agency has faced over the past year. Listen now.
Baseball’s Opening Day is finally here, and Major League Baseball has stepped up to the plate with new safety precautions for the pandemic. CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta speaks to sports medicine researcher Daniel Eichner about the new protocols. Listen now.