The History that Led to Your Pandemic Pet Adoption
I, like 12 million other American households, got a new pet during the pandemic—in my case, a six-year-old gray tabby cat named Claudia, who I adopted from a New York City shelter. But I, probably like most of those other new pet-getters, never really considered how that shelter came to be, or why.
My colleague Olivia Waxman, TIME's resident history buff, is here to right that wrong. In her latest piece, Olivia explores the long lineage of U.S. animal shelters, from their founding in the mid-1800s up to their present day role in the pandemic pet boom. The U.S.' first shelters, Olivia reports, were founded mostly out of concern for horse welfare, since the animals were used heavily for transportation during that era. With time, shelters began to serve as refuges for other animals, like dogs, and in some cases found them homes.
Over time, pet adoption became a larger part of shelters' missions, along with animal welfare. By the 1970s, groups like the Humane Society of the United States were trying to educate the public about spaying and neutering animals to reduce the number of strays on the streets—and pushing for pet seekers to adopt from shelters. As of 2016, Olivia reports, about 35% of pet dogs in the U.S. were adopted from shelters, up from 15% in 2006.
If you're a latecomer to the pandemic pet trend, there's still time. There are now about 5,000 shelters and animal rescue groups in the U.S., and despite spiking adoption rates over the past year, many are still looking for people to give their animals a new home.
About 368.3 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been shipped to various U.S. states as of this morning, of which approximately 297.7 million doses have been administered thus far, according to TIME's vaccine tracker. About 41.2% of Americans have been completely vaccinated.
President Joe Biden has a goal for the U.S.: 70% of adults should have at least one vaccine dose by July 4. Since about 63% of adults have already had at least one dose, that should be possible. But as the New York Times breaks down, there's a huge amount of variation in that number between states. Washington State, for example, is just one percentage point shy of 70%. But in Alabama, where less than half of adults have gotten a shot, it could take a year or longer to reach that target at the current pace. That means recovery from the virus could vary widely across the country.
With global demand for vaccines far outpacing demand, China is reportedly working to develop new shots—and lots of them. About 20 vaccine candidates are currently being tested in Chinese clinical trials, the South China Morning Post reports, though it's not clear when any might be ready for use. Earlier this week, the World Health Organization granted emergency-use authorization to the vaccine made by China's Sinovac.
TODAY'S CORONAVIRUS OUTLOOK
The Global Situation
More than 172.1 million people around the world had been diagnosed with COVID-19 as of 1 a.m. E.T. today, and more than 3.7 million people have died. On June 3, there were 483,674 new cases and 9,855 new deaths confirmed globally. Note: Global deaths appear to have spiked because Peru recently adjusted its accounting.
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 3 million confirmed cases:
One of the first athletic teams—Australia's softball squad—has arrived in Japan for this summer's controversial Olympic Games, which are slated to begin July 23. Even as players start to trickle into the country, many critics are calling for the Games' cancellation, citing Japan's high case counts (around 3,000 per day) and low vaccination rates. The players, however, seem to be focused on competition. "It's not going to be the Olympics of the past and you know what? I think everyone's made their peace with that," one of Australia's softball players told TIME's Amy Gunia.
Africa is in the midst of a continent-wide COVID-19 spike, the World Health Organization warned yesterday. Case counts over the last two weeks have been about 20% higher than they were the previous fortnight, and at least eight countries have recorded surges of 30% or more over the last week. Uganda is experiencing a particularly dramatic spike, recording a 131% increase in cases last week compared to the one before. These figures underscore the urgency of getting more vaccines to Africa, where just 2% of the population has received at least one dose.
The Situation in the U.S.
The U.S. had recorded more than 33.3 million coronavirus cases as of 1 a.m. E.T. today. More than 596,000 people have died. On June 3, there were 18,991 new cases and 601 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:
While it's true that children and adolescents get severe COVID-19 much less often than adults, new U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data show that the virus can still be serious for young people. In April 2021, the adolescent COVID-19 hospitalization rate was 1.3 per 100,000 people, up from 0.6 in March. And of about 200 adolescents recently hospitalized with COVID-19, almost a third needed intensive care, according to the CDC's analysis. Those are small numbers, to be sure—but with 12- to 15-year-olds now eligible for vaccination, they may also provide some extra motivation for parents on the fence about protecting their kids.
Private companies are now resorting to vaccine incentives for their employees, just as many states are for the general public. United Airlines, for instance, is offering flight attendants and pilots extra pay and vacation time if they show proof of full vaccination, CNBC reports. Customers who upload an image of their vaccine card, meanwhile, will be entered in a drawing for free round-trip tickets to anywhere the airline flies, or a grand prize of a year of free travel.
All numbers unless otherwise specified are from the Johns Hopkins University Center for Systems Science and Engineering, and are accurate as of June 4, 1 a.m. E.T. To see larger, interactive versions of these maps and charts, click here.
WHAT ELSE YOU SHOULD KNOW
The U.S. Needs a Vaccine Marketing Officer
With vaccination efforts stalling in the U.S., University of Southern California professor Sid Mohasseb argues in TIME that what the government really needs is better vaccine marketing—and a vaccine chief marketing officer. Read more here.
Vaccinated, But Still at Risk
An estimated 60 million Americans are taking immune-system-suppressing drugs that could potentially make COVID-19 vaccines less effective, CNN reports. And without great data about how the vaccines interact with these drugs, many are unsure about how protected they really are. Read more here.
As Colleges Mandate Vaccinations, International Students Are Stuck
More than 400 U.S. colleges and universities have set vaccine requirements for their students. But as the New York Times reports, that's creating tricky situations for students who live in countries where World Health Organization-approved shots aren't widely available. 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.
If you were forwarded this and want to sign up to receive it daily, click here.
Today's newsletter was written by Jamie Ducharme and edited by Alex Fitzpatrick.
沒有留言:
張貼留言