Babies and mothers have died due to the pandemic — Coronavirus Fact vs. Fiction
Many of the deaths were avoidable and likely caused by a lack of access to medical care, according to the authors of the study, which was published in the medical journal The Lancet.
The findings, however horrifying, shouldn’t come as a surprise.
In the review, researchers from St. George’s, University of London said hospitals were overburdened with coronavirus patients, and some women may have been reluctant to go to the doctor, concerned they’d be exposed to Covid-19.
The study also found a nearly sixfold increase in ectopic pregnancies — when the fertilized egg grows outside a woman’s uterus, the review found. Untreated, ectopic pregnancies can cause life-threatening bleeding.
YOU ASKED. WE ANSWERED.
Q. How does Covid-19 compare to other causes of death?
A: Covid-19 was the third leading cause of death in the United States last year, after heart disease and cancer, according to provisional data released on Wednesday by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The death rate from 2019 to 2020 increased by 15.9%, going up from 715.2 to 828.7 deaths per 100,000 people, according to the report.
- Heart disease
- Cancer
- Covid-19
- Unintentional injury
- Stroke
WHAT’S IMPORTANT TODAY
The UK variant may already be dominant in the US
The vaccines that are being administered across the US appear to protect people well against the B.1.1.7 variant. But only 16.4% of Americans have been fully vaccinated and a big part of the population remains vulnerable to the virus — which is why the White House senior Covid-19 response adviser Andy Slavitt urged governors, mayors and local leaders to listen to President Joe Biden and maintain or reinstate mask mandates to “save lives.”
Nonetheless Georgia Governor Brian Kemp announced the rollback of many of the state’s Covid-19 restrictions while Arkansas dropped its mask mandate.
Inside Cuba’s race to vaccine sovereignty
The sign on the door was written by hand and the lights were off to save electricity, but inside the clinic Cuban doctors were administering what they say is a cutting-edge vaccine against the coronavirus.
As the number of coronavirus cases on the island continues to rise, its vaccine candidates and the island’s aspirations to be a biomedical powerhouse will be put to the test. On Wednesday, Cuba hit a new record in Covid-19 infections — 1,051 new cases diagnosed in 24 hours.
Quality issue at a plant delays some of J&J’s vaccine
The New York Times reported that workers at Emergent BioSolutions, the plant that has been making the vaccine, accidentally mixed up some of the ingredients, ruining as many as 15 million potential doses and delaying US Food and Drug Administration authorization of the plant.
Johnson & Johnson said that none of the lost doses affects the company’s goal of delivering 20 million Covid-19 vaccine doses in March. Those doses come from J&J’s Janssen vaccine plant in the Netherlands.
ON OUR RADAR
- Massive crowds of Hindus are arriving in the northern Indian city of Haridwar for the largest religious pilgrimage on Earth — even as the country grapples with a second wave.
- French President Emmanuel Macron announced tougher national coronavirus restrictions starting Saturday.
- The rollout of vaccines in Europe is “unacceptably slow” amid a “worrying” surge in infections, the World Health Organization said.
- Russia has registered the world’s first Covid-19 vaccine for animals.
- Hungary has recorded its deadliest day of the pandemic, despite its leading vaccine rollout.
- Two US counties will get free, rapid, at-home Covid-19 tests in an effort to study how people use them and how that impacts Covid-19 trends in the community.
- A court in Vietnam handed a two-year suspended jail term to a flight attendant who was found guilty of breaking Covid-19 quarantine rules and spreading the virus to others.
- Peru’s new total lockdown starts today. It includes a 24-hour curfew, a ban on the use of private vehicles, and only one person per household being allowed to leave home for essential shopping.
- Italy has made coronavirus vaccines mandatory for health care workers.
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“These guys are getting tested multiple times a week regardless of the symptoms. It’s very valuable information that can help drive public health policy from this program.” — Daniel Eichner, president of the Sports Medicine Research and Testing Laboratory
Mark Kleinman is city editor, breaking major business stories and analysing what they mean for the financial sector.
He has revealed some of the biggest stories in the city in the past decade, with a string of exclusives about major takeover deals.
Before joining Sky, he was City Editor of The Sunday Telegraph.
Mark was awarded the London Press Club Business Journalist of the Year in 2011.