Nov 30, 2020
Top COVID-19 news
What you need to know this week about coronavirus trends, scientific advances and more
Amid the pandemic, news is fast-moving – and sometimes confusing. Coverage is here to help. Today, we introduce a new series that provides a clear, fact-based digest of the top news for health consumers.
Country may see “surge upon surge” of COVID-19 cases:
COVID-19 cases are expected to increase following the Thanksgiving holiday, with successive increases in coming weeks, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said in interviews on Nov. 29. In November, the country saw 4 million new cases, double the number in October.
How can you take action? “It’s not too late at all for us to do something about this,” Fauci says, noting the continuing importance of wearing a mask, social distancing and other measures that have proven effective in curbing the spread of the virus.
Health officials call on holiday travelers to get tested:
Top health officials on Sunday called on Americans to get tested for coronavirus after Thanksgiving travel as a way to help reduce the virus' spread amid the surge in U.S. cases.
Where can you get tested? In Massachusetts, free testing is available even if you do not have any symptoms and have no known exposure to infection. Read this Coverage article for testing information.
New Massachusetts COVID numbers released:
As in most of the country, the number of positive cases, the infection rate, hospitalizations and deaths have all been on the rise in Massachusetts. There were 2,501 new COVID-19 cases, 985 people hospitalized, a positivity rate of 3.8%, and 46 coronavirus deaths reported Nov. 29, according to state health officials. That brings the total number of Massachusetts cases this year to 217,163. There have been 10,487 COVID-19 deaths.
What does that mean? The rates remain far below the peaks of the spring (for example, the test positivity rate hit a high of 34% in April when testing was much more limited, and there was a high of 3,965 people amid the first surge, when the virus hit the elderly especially hard). However, health experts are highly concerned about the upward trend amid open businesses, indoor dining and increased socialization and travel.
Travel from Vermont to Mass. requires quarantine:
Starting this past Saturday, people arriving in Massachusetts from Vermont without proof of a recent a negative COVID test will be required to stay in quarantine for two weeks, the Department of Public Health has announced. As recently as August, the state had exempted all our New England neighbors from such restrictions, but due to rising test positivity rates, Hawaii is now the only state that Massachusetts recognizes as low-enough risk for travel without quarantine.
Why? Most states currently are seeing COVID-19 spread rapidly through their populations. The DPH wants to ensure that asymptomatic travelers, including returning college students, do not spread the virus unwittingly when they return to Massachusetts.
Moderna becomes second vaccine maker to seek emergency use authorization for vaccine:
Cambridge-based Moderna said it would ask the Food and Drug Administration to authorize its coronavirus vaccine for emergency use. The company says the vaccine has proven highly effective in drug trials, like the vaccine produced by Pfizer, which also is seeking emergency use authorization. Trial data will be peer-reviewed in coming months, which will provide more information about how effective they are, and what side effects they may have.
When can you get vaccinated? If approved, the first injections may be given to health care and other essential workers and the most vulnerable as early as mid-December. That is “the light at the end of the tunnel,” said Fauci, who urged the public to continue to take precautions until vaccination is widely available in 2021.
CDC panel recommends health care workers, nursing home residents get vaccinated first:
When it is approved, the new coronavirus vaccine should be given first to the U.S.'s 21 million health-care workers and 3 million residents and staff of nursing homes and other long-term-care facilities, a federal advisory panel recommended Dec. 1.
Why? Drug companies need time to manufacture the vaccine, and initially, a limited amount will be available. Health-care workers face daily exposure to the virus, and are vital to keeping our hospitals and clinics running. Residents and employees of long-term-care facilities also are prioritized because they are uniquely vulnerable, accounting for nearly 40% of COVID-19 deaths so far. The CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices will determine prioritization for other members of the public in coming weeks.