Coronavirus News Update – May 27: Immunity to the Coronavirus May Last for Years, Studies Find

Three States Now Offering $1 Million Prizes to Individuals Who Get Vaccinated

By Jesse Sokolow on 27 May 2021
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A guide at the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad Museum

Immunity to the coronavirus for those who were infected and then received a vaccine may last for at least a year and possibly for a lifetime. The immunity may strengthen over time, two new studies found. Individuals who never had the virus but have been vaccinated may require a booster shot, but the study concentrated on individuals who had been exposed to the virus and were then inoculated. The findings put to rest fears that protection against the coronavirus will be short-lived.

Manitoba, Canada, is now the worst coronavirus hotspot in North America, data suggests. Health officials in the province, which is in the middle of Canada, are reporting an average of 35 new cases a day per 100,000 members of the population. Canada as a whole is averaging about 10 a day per 100,000, while the United States is reporting 7 and Mexico, 2.

As of Thursday morning, the world has recorded over 169.2 million Covid-19 cases and has seen over 3.51 million deaths, according to Worldometer, a service that tracks such information. In addition, over 150.8 million people worldwide have recovered from the virus.

Since the start of vaccinations at the end of last year, the world has administered more than 1.78 billion doses as of Thursday morning, the equivalent of approximately 22.5 doses for every 100 people.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that, as of Thursday, 165 million people in the United States have received at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine. Around 61.8% of the population over the age of 18 – some 159.4 million people – has received at least a first inoculation, including 129.7 million people, or 50.3% of the same population, who have received both doses. Meanwhile, 58.9% of the population over the age of 12, or 164.9 million people, have received at least one shot, including 131.8 million, or 47% of the same population, who have received both doses. Overall, 39.7% of the population, or 131.8 million people, has been fully vaccinated against the virus.

Pressure to cancel the 2021 Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo continues. On Thursday, the country’s doctors’ union reaffirmed its demands to call off the games, warning it could cause the spread of mutant strains of the virus. “There’s a possibility that the Indian and South African strains could be spread more,” said the group’s chairman Naoto Ueyama, at a news conference in Tokyo.

Major cruise ship companies say they may avoid Florida if the state refuses to allow them to ascertain vaccination status. The move comes after Florida enacted an executive order barring government entities and businesses from using Covid passports of any kind.

A new study found that the majority of severe Covid-19 cases had long-term symptoms. Nearly three-quarters of patients with moderate-to-severe cases of Covid-19 had at least one long-term symptom, according to the analysis that was published this week in JAMA Network Open.

Three states, namely Colorado, Ohio, and Oregon, are now offering $1 million prizes to individuals who get vaccinated.  Local media reports said that there had been a dramatic increase in the number of people lining up for vaccinations and the state of Ohio announced its first $1 million winner, Abbigail Bugenske of Silverton, Ohio, near Cincinnati. Meanwhile, drugstore chain CVS is handing out prizes as well.  Winners could get a seven-day cruise or VIP tickets to next year’s Super Bowl.

An MIT Sloan School of Management study showed that patients were reluctant to seek care during the pandemic. The study, “Worse Cardiac Arrest Outcomes During the Covd-19 Pandemic in Boston Can be Attributed to Patient Reluctance to Seek Care,” found that out-of-hospital cardiac arrests, a key indicator, increased during 2020 by over 35%. The researchers cited multiple issues including fear of infection in a hospital amidst the pandemic.

An Indonesian cleric, Rizieq Shihab, who returned to the country after a period of self-imposed exile with plans to lead a “moral revolution,” was found guilty and sentenced to eight months in prison for holding mass gatherings in violation of Covid-19 protocols. The three-judge panel held Rizieq guilty of drawing thousands of follows to two large events in November after returning from Saudi Arabia.  He left that country to avoid a pornography charge, sources said.

Jonathan Spira and Anna Breuer contributed reporting to this story.

(Photo: Accura Media Group)

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