Millions of Americans at increased risk for more severe Covid-19 because of tobacco use
From CNN’s Naomi Thomas
A person holds a cigarette out a car window while wearing a protective glove as large numbers of people take measures to protect themselves from the coronavirus pandemic on March 24, 2020 in Miami. Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Millions of Americans are at increased risk for more severe Covid-19 because of tobacco use, according to a new report from The American Lung Association.
“Tobacco remains the leading cause of preventable death and disease in America, killing 480,000 people each year,” said the American Lung Association in their State of Tobacco Control 2021 report.
Here s how to safely reopen schools, according to a vaccine expert
From CNN s Adrienne Vogt
A closed public school is pictured in New Orleans, Louisiana, on January 5. Lan Wei/Xinhua/Getty Images
Dr. Paul Offit says he doesn’t think the US needs to wait for vaccination” to get public schools back open.
“I think we have to be able to provide a mechanism whereby we can get those kids back into a public school setting where it can be done safely. It may require more money for those schools, but I definitely think we need to do it,” Offit, director of the Vaccine Education Center at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, said on CNN’s “New Day.”
Long-term Covid-19 symptoms could be an issue, Fauci warns
From CNN Health s Andrea Diaz
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, speaks during a White House press briefing in Washington, D.C., on January 21. Alex Wong/Getty Images
Long-term Covid-19 symptoms should be taken seriously as they could be an issue as more people contract the virus, the top US infectious disease expert says. This is a real phenomenon. I myself am personally dealing and helping a number of people who have a post-acute Covid-19 syndrome, Dr. Anthony Fauci told MSNBC s Rachel Maddow Friday. They are virologically okay the virus is no longer identified in them, but they have persistence of symptoms that can be debilitating.
The UK has the highest death rate in the world
From CNN’s Haley Brink and Rob Picheta
The United Kingdom currently tops the global list of highest deaths per 100,000 residents, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University (JHU).
The country reported its highest ever single day death toll on Wednesday with 1,820 daily new deaths reported, and has been averaging about 1,240 daily new deaths over the last seven days.
Country-by-country comparisons are imperfect, given that they rely on data from each individual nation.
But the UK s recorded death toll, from a population of 66 million, far outweighs the record tolls in other major countries, including the US, on a per capita basis.
Infectious Diseases Society of America endorses President Biden s federal building mask order
From CNN Health s Andrea Diaz
Infectious diseases specialists endorsed President Joe Biden’s first executive order requiring face masks on federal property and other areas of federal authority, saying masks are “crucial” to controlling the coronavirus pandemic. The president’s order comes at a critical point, when vaccines, as well as a plan to accelerate their rollout, offer new hope, but also when more easily transmitted variants of the virus present new challenges, the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) said Wednesday. We urge governors, mayors, policymakers and residents of communities across the nation to unite behind this action and to require, support and practice mask wearing to control the spread of the virus.