If you've been tempted to think the pandemic is over, journalist Rana Ayyub's reporting from India will prove you sorely mistaken. "If the apocalypse had an image," she writes for TIME, "it would be the hospitals of India."
Twice this week, India shattered the global record for COVID-19 diagnoses in a single day. The U.S. set that record with just over 300,000 cases in a day this past winter; India reported more than 332,000 diagnoses today alone. At least 2,000 people in India are dying of COVID-19 each day, and several experts have said the actual daily toll is likely much higher—perhaps up to 10,000.
India's sheer volume of cases is contributing to that unimaginable death toll, but there are extenuating factors, too. Oxygen supplies are running out across the country, in part because the Indian government waited until October 2020 to seek contracts for installing oxygen generation systems in many hospitals, Ayyub reports. Some are still not working today, leaving critically ill patients without the thing they need most as their lungs fail.
That's only one of the government's shortfalls, Ayyub argues. Until this week, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was still holding campaign rallies ahead of state elections in May. He has also allowed large religious events to go forward despite the risk of mass infection, and this week called lockdowns a "last resort." Moreover, his messaging efforts have been inadequate—despite turning India's role in global vaccine production into a "PR campaign," Modi has done little to "send out a message to the country to get the vaccine, or to dispel the myths surrounding it," Ayyub writes.
The consequences of these actions are clear, Ayyub argues, as crowds form outside Indian hospitals and people die in plain sight. They demand attention, not just from India's leaders but from all of us—particularly those with the luxury of living in a country where the horrors of the pandemic are beginning to fade from our memories.
Nearly 286.1 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been shipped to various U.S. states as of this afternoon, of which 222.3 million doses have been administered thus far, according to TIME's vaccine tracker. About 27.5% of Americans have been completely vaccinated.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's advisory committee is meeting today for a much-anticipated discussion about whether Johnson & Johnson's vaccine should remain on a recommended pause, after reports of serious blood clots among a small number of women who received it. Fifteen cases of clotting have now been reported among roughly 7 million recipients; all of the affected individuals are women aged 18 to 40. Based on the clots' rarity, the CDC's committee is likely to recommend continued use of the shot, potentially with updated guidelines around who should receive it or extra warnings on its packaging for consumers and health care providers. South Africa and the European Union have also already voted to resume the shot's use.
The CDC is now explicitly recommending that pregnant people get vaccinated against COVID-19, on the heels of an encouraging study that found no safety concerns among 35,000 pregnant people who got the shots. Previously, without much data on how the shots could affect pregnant people and their babies, the CDC and other health groups took a more hands-off approach, neither recommending nor advising against vaccination among pregnant people.
A single dose of either the AstraZeneca-Oxford University or Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine may provide protection against COVID-19 for at least 10 weeks, Oxford researchers reported during a press briefing yesterday. Prior studies have found that a single dose of the shots provides solid protection against disease and infection, but the big question has been how long it lasts without a bolstering second dose. While both doses are required for full, durable protection, the new research may strengthen arguments for delaying second doses in favor of quickly distributing first shots to more people.
TODAY'S CORONAVIRUS OUTLOOK
The Global Situation
More than 144.7 million people around the world had been diagnosed with COVID-19 as of 1 a.m. E.T. today, and more than 3 million people have died. On April 22, there were 899,831 new cases and 13,712 new deaths confirmed globally.
Here's how the world as a whole is currently trending:
Here's where daily cases have risen or fallen over the last 14 days, shown in confirmed cases per 100,000 residents:
And here is every country with over 2.5 million confirmed cases:
COVID-19 is now surging across Latin America, as an extra transmissible variant first detected in Brazil makes the rounds throughout the region. The variant has been detected in eight South American countries, The Guardian reports, and it seems to be fueling a spike in Peru. About 40% of cases in Peru's capital city of Lima are now linked to the variant, and the country yesterday reported around 15,000 new cases.
The Situation in the U.S.
The U.S. had recorded nearly 32 million coronavirus cases as of 1 a.m. E.T. today. More than 570,300 people have died. On April 22, there were 67,257 new cases and 943 new deaths confirmed in the U.S.
Here's how the country as a whole is currently trending:
Here's where daily cases have risen or fallen over the last 14 days, shown in confirmed cases per 100,000 residents:
There's promising evidence that springtime COVID-19 surges are starting to wane in states with major recent outbreaks, as STAT reports. In Michigan, which in early April was reporting roughly 7,000 cases per day, case counts are gradually declining. Yesterday, for example, the state reported about 5,500 new cases—still a high toll, but one that experts say points to progress. Hospitalization and death rates are also moving in the right direction as mass vaccination continues across the country.
However, in a much-feared sign of waning vaccine enthusiasm, some U.S. states and counties have started asking the federal government for fewer doses to ensure none go to waste. Roughly 75% of Kansas counties have turned down at least one vaccine shipment over the past month, the Associated Press reports, and the state of Louisiana has started asking for a smaller weekly allotment. That trend highlights the need for creative, community-based efforts to encourage vaccination.
The California State University and University of California public education systems announced yesterday that they will require all students, faculty and staff—roughly 1 million people between the two—to get vaccinated before returning to their campuses this fall. The caveat: the policy will only go into effect if COVID-19 vaccines receive full U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval, as opposed to their current emergency-use authorization. Pfizer reportedly plans to apply for FDA approval, which requires at least six months of data, as early as this month, and Moderna is expected to follow soon after.
All numbers unless otherwise specified are from the Johns Hopkins University Center for Systems Science and Engineering, and are accurate as of April 23, 1 a.m. E.T. To see larger, interactive versions of these maps and charts, click here.
WHAT ELSE YOU SHOULD KNOW
Don't Panic About Weird Side Effects
As more people get vaccinated, reports of unusual side effects (think "COVID arm" and brain fog) are increasing. But that's exactly what experts expected. Read more here.
Women Are Leading COVID-19 Vaccination
U.S. women are getting vaccinated at significantly higher rates than men, the New York Times reports. That's a potential threat to herd immunity—and a bone of contention among many heterosexual couples. Read more here.
Lifestyles of the Fully Vaccinated
The Wall Street Journal's Jason Gay has a delightful column about a phenomenon you've probably experienced yourself: the inordinate joy that comes from resuming mundane pre-pandemic activities after you and your loved ones have been vaccinated. Read more here.
Thanks for reading. We hope you find the Coronavirus Brief newsletter to be a helpful tool to navigate this very complex situation, and welcome feedback at coronavirus.brief@time.com. If you have specific questions you'd like us to answer, please send them to covidquestions@time.com.
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Today's newsletter was written by Jamie Ducharme and edited by Alex Fitzpatrick.
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