Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul are both expected to join the ranks of fellow Democratic governors Wednesday in rescinding some indoor mask mandates as COVID-19 cases drop rapidly across the United States.
“I think I've said over the last few press conferences that I really believe that we ought to be looking seriously at how to ratchet that back,” Pritzker said of his mask mandates at a news conference Tuesday. “I think we're going to be making announcements very soon about that.”
Across the country, indoor mask requirements in blue states are falling like dominoes: Delaware's indoor mask mandate will end Feb. 11; Oregon is lifting its requirements by March 31; California's will be up by Feb. 16. Oregon and Delaware also both announced plans to lift masking in schools this week, as did New Jersey and Connecticut.
Meanwhile, a growing chorus of doctors and parents are specifically calling for an end to school mask mandates. Some point to increasing access to vaccinations for children and declining COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths. Another group argues long-term masking puts an outsize burden on kids and impacts their mental health and possibly their development.
"You cannot sustain a red-alert, all-hands-on-deck, emergency kind of response indefinitely," said Dr. Shira Doron, an infectious disease physician and hospital epidemiologist at Tufts Medical Center in Boston. "People just can't be on high alert like that without fatigue, without breaking." Read more here.
Also in the news:
►Utah will no longer offer residents rapid COVID-19 tests after an analysis showed one brand of nasal swabs used at state mobile clinics often yielded false negatives.
►Johnson & Johnson shut down its only plant making usable batches of its COVID vaccine, although the pharmaceutical company says it has millions of doses in inventory, the New York Times reported.
📈 Today's numbers: The U.S. has recorded more than 77 million confirmed COVID-19 cases and more than 909,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University data. Global totals: More than 401.3 million cases and over 5.7 million deaths. More than 213 million Americans – 64.2% – are fully vaccinated, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
📘 What we're reading: Heavy demand for coronavirus testing attracted lab operators who benefited from a narrow regulatory loophole while collecting millions in federal funds. USA TODAY's Ken Alltucker and Grace Hauck explain.
Keep refreshing this page for the latest news. Want more? Sign up for USA TODAY's free Coronavirus Watch newsletter to receive updates directly to your inbox and join our Facebook group.
Florida surgeon general won't say whether he's vaccinated
Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo, questioned at a contentious confirmation hearing where Democrats urged him to promote the shots, refused to disclose whether he has been vaccinated. Ladapo was appointed in September by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, and the two share a disdain for COVID-19 vaccine mandates and other health policies embraced by the federal government.
“I personally believe that people can make ... decisions that they’re more comfortable with if elements like coercion or misrepresentation of data or hiding of data are not part of the process,” Lapado told lawmakers.
Republicans in the Senate Committee on Ethics and Elections eventually approved Ladapo's confirmation, which now goes to the state Senate.
WHO: New infections down 17% in last week, deaths also decline
The World Health Organization says reported coronavirus infections fell 17% worldwide over the last week compared to the previous week, including a 50% drop in the United States. Deaths globally declined 7%. The weekly report from the U.N. health agency shows the omicron variant makes up nearly 97% of all cases tallied by the international virus-tracking platform known as GISAID. Just over 3% were of the delta variant.
“The prevalence of the omicron variant has increased globally and is now detected in almost all countries,” WHO said. “However, many of the countries which reported an early rise in the number of cases due to the omicron variant have now reported a decline in the total number of new cases."
You're more likely to die from COVID in the US than other wealthy nations
Although the omicron variant of the coronavirus appears less likely to cause severe disease compared to previous dominating strains, the U.S. is still experiencing more COVID-19 deaths than at any other point in the pandemic.
The U.S. case fatality rate – the ratio between confirmed deaths and confirmed cases – has decreased from 1.63% since the height of the delta wave on Sept. 1 to 1.18% as of Feb. 6, according to Our World in Data.
But while the country’s case fatality rate during the delta wave was below other high income countries, it’s now among the highest. Health experts worry the U.S. may be falling behind compared to the progress against the virus made by other countries.
“Overall, there are fewer deaths per infection that are occurring, even in the U.S., but the numbers aren’t as good as we’ve seen in other parts of the world,” said Andrew Pekosz, a virologist and professor at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Low vaccination and booster rates, lack of testing and consequences from the an imperfect health system have stunted U.S. progress in the pandemic leading to more COVID-19 deaths and a higher case fatality rate, health experts say. Read more here.
– Adrianna Rodriguez, USA TODAY
Contributing: Grace Hauck, USA TODAY; The Associated Press
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