What Happened in June 2021?

Covid News June 2021

500 days after the first coronavirus death in the US, at least 600,000 Americans have died from Covid-19. Less than half of Americans are fully vaccinated, with young people now accounting for most infections. While breakthrough cases are rare, mutating variants are wreaking havoc in smaller towns with low vaccination rates. Brazil’s Covid death count has nearly caught the US, while India’s infections will soon surpass America’s.

More Covid-19 News

• 500 days after the first coronavirus death in the US, at least 600,000 Americans have died from Covid-19.
• 45% of Americans are fully vaccinated, and more than half of Americans have received at least one shot. 76% of Americans 65 and older, the group that accounted for a majority of pandemic deaths, have been fully vaccinated.
• Younger people now account for most infections, and they are the most hesitant to get the vaccine due to feeling invincible. Compounding the hesitancy, the CDC is warning about rare cases of heart inflammation in adolescents and young adults to the fact sheets for both the Pfizer and Moderna COVID vaccines.
• A CDC study showed that Pfizer and Moderna vaccines are about 90% effective against infection two weeks after the last dose. The one-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine is about 72% effective against moderate to severe disease. So far the two-dose vaccines have prevented infection for at least six months, although it’s not known if booster shots may be needed.
• Breakthrough cases of infections after full vaccinations are becoming more common, even though there’s only 1 breakthrough case per 1,000 vaccinations. While most breakthrough cases are mild, thousands have been hospitalized with Covid-19 despite being fully vaccinated, and more than 1,000 have died.
• To reduce hate crimes and racial prejudice, Covid variants will now be named with Greek letters like Alpha and Beta instead of the country where first detected such as UK or India.
• The CDC said the Delta variant, first identified in India, shows increased transmissibility, and is harder to treat with monoclonal antibodies. The variant has double the hospitalization rate, and will soon be the most prevalent variant in the US. It also has symptoms common with hay fever, leading people to ignore their infection and pass it to others. Sydney, Australia went into partial lockdown to stop an outbreak of the Delta variant first spread by an airport limo driver. In the US, the Delta variant is forcing new rules for wearing a mask indoors again – even for the vaccinated.
• With new cases still soaring, India’s infections and deaths are quickly approaching US numbers. India barely trails the US in infections with over 30 million.
• At over half a million Covid deaths, Brazil has nearly caught the US, and adding 100,000 new infections per day. Only 15% of the population is vaccinated, and their President does not endorse social distancing.
• China successfully suppressed Covid quickly, and was slow to start vaccinations. With a billion doses so far, China plans to vaccinate 40% of the 1.4 billion population by the end of June.
• California, which was the first State to quarantine, reopened by ending the state-wide mask mandate and other restrictions. New York reached 70% vaccination rate and removed most Covid measures.
• West Virginia is giving prizes including rifles, shotguns, pickup trucks, and lifetime hunting permits for Covid shots, and California is giving away millions of dollars in a vaccination lottery.

Other News Summary

Derek Chauvin was sentenced to 22.5 years in the death of George Floyd, Juneteenth is now a Federal holiday, ransomware cyber attacks wreaked havoc on business and government networks, and Connecticut legalized marijuana while a record heat wave hit the West. Covid cases are falling across the US, but vicious variants are infecting the unvaccinated. Covid is decimating Brazil and India, and the US economy is struggling to recover in the wake of labor and parts shortages. 161 people are likely dead in the dramatic collapse of a condo tower in Surfside, Florida – a Miami suburb.

The Rest of the Story

• Police officer Derek Chauvin was sentenced to 270 months, or 22 1/2 years, in prison for the murder of George Floyd. In Dallas, TX, police started active bystander training to intervene in the case of fellow police misconduct.
• Juneteenth, observing the end of slavery, is now a US national holiday. The June 19th date commemorates when Texas slaves learned about the Emancipation Proclamation two years late.
• Observing the June, 1969 police raid on a gay bar, June Pride Month saw limited parades due to Covid. While mainstream acceptance is growing and gay marriage is legal, some still object to LGBTQ rights and celebrating Pride Month on religious grounds. One pastor in blue-collar Dallas suburb Rowlett objected to, “…using our taxpayer dollars, our public property to celebrate someone’s sexual preference and a socially divisive lifestyle of choice.”
• The Supreme Court sided with a transgender high school student giving trans students the right to use the bathroom of their gender identity. Also, the US Veterans Administration will now offer gender confirmation, AKA reassignment, surgery to trans veterans.
• The first cruise ships resumed sailing, and Americans took to the skies in almost pre-pandemic numbers as Covid-19 restrictions eased and the EU OK’d travel from the US. US air travel was down only 25% from before Covid, compared to almost empty skies during the pandemic. However, labor shortages and computer problems stranded thousands of passengers. In New York City the first Broadway show opened since quarantine, with proof of vaccination or a negative Covid test required for admission.
• Weekly applications for unemployment aid fell steadily this year from about 900,000 in January to 411,000 in June. But with at least ten million renters behind in paying, half of US states will stop giving the $300 per week Federal unemployment boost. In response, the Biden Administration renewed the Federal eviction moratorium for another month – in part to get Federal rent relief funds distributed. 22 of those states will also cut off all jobless assistance to self-employed, gig workers, and those out of work more than six months, claiming it stops recipients from working and the economy from rebounding. Others blame the lack of affordable childcare, and the fact parents must stay home with kids who are learning via Internet. Also, workers are quitting their jobs in record numbers – especially in hospitality and leisure – due to shifting priorities, instability, and infection risk.
• Working from home during the pandemic made professionals think about when and where they want to work. People are leaving their jobs in search of more money, more flexibility and more happiness, and it’s led to a dramatic increase in resignations.
• Connecticut is the latest state to legalize recreational marijuana. In the past few months four other states legalized it including New Jersey, New York, Virginia, New Mexico. Since Colorado first legalized pot in 2012, 18 states and now 44% of the population have legal access to cannabis.
• Four months after a record blizzard froze electric power plants and cut off water in Texas and other parts of the South, record-breaking high temperatures hit Texas and the entire West, once again straining the electricity supply. Portland hit 115 degrees and Seattle was 110 – the hottest day ever – while Canada had 100+ degrees.
• A cyber attack on a large meat processor shut down operations and constrained meat supply in supermarkets. Other ransomware attacks targeted banks, airlines, and government agencies.
• Groups are targeting school board members who support “critical race theory”, or CRT, while States try to ban it in schools – even though the academic theory isn’t taught in K-12 schools. The theory says that racism is systemic and is inherent in the American way of life.
• In response to the record gun violence last year, and even more shootings so far this year, President Biden announced a five-part strategy that uses funds from the American Rescue Plan stimulus package to help local governments apply for funds to hire more police, pay police overtime or spend on community programs designed to alleviate the root causes of gun violence.