(NEW YORK) — Here are today’s In Crisis headlines:
President Biden to visit Atlanta today with Vice President Harris in wake of shootings
President Biden and Vice President Harris are scheduled to travel to Atlanta, GA today after the deadly shootings Tuesday that left eight dead, with most of the victims Asian women. Biden and Harris are expected to meet with local Asian American leaders to discuss the recent national increase in violence against the Asian community. President Biden on Thursday ordered the flags at the White House and at federal and public installations in the U.S. and abroad to be flown at half-staff until sunset Monday, “As a mark of respect for the victims of the senseless acts of violence perpetrated on March 16, 2021, in the Atlanta Metropolitan area.” The president also canceled an event scheduled in Atlanta for today where he was to tout the benefits of the recently-passed American Recovery Act.
COVID-19 numbers
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: 121,902,852
Global deaths: 2,693,359. The United States has the most deaths of any single country, with 539,700.
Number of countries/regions: at least 192
Total patients recovered globally: 69,061,350
Latest reported COVID-19 numbers in the United States per Johns Hopkins University
There are at least 29,668,173 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 539,700. California has the greatest number of reported deaths in the U.S., with 57,200.
U.S. total people tested: 378,137,746
The greatest number of reported COVID-19 cases in the U.S. is in California, with 3,634,807 confirmed cases out of a total state population of 39.51 million. This ranks second in the world after England, which has 3,746,280 cases. Texas is third, with 2,746,817 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 151,108,445 COVID-19 vaccine doses have been distributed in the U.S. Of those, 115,730,008 doses have been administered, with 75,495,716 people receiving at least one dose and 40,981,464 people fully vaccinated, representing 29.2% and 15.9% of the total U.S. population, respectively. The Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines each require two doses to be effective. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine requires a single dose to be effective.
Biden says 100-day vaccination goal already reached; Fauci warns of potential new surge
President Biden on Thursday announced that the White House benchmark of 100 million COVID-19 vaccines administered in his first 100 days in office has been reached, with 42 days to spare. According to data collected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 115.7 million total COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered since the first COVID-19 vaccines were authorized by the FDA in December 2020. About 16.5 million of those 115 million doses were administered under the Trump administration. As of Thursday, 65% of people age 65 or older had received at least one shot and 36% have been fully vaccinated, Biden said. During a visit to Atlanta today, Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris will visit the CDC for an update on the fight against COVID-19.
Meanwhile on Capitol Hill, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the head of the White House COVID-10 response team, testified before the Senate Thursday that that the U.S. remains at risk of another surge in virus infections if states continue to “pull back prematurely” on pandemic lockdowns and mask mandates. Fauci engaged in a heated exchange with Republican Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, after Paul declared that there was “virtually 0% chance” of an immunized person contracting COVID-19, and that continued mask wearing was “just theater.” ″Can I just state for the record that masks are not theater,” Fauci responded, adding, “I totally disagree with you.” Nearly one-third of states are now seeing the average number of new cases rise at least 10% following an initial downward trend. The White House COVID-19 response team is scheduled to hold a press conference today to deliver an update on the national response.
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