(NEW YORK) — Here are today’s In Crisis headlines:
Civil rights leader Vernon Jordan dies at 85
Civil rights leader Vernon Jordan died Monday evening at the age of 85, his daughter confirmed in a statement to The New York Times.
A cause of death was not yet released.
“Today, the world lost an influential figure in the fight for civil rights and American politics, Vernon Jordan,” the NAACP said in a statement. “An icon to the world and a lifelong friend to the NAACP, his contribution to moving our society toward justice is unparalleled. In 2001, Jordan received the NAACP’s Spingarn Medal for a lifetime of social justice activism. His exemplary life will shine as a guiding light for all that seek truth and justice for all people.”
Jordan previously served as president of the National Urban League and as an advisor to President Bill Clinton.
Here’s the latest data on COVID-19 coronavirus infections, deaths and vaccinations.
Latest reported COVID-19 numbers globally per Johns Hopkins University
Global diagnosed cases: 114,499,553
Global deaths: 2,540,340. The United States has the most deaths of any single country, with 514,660.
Number of countries/regions: at least 192
Total patients recovered globally: 64,690,916
Latest reported COVID-19 numbers in the United States per Johns Hopkins University
There are at least 28,664,604 reported cases in 50 states + the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Guam. This is more than in any other country.
U.S. deaths: at least 514,660. California has the greatest number of reported deaths in the U.S., with 52,491.
U.S. total people tested: 351,801,124
The greatest number of reported COVID-19 cases in the U.S. is in California, with 3,573,549 confirmed cases out of a total state population of 39.51 million. This ranks second in the world after England, which has 3,663,090 cases. Texas is third, with 2,660,791 confirmed cases out of a total state population of 29 million.
Latest reported COVID-19 vaccination numbers in the United States
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports a total of 96,402,490 COVID-19 vaccine doses have been distributed in the U.S. Of those, 76,899,987 doses have been administered, with 50,732,997 people receiving one or more doses, and 25,466,405 people receiving two doses. The Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines, which are the two most prevalent in the U.S., each require two doses to be effective.
Former U.S. Surgeons General make push for National Vaccine Day
Will we soon have a National Vaccine Day? Four former Surgeons General of the U.S. are campaigning for one.
In a letter exclusively obtained by ABC News, the doctors call on President Joe Biden to consider enacting a one-time federal holiday, which they say could feature telethons, radio messages and social media posts about the COVID-19 vaccines, as well as widely available “opportunities for vaccination.”
“Americans have endured incredible hardship over the last year. Many of us know someone who has died or fallen gravely ill from COVID-19,” Antonia Novello, M.D., Joycelyn Elders, M.D., David Satcher, M.D., PhD, and Richard Carmona, M.D wrote in the letter. “But the advent of safe and effective vaccines provides a light at the end of the tunnel.”
“Vaccination has enabled humanity to triumph over terrible diseases like smallpox and measles,
they continue. “We now must launch a public health campaign to ensure that the same is true for COVID-19.”
The idea for a National Vaccine Day was conceived by the advocacy group 1Day Sooner.
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