Just 48.5% of the U.S. population is fully vaccinated. Jerome Adams was Trump's Surgeon General and despite that, he knows what he's talking about (in the twitter thread below) and is absolutely correct. The CDC should pay attention-- and so should Republican governors who have assumed ostrich-like behavior in the face of a reigniting pandemic. Worst of all are Ron DeSantis (R-FL) and Mike Parson (R-MO). Friday and ---> Saturday have started resembling serious pandemics in both states, Florida with the most new cases and Missouri with the most new cases per capita:
Florida: +8,225 ---> +8,490
Missouri: +2,338 ---> +2,393
Yesterday, Florida also had the most deaths. 55.2% of Floridians have had at least one vaccination, far from what is needed to protect the population or build herd immunity. But it's much worse in Missouri, where just 46.4% of the population has had at least one jab. In terms of taking care of their citizen's well-being, the worst states, though are:
Mississippi- 37.5%
Louisiana- 39.6%
Idaho- 40.3%
Wyoming- 40.6%
Alabama- 41.1%
Tennessee- 43.2%
Arkansas- 43.5%
North Dakota- 44.6%
Georgia- 44.4%
Some good news: 10 states have now vaccinated 100% of their populations over 65:
California
Connecticut
Hawaii
Maine
Massachusetts
New Hampshire
New Mexico
Pennsylvania
Rhode Island
Vermont
And these are the 8 states which have failed to even protect the most vulnerable of their citizens:
Missouri- 85.1%
Louisiana- 85.0%
Tennessee- 85.0%
Wyoming- 84.8%
Alabama- 84.1%
Arkansas- 82.4%
Mississippi- 81.8%
West Virginia- 81.0%
This is important news from CNN yesterday... although just a step in the right direction that is coming, hopefully sooner than later:
Some businesses and hospitals have already required their employees to be vaccinated, and now some universities are implementing requirements as well.
Rhode Island has become the first state where all public and private colleges and universities require their students to be fully vaccinated before returning to campus this fall, Governor Dan McKee announced this week.
Dr. Nicole Alexander-Scott, Rhode Island's director of health, said in a news release vaccinations are "key" to having a successful academic year, and the Delta variant was "circulating in parts of the country where many of our students live."
The University of California, the nation's largest public university system, plans to mandate all students, faculty and staff be fully vaccinated before returning to campuses in the fall. Those who are not exempt from receiving the vaccine will be barred from in-person classes, activities and housing, UC officials announced Thursday.
The Association of American Medical Colleges Friday also urged its member institutions to require vaccinations for employees to protect patients and health care personnel. President Dr. David Sorkin acknowledged the "sensitive nature" of the recommendation, saying AAMC understood such requirements would be subject to state laws.
Such mandates for employees could become easier for private companies as the vaccine approval process move further along. Each vaccine available in the US has been authorized for emergency use. But the companies are still working toward full US Food and Drug Administration approval.
Pfizer and BioNTech said Friday their application for full approval of their vaccine was granted priority review by the FDA, and an FDA official told CNN a decision on full approval is likely to come within two months.
Full approval will "clear up any legal questions that private employers may have," former US Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said Tuesday. Employers, schools and universities, she said, should "get more serious" about telling people that choosing to not get vaccinated could mean losing access to places that could put others at risk.
"I think that it's time to say to those folks, 'It's fine if you don't choose to get vaccinated, (but) you may not come to work.'"