Last week, 20 countries spanning four continents recorded record-breaking numbers of Covid-19 cases, according to The Financial Times. Australia, Denmark, and the UK experienced a surge of more than double previous peaks, and the proportion of positive tests is climbing in several countries. Australia’s infections are more than five times their previous peak, and hospitalizations surpassed record numbers, according to SCMP. South Africa, however, which was one of the first countries to detect Omicron, is believed to be past its peak.

While some experts believe Omicron to be “milder” than previous strains, it can still cause devastation in countries with minimal immunity, as reported by The Financial Times.

Only 8.5% of people in low-income countries have received at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine, according to Our World in Data, compared to 58.5% of the world population. Globally, 49.92% of the population has been fully vaccinated or received at least two doses of a Covid-19 vaccine.

Global News

Israel has begun offering anyone over age 60 a fourth shot of the coronavirus vaccine, expanding eligibility, as reported by the Washington Post. The country logged more than 6,500 positive cases Monday, the highest daily rate in months, according to Health Ministry figures. Some students have been forced back to remote learning if they have been exposed as more than 100 cities implement their strongest protocols. Israeli epidemiologists said this week that they expect the omicron variant to hospitalize about three out of every 1,000 infected people.

Meanwhile, the country has seen a spike in flu cases, with close to 2,000 people hospitalized in recent weeks, according to the Times of Israel. The country confirmed its first case of an individual infected with both the seasonal flu and COVID-19 at the same time, authorities said on Thursday. The identified case of “flurona,” as some have dubbed it, was relatively mild.

Initial results of a fourth dose study in Israel have shown a significant increase in antibodies, as reported by The New York Times. The fourth shot has produced a fivefold increase in antibodies in recipients’ blood.

In France, researchers have discovered a new variant called “IHU” that contains more mutations than Omicron, according to WION news. Twelve patients have tested positive for the variant amid a surge in cases. The country saw four consecutive days of record-breaking new cases above 200,000 and expects those figures to possibly double in the coming days.

Doctors across Mumbai are warning that already overwhelmed hospitals could run out of staff in a few weeks amid surging case numbers, according to The Telegraph. At St. George’s Hospital, one of the largest in Mumbai, 25% of resident doctors have contracted the virus. By last Sunday, new cases in India had tripled and doubled overnight in Kolkata.

In Asia, Japan is preparing for a possible Omicron surge by delivering Pfizer’s oral treatment nationwide so patients can recover at home rather than in hospital, according to SCMP. In The Philippines, coronavirus restrictions will be expanded this week as cases surge. The provinces of Bulacan, Cavite, and Rizal have been placed under the third-highest alert due to a sharp increase in cases.

A remote indigenous community in northern Ontario has requested Canadian military personnel to help with a COVID-19 outbreak that has infected at least 50% of its residents, according to Al Jazeera. The Bearskin Lake First Nation declared a state of emergency on December 29 and is in need of health workers, medical resources, food, water, and chopped wood.

Aruba’s cases are skyrocketing at more than 500 cases per 100,000 population, prompting the country to deny entry to any cruise ships with Covid outbreaks, according to CNN.

U.S. News

The United States added more than 1 million people to its Covid-19 case count on Monday, setting a world record for most of the new cases in a single day, according to Bloomberg. The surge has put pressure on the country’s health care system as hospitalizations increase. Last week, one in four hospitals with intensive care units reported at least 95% of their ICU beds were full, according to The New York Times.

Children are making up an increasing share of Covid-19 hospitalizations across the U.S., according to U.S. News and World Report. Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Maine, Missouri, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Washington D.C have recorded record numbers of children hospitalized due to Covid. In the past week, children hospitalized have increased by 97% nationwide.

Puerto Rico has had a 4,600% increase in new cases in recent weeks, despite having one of the country’s most successful vaccination campaigns, according to The New York Times. A third of all recorded coronavirus cases since the start of the pandemic have been reported in the past month alone. In December, the number of hospitalized patients doubled, twice. While the average age of newly infected people is 33, there is concern that with the holidays, older people are likely to become infected as well. Puerto Rico has a disproportionately high percentage of older adults, many of whom live with diabetes, obesity, or other health conditions. There is also concern that the island’s fragile health system will be severely understaffed in trying to deal with this latest wave.

The Minnesota Department of Health has noted that flu cases are growing faster than before, according to MPR News. Eighteen percent of flu cases came back positive last week, compared to 12% the week before. Fewer patients are being hospitalized for the flu than last year. However, it is not clear how Covid is affecting the availability of hospital staff to treat flu patients.

Cases in Florida have risen 948% in the past two weeks, and hospitalizations have increased by 40%, according to The Guardian. Lines for testing facilities have been reported to be hours long.

In Washington D.C., the seven-day positivity rate has increased from 1% in November to 13% this past week, as reported by The Guardian.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have recommended that Americans who received two doses of the Pfizer vaccine seek a booster shot five months after the second shot and not six according to earlier guidance. The CDC also recommends that immunocompromised children between the ages of 5 and 11 receive an additional primary vaccine shot 28 days after the second shot, matching guidance for people 12 years and older. The FDA has cleared 12-to15-year-olds to receive a booster.

Direct Relief’s Response

Since the pandemic’s start, Direct Relief has delivered more than 51,000 medical aid shipments, including more than 200 million pieces of personal protective equipment, oxygen concentrators, ventilators, Covid-19 therapies for hospitalized patients and more requested resources to 56 U.S. states and territories and 112 countries. The organization has also supported health organizations during the pandemic with more than $100 million in grant funding and facilitated the logistics and transport of more than 10 million Covid-19 vaccines.

Click the map above to explore the dashboard and Direct Relief’s response.

The post Covid Infections, Hospitalizations Spike Worldwide as Omicron Spreads appeared first on Direct Relief.

While researchers say more data is needed, preliminary studies suggest the variant is more contagious than other mutations and better at evading immune defenses from previous infections and vaccines. However, the CDC says booster shots of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines provide substantial protection against Omicron, as reported by The New York Times.

This comes as vaccinations rates remain strikingly uneven worldwide. According to Our World in Data, more than 46% of the world population has been fully vaccinated with two doses, though just 7.2% of people in low-income countries have received at least one dose. 8.51 billion doses have been administered globally.

Global News

The WHO says Omicron is now the most dominant variant in South Africa, where it was first detected, and has caused a surge in new cases, as reported by CNBC. Neighboring countries also report case spikes, with rates increasing 1,361% in Zimbabwe, 1,207% in Mozambique, and 681% in Namibia.

While one billion doses of vaccines are expected to arrive across Africa in the coming months, other barriers, such as underfunded health systems and vaccine hesitancy, have prevented the region from achieving high vaccination rates, according to The Guardian. In Nigeria, for example, the health system lacks basic supplies such as cotton swabs, and unreliable power supply requires pharmaceutical refrigerators to run on expensive fuel generators. Many others can’t afford to lose wages to take time off to get vaccinated.

In the U.K., where 70% of the population has been vaccinated, infections from the Omicron variant are doubling every few days, according to NPR. Early data shows that one person infected with the variant will spread it to two to four other people—making the variant twice as contagious as Delta. Experts believe Omicron is likely to become the dominant variant in Scotland, Denmark and other European countries, according to The Washington Post.

The Omicron variant has now been detected in Romania, where experts fear the potential for a fifth Covid-19 wave amid low vaccination rates, according to Al Jazeera. The country’s hospitals are still under pressure from the recent fourth wave in October and November, which resulted in the world’s highest death rate from Covid-19. Romania has the EU’s second-worst vaccination rate at 39% and the most poorly ranked health system.

Los Angeles Times reports South Korea is experiencing the worst coronavirus wave since the pandemic began averaging nearly 6,000 new cases a day after the government relaxed public health measures last month, allowing people to gather in larger groups, extend indoor-dining hours, and fully re-open schools. Severe cases and deaths have soared among those aged 60 and up.

In Indonesia, the recent eruption of Mount Semeru has health experts concerned that exposure to volcanic ash and sheltering in communal halls will increase COVID-19 infections, as reported by Al Jazeera.

Papua New Guinea, where less than 5% of the adult population is vaccinated, is experiencing a surge in Delta cases, creating concerns among epidemiologists that a new variant could emerge, according to The Guardian. The country, which has poor access to sanitation and clean water, is also dealing with an increase in malaria, tuberculosis, and poor maternal and infant outcomes.

In Latin America, hunger rates are at a 15-year high while the pandemic has severely reduced people’s incomes, according to ABC News. In Peru, for example, a country with the world’s worst death rate per capita due to Covid-19, the rate of poverty increased by 10% in 2020, affecting one-third of the population. This comes as hunger in Latin America and the Caribbean has increased by 2% since 2019, affecting nearly 60 million people, according to a recent report by the United Nations.

Sao Paulo, Brazil, the largest city in the Western Hemisphere, announced that 100% of its adult population—12.3 million people—has been fully vaccinated against the coronavirus, as reported by the Washington Post. The Omicron variant poses a threat as community spread continues in the city, though at a much lower rate than before.

U.S. News

A staggering 1 in 100 older Americans has died from the virus compared to 1 in 1400 younger Americans. The most recent 100,000 deaths have occurred in the past 11 weeks, suggesting that the pace of deaths from Covid-19 is accelerating.

The Omicron variant has been detected in 34 states and Washington, D.C., according to The New York Times. Meanwhile, the Delta variant is still overwhelming parts of the country, especially the Northeast and Midwest, as reported by PBS Newshour. Last week, Washington State reported a 10% rise in Covid cases with Omicron mutations over a two-day period, according to The New York Times.

Boston.com reports that Maine and New Hampshire governors will call in dozens of National Guard troops to provide non-clinical support at local hospitals as both states register record-high numbers of hospitalizations due to the Delta variant. While most of these hospitalizations are among the unvaccinated, Vermont, where 75% of people have taken the jab, has also reported a record number of new cases and hospitalizations, suggesting a higher threshold is needed for herd immunity, PBS Newshour reports.

NPR reports hospitals in Colorado are full of unvaccinated Covid patients and on the verge of collapse, seeding anger among patients who need care for other reasons and are unable to access hospital services.

The North Coast Journal reports that hundreds of thousands of immigrants from Mexico and Guatemala who speak Indigenous (non-Spanish) languages have struggled to access information needed to stay healthy during the pandemic. In California, many are immigrant farmworkers who live in poverty with less access to health care. This, combined with language barriers, has contributed to the spread of misinformation and vaccine hesitancy. The wide range of Indigenous languages—in California, people speak 23 different Indigenous languages from Mexico and 24 from Guatemala—make it difficult for health care workers to communicate important information.

Younger Latinos in California are dying of Covid-19 at much higher rates than their white and Asian counterparts, according to the LA Times. Latinos ages 20 to 54 have died from COVID-19 at a rate more than eight times higher than white people in the same age group, according to a study by USC’s Department of Preventive Medicine. Collectively, Latinos in California have lost about 70,000 years of potential life to COVID-19.

Researchers believe younger Latinos have been more vulnerable to Covid-19 for several socio-economic reasons and health factors: Latinos are more likely to live in overcrowded and multigenerational homes, have poor access to healthcare, work in essential industries, and have higher rates of diabetes, hypertension and obesity — conditions associated with severe cases of COVID-19. Latinos have the lowest vaccination rate of any demographic statewide, with younger Latinos particularly lagging, due to misinformation on social media and inflexible work schedules that leave little time for an appointment.

Pfizer has confirmed that its Covid pill, Paxlovid, helps prevent severe disease, including against the Omicron variant, as reported by The New York Times. The drug has shown that it can reduce hospitalization risk by 89% if taken three days before symptoms present. If authorized by the FDA, Americans could access the pill within weeks.

Meanwhile, a survey of over 1,700 Americans by the RAND Corporation found that two-thirds of respondents agreed the United States should send extra vaccines to other countries and that not doing so puts the country at risk.

Direct Relief’s Response

Since the pandemic’s start last year, Direct Relief has delivered more than 48,000 medical aid shipments, including more than 10 million Covid-19 vaccine doses and more than 200 million pieces of personal protective equipment to 56 U.S. states and territories 112 countries.

The post Omicron Variant Spreads Globally as Vaccination Rates Remain Uneven appeared first on Direct Relief.

The emergence of Omicron highlights the consequences of vaccine inequality. For months, health experts have warned that new mutations were likely to form in areas with low vaccination rates. Only 7.3% of Africans are fully vaccinated, compared to 58% in the US and Europe. South Africa has one of the highest vaccinations rates on the continent at 24% but is still struggling. 

A lack of coordination on vaccine shipments, weak health infrastructure and vaccine hesitancy sowed by mistrust and misinformation hinder vaccination efforts even where doses are available.

The omicron variant has now been detected in 30 countries worldwide, as of this publication.

Reacting to the concurrence of the pandemic with preexisting challenges like climate change and conflict, the UN humanitarian agency OCHA is appealing for a record $41 billion to help an estimated 183 million people in need of life-saving assistance. Last year, OCHA requested $35 billion.

Globally, more than 8 billion doses of Covid-19 vaccines have been administered, and 43% of the world’s population is fully vaccinated.

The vaccine gap is not entirely due to unequal availability. A group of southern African nations, including Namibia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, and Malawi, have told vaccine manufacturers and donors that they cannot administer the doses they already have and are not currently requesting additional amounts. The backlog is due to a mix of public mistrust and logistical challenges related to effectively delivering the vaccine to rural areas and obstacles for some people to get to vaccination sites.

India has also seen high vaccines hesitancy rates, including about 50% of people who have not completed secondary school, and health care workers have faced violent resistance.

As has been the case throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, countries are reacting in differing ways to this latest variant.

In Europe, some countries have decided on vaccine mandates. Austria is requiring its entire population to receive the vaccine. Greece’s vaccine mandate applies to anyone over 60 years old and is being enforced with monthly fines for those who do not comply. Germany announced a ban on unvaccinated people entering bars, restaurants, theaters, and other non-essential businesses. Slovakia has implemented a two-week lockdown after experiencing one of the highest case rate jumps globally.

Some travel restrictions have been reintroduced in Asia and the Pacific. Japan announced a one-week closure to incoming travelers.  Australia delayed plans to open its borders to migrants and international students into the country until December 15, and the Philippines barred arrivals from seven European countries. Many countries have banned travel to South Africa and other southern African countries.

In the Americas, Mexico has doubled its Covid-19 vaccine supply to over 40 million doses in just six weeks. Mexico has administered over 132 million doses, 51% of the total population, as of November 29. According to Our World in Data, this falls behind many countries in the region, including Brazil, where 63.7% or 135 million people are fully vaccinated. Chile leads South America with close to 85% of its population fully vaccinated, followed by Uruguay at 75%.

In the Caribbean, Trinidad and Tobago is still fighting the Delta variant, still the world’s dominant strain. Domestic vaccination rates remain low, and public health officials have activated emergency plans to increase ICU capacity.

The US recently saw a 25% jump to 95,000 new cases per day. Driving this trend was the Upper Midwest and Northeast, particularly Michigan, where the state’s public health department reported 18,443 cases since yesterday. Over the past two weeks, Massachusetts has seen an 80% increase in cases. Illinois has seen a 70% increase.

Hospitalization rates are up 8% in the US over the past week and up 20% from the country’s most recent low point on November 10. Michigan accounts for the highest per capita hospitalization rate and has about 4,300 people hospitalized with Covid-19, 75% of whom are unvaccinated, according to the Michigan Health & Hospital Association.

As of the time of publication, confirmed cases of the omicron variant have been reported in California, Minnesota, New York, and Colorado.

The Biden administration announced a new pandemic strategy to confront the worsening situation and increase vaccination rates. It includes offering more vaccination sites that accommodate families, encouraging adults to get booster shots, making at-home tests free and accessible, and enacting new testing protocols for travelers to the US from abroad.

More information about Direct Relief’s response to Covid-19 is available here: https://www.directrelief.org/emergency/coronavirus-outbreak/

Additional reporting was contributed by Noah Smith.

The post Vaccine Inequities Persist Globally as Omicron Variant Spreads appeared first on Direct Relief.

According to Our Word in Data, 49.6% of the world population has received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, and 38.85% is fully vaccinated. 7 billion doses have been administered worldwide thus far.

However, only a small percentage of these doses have gone to low-income countries where just 3.7% of people have received at least one dose.

Worldwide, Covid-19 has been responsible for over 5 million deaths with the majority concentrated in the United States, Brazil, India, Mexico, Russia and Peru.

This week, Bulgaria recorded its highest daily death toll from Covid-19 prompting the health minister to refer to the situation as “a national disaster,” according to ABC News. Romania is seeing an unprecedented surge of coronavirus infections with only 37% of its adult population vaccinated compared to the EU’s average of 75%. In Ukraine, where only 16% of adults are fully vaccinated, EuroNews has reported a surge of infections and hospitalizations. Russia has put a new week-long lockdown in place after new cases hit record highs in the country.

Helsinki Times reports that in the Baltics, where countries are facing record levels of hospitalizations and deaths, Latvia’s Minister of Health has warned that the burden on their health system could force the country to rely on other countries for aid, health care staff, and ICU capacity. Estonia has implemented new restrictions amid a record number of hospitalizations, with the speaker of parliament warning the country is on the “brink of disaster.”

The coronavirus is racing through displacement camps in Idlib Province, Syria—an impoverished, rebel-controlled area in the north-western part of the country—as reported by the Washington Post. Despite the availability of vaccines, conspiracy theories are thwarting vaccination efforts and medical supplies, including oxygen, ventilators, and testing kits are critically low.

In the United States, new coronavirus cases have fallen to less than 75,000 per day, according to the Washington Post, though some states are grappling with surges due to the Delta-variant. Colorado’s governor Jared Polis signed an executive order allowing hospitals to turn patients away when they are nearing full capacity, according to CBS News. Hospital capacity across the state dropped to less than 10% and the positivity rate is currently 8%. NBC News reports the recent wave of the Delta variant targeted overwhelmingly younger, Southern, rural, and white Americans, most of whom were unvaccinated. This is a shift from the demographic impacted early on in the pandemic who were mostly elderly or had underlying conditions and were concentrated in large cities on the West Coast and in the Northeast.

A new, potentially faster spreading “sub-lineage” of the Delta variant, known as AY.4.2, has been identified in labs across at least eight states including California, Florida, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, North Carolina, Rhode Island, and Washington State, as well as the District of Columbia, according to CBS News. The variant is not believed to cause more severe disease. AY.4.2 now accounts for over 11% of Delta variant cases in the U.K.

Several Asian and Pacific Nations are among the most vaccinated countries in the world and are beginning to ease Covid restrictions, according to CNN. South Korea, Japan, Thailand, and Australia are easing domestic and in some cases international restrictions. China continues to implement its zero-tolerance policy

PAHO says that by the end of the year most of Latin America and the Caribbean will have vaccinated 40% of their respective populations, though vaccination remains a challenge in some countries. In Jamaica, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Haiti, Guatemala, and Nicaragua vaccination rates have yet to reach 20%. The organization is working to accelerate vaccine deliveries through several channels, including COVAX and donated doses. In the Caribbean—where about 44% of people are vaccinated–Al Jazeera reports smaller islands including Saint Kitts and Nevis, Barbados, Anguilla, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines are reporting their highest numbers of new infections and deaths since the start of the pandemic.

In the United States, children ages 5-11 can begin getting vaccinated against Covid-19 after the CDC this week gave final approval for use of the Pfizer and BioNTech vaccine among this age group. The country is reopening land borders to vaccinated visitors next week and while many pandemic-related travel restrictions will be lifted, a return to normal largely depends on vaccinating 60 million eligible Americans who have yet to take the vaccine, according to the Washington Post.

NBC News reports the Novavax Covid-19 vaccine has received its first emergency use authorization in Indonesia. The vaccine does not need to be stored at extremely cold temperatures and has proven to be about 90% effective against symptomatic disease. Novavax has applied for emergency use authorization in the U.K, E.U., Canada, Australia, India, and the Philippines.

Meanwhile, In South Africa, a new clinical trial is underway for an oral vaccine developed by Oramed Pharmaceuticals that does not require cold-chain storage, according to SCMP. The vaccine would help overcome distribution barriers in parts of Africa that do not have cold-chain capacity or staff available to inject the current Covid-19 vaccines. Similar trials have been planned in Israel and the U.S.

BioNTech has announced it will be building manufacturing facilities for its Covid-19 vaccine in Rwanda and Senegal, according to The Conversation. This marks the first time mRNA technology will be manufactured in Africa and is expected to increase vaccine coverage across the continent.

Direct Relief’s Response

Since the start of the pandemic last year, Direct Relief has delivered more than 48,000 medical aid shipments containing 6,800 tons of PPE and other medical resources to partners in 56 U.S. states and territories and 111 countries.

CLICK TO EXPLORE DIRECT RELIEF’S RESPONSE

The post Uneven Covid-19 Vaccination Rates Lead to Surges in Some Countries appeared first on Direct Relief.

According to data from the World Health Organization, 80 percent of countries in Africa are falling short of goal vaccination targets established by the World Health Assembly.  Nine countries, including Tunisia, Morocco, and South Africa, have met targets thus far, reported UN News.

COVAX, an effort to provide countries globally with equitable vaccine access, announced Wednesday that it would fall 30 percent below the distribution goal this year, according to Bloomberg.

In South Africa, the WHO identified a new variant, C.1.2, which scientists are studying to determine whether increased transmissibility or virulence is present, Al Jazeera reported.

The International Monetary Fund has approved a $600 million payment of emergency support to Tanzania. The country’s former leadership had denied the existence of a pandemic, but the current president has undertaken a countrywide vaccination effort, according to Al Jazeera.

Six regions in Scotland represent the ten highest infection rates in Europe, according to WHO. The spike comes after schools have reopened and most restrictions in the country have been lifted, reported Bloomberg.

New restrictions, including turning away unvaccinated visitors, are in effect for travelers from the United States to Italy, Bulgaria, the Netherlands, and Sweden, according to the New York Times. At least ten people died in North Macedonia due to a fire that engulfed a temporary hospital facility treating Covid-19 patients. The fire occurred in Tetovo, which has reported increasing cases while its health system lacks resources, reported Al Jazeera.

Israel recorded the highest case rates globally last week despite early vaccination efforts that have led to about 61 percent of Israelis being fully vaccinated, according to Fortune. Most new cases are among unvaccinated people and children under the age of 12.

While India is battling Covid-19, NPR reported that the Indian state of Kerala is also facing an outbreak of the Nipah virus. Nipah has already caused at least one death and prompted hundreds to enter isolation as they await testing.

In Mumbai, India, the city’s mayor warned that the Covid’s third wave had arrived, worrying officials as an 11-day religious festival begins, which often attracts millions, reported Al Jazeera.

A surge in cases has been recorded in Southeast Asia over the past three months, and vaccination efforts continue, with Cambodia, Malaysia, and Singapore reporting full vaccination in over 60% of the populations, while all countries in the region report closer to 20 percent, according to  The Economist.

A mobile device that detects the presence of Covid-19 infection in sweat is being developed by Thai scientists, with promising results. France 24 reported that the device had recorded a 95% accuracy rate after being tested on Bangkok shopkeepers. Only 14% of the population has been vaccinated in the Philippines, where the daily case rate is second highest in the region after Malaysia, reported the Conversation.

Latin America and the Caribbean could lose two decades’ worth of gains to reduce maternal mortality in Latin America and the Caribbean due to the pandemic, reported the New York Times. PAHO’s director stated that 270,000 pregnant women in the region fell ill with the disease, and 1% of those perished of the virus.

Infections are also rising in Costa Rica, Belize, and Guatemala, where many hospitals are over capacity, reported the New York Times. The mu variant, which the WHO has named as a variant of interest, is responsible for nearly 40 cases in Colombia, according to the AP.

DIRECT RELIEF’S RESPONSE

Since the pandemic’s start last year, Direct Relief has delivered more than 44,973 medical aid shipments, worth more than $2.73 billion wholesale. Those shipments have contained more than 445 million units of PPE and other medical resources to partners throughout the United States and globally.

The post Vaccine Targets Remain Elusive in Many Countries with Limited Supply appeared first on Direct Relief.

According to Our World in Data, 32.7% of the world’s population has had at least one dose of Covid-19 vaccine, and 24.6% of the world is fully vaccinated. That’s a significant increase from two weeks ago, when 15% of the population was fully vaccinated. Five billion doses have been administered globally thus far.

However, that increase is much smaller in low-income countries, where only 1.4% of the population has received at least one dose – up from 1.1% two weeks ago.

These increases come even as Covid-19 outbreaks, in many cases caused by the contagious Delta variant, continue to occur across the globe.

All Africa reported that 55 African countries had reached a total of more than 7,500,000 Covid-19 cases, and over 60,000,000 vaccinations had been given.

In West Africa, several countries are dealing with outbreaks of cholera, Ebola, and Marburg virus that pose a threat to already compromised emergency response systems. At the same time, Covid-19 fatalities in the region jumped by 193%, to 1,018 the week of August 9. Even as they deal with simultaneous outbreaks of other diseases, Cote d’Ivoire, Guinea, and Nigeria are all experiencing Covid-19 surges, according to WHO Africa.

In the Middle East and North Africa, vaccination rates remain low as the Delta variant causes a spike in cases, The New Humanitarian reported. In Lebanon in particular, hospitals are experiencing shortages of both electricity and medications, caused by the country’s financial crisis. Tunisia, which experienced a wave of Covid-19 cases in July, has seen the rise in cases subside but still has the region’s highest recorded death rate. In Yemen, where years of instability and conflict have overwhelmed the country’s weakened health care system, Covid-19 isolation centers are currently full. Doctors have expressed concern that the Delta variant will further overwhelm weakened health care facilities experiencing a shortage in medical supplies.

According to The Tribune India, a third wave of Covid-19 is expected in India in September and October, causing as many as 600,000 new daily cases. A lack of pediatric doctors and equipment may make children as vulnerable as adults to the risks of Covid-19. In the meantime, Al Jazeera reported, India’s drug regulator has granted approval for the emergency use of the world’s first DNA Covid-19 vaccine, in people over the age of 12 years.

As reported by Reuters, the Philippines reported record numbers of new Covid-19 cases (more than 18,000) on Monday. New cases are mostly concentrated in Manila and the surrounding area. Hospitals in the country are near full capacity, and some facilities report running out of ICU beds for Covid-19 patients, according to Al Jazeera.

Thailand is confronting a third wave of Covid-19, with approximately 4,000 new cases a day, making it one of the worst-hit countries in southeast Asia. Tightly crowded conditions, such as those in slums and markets, appear to be contributing to rapid spread, ABC News reported.

In Malaysia, according to CNBC, political and economic situations remain strained as the country faces its worst outbreak. Daily Covid-19 cases surpassed 20,000 in August – the highest globally when adjusted for population size – and the country has experienced more than 1.5 million cumulative cases and 14,000 deaths, according to health ministry data.

Even as unmasked protesters in Melbourne expressed their anger at a new round of lockdowns, Australia recorded its highest daily number of cases since the pandemic began, CNN said.

AP News reported that the only medical oxygen plant in Haiti’s south was damaged in the magnitude 7.2 earthquake that struck on August 14. Port-au-Prince has two active oxygen plants, but the demand for oxygen has doubled over the past month as the country’s Covid-19 wave continues.

In Cuba, according to The New York Times, oxygen supplies are running low, and the factory that produces the country’s canisters is currently closed.

A report from the Pan American Health Organization found that only one in five people in Latin America has been vaccinated, Merco Press reported. Even within the region, according to the news source, there is considerable disparity: In Chile and Uruguay, more than 70% of the population has received at least one dose, and countries including Peru, Paraguay, and Bolivia have each inoculated less than 30%. In Central America and the Caribbean, cases are on the rise, while they’ve been declining in South America. In Mexico, the Delta variant is currently circulating in 92% of the territory. On Tuesday, 1.75 million doses of the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine arrived in Mexico from the U.S. in a shipment facilitated by Direct Relief and via donated transport from FedEx.

In the United States, Pfizer’s Covid-19 vaccine became the first to receive full FDA approval on Monday, a development that is expected to lay the groundwork for more vaccine mandates by employers and other organizations, BBC News reported. The National Guard will be deployed to hospitals in Kentucky, according to CNN, as Covid-19 cases overwhelm hospitals. In rural Oregon, too, hospitals are running low on space, and Covid-19 patients are in emergency-room hallways waiting to be admitted to ICUs, the Los Angeles Times reported. The National Guard was deployed to 20 hospitals in the state, in part to settle arguments between hospital staff and patients’ families. In Orlando, Florida, residents have been asked to conserve water so that liquid oxygen can be preserved for hospital use instead, according to The Washington Post.

Direct Relief’s response

Since the start of the pandemic last year, Direct Relief has delivered more than 44,600 medical aid shipments, worth more than $2.7 billion wholesale. Those shipments have contained more than 440 million units of PPE, and other medical resources to partners in 56 U.S. states and territories and 107 countries.

The post Vaccination Rates Rise Unevenly as Covid-19 Waves Continue appeared first on Direct Relief.

Here are a few of the latest stories around the unfolding situation in Haiti:

• The island-nation is facing a critical shortage of medical personnel and supplies as doctors scramble to treat victims injured in the collapse of schools, medical centers, churches, bridges, and more than 13,000 homes, according to The Washington Post. At least 5,700 people have sustained injuries, according to CBS News.
• Only a few dozen doctors live in Western Haiti, including one surgeon in the area of Les Cayes, the epicenter of the quake, according to The New York Times. The area is home to one million people.
• A handful of doctors are working around the clock in makeshift triage wards, but are short on supplies, intravenous drips, and basic antibiotics, according to reporting by the New York Times. Injured patients are crowding damaged hospitals or seeking mercy flights to Port-au-Prince for treatment. In Les Cayes, treatments are being hampered by intermittent blackouts, and a lack of pain killers, analgesics, and steel pins to mend fractures, according to the Associated Press.
• Thousands of Haitians are sleeping in the streets, afraid to re-enter their homes as aftershocks continue, according to Al Jazeera. Haiti’s Civil Protection Agency said that they risk being exposed to rains and an increased chance of waterborne diseases such as cholera.
• The quake comes on the heels of the July 7 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse, which has spurred widespread political upheaval and violence. Meanwhile, Tropical Depression Grace is approaching the southern coast of Hispaniola, and threatening flash flooding and mudslides in the earthquake-affected areas. Tropical storm conditions are anticipated for later today with several inches of rain forecast and up to 15 inches in some isolated areas, according to CNN. Rescue workers and poorly equipped doctors are scrambling to save victims of the earthquake ahead of the storm, according to The Washington Post.
• Due to heavily armed gang areas, aid organizations have struggled to send medical supplies and doctors by road. Boats and airlifts have been used instead. On Sunday, the UN called for a “humanitarian corridor” to allow for quicker and safer transport of aid to affected areas, according to Reuters.
• On Saturday, August 14, a team of experts from the Pan-American Health Organization office in Port-au-Price were deployed to evaluate the damage and coordinate a health response alongside Haiti’s Ministry of Health, UN agencies, and other partners, according to the organization. PAHO is also preparing several Emergency Medical Teams (EMTs), as well as medical supplies and other strategic equipment that can be deployed if needed.
• Two Mexican military aircraft carrying 15.4 tons of food, medicine, and water have landed in Haiti, as reported by the Times of India. Another shipment of 3.6 tons of emergency aid including blankets, water filters, wheelbarrows, and shovels is expected later today.
• Colombia is sending 30 rescue workers to Haiti, including 25 firefighters, 5 representatives of the Red Cross, and several search and rescue dogs, according to Noticias Caracol.

The post Latest News: Haiti Earthquake and Response appeared first on Direct Relief.

Last week, more than 4 million new cases were reported worldwide, according to UN News. Overall, the virus has infected roughly 203 million people and killed 4.3 million since the pandemic began, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

This comes as just 15% of the global population has been fully vaccinated, according to Our World in Data. While nearly 4.5 billion doses of the Covid-19 vaccine have been administered worldwide, only 1.1% of people in low-income countries have received at least one dose.

In Africa, Covid-19 deaths surged by 80% in the last month, most likely due to the current wave of Delta variant infections, as reported by CNN. The World Health Organization said that last week Tunisia had the world’s worst official death toll from Covid-19, with ICUs and ERs at capacity across the country. However, on Sunday, the country opened its vaccination eligibility to anyone over 40 years of age and inoculated half a million people in one day. Tunisia hopes to vaccinate half of its population by mid-October, according to France24.

In Southeast Asia, countries continue to grapple with the worst wave of Covid yet. Countries that contained the virus last year, such as Vietnam, are now running out of oxygen and hospital beds. Protests have broken out in Malaysia and Thailand due to economic hardship, and Myanmar is near total collapse under the double crisis of covid and a military coup, as reported by CNN.

Cases are rising again in some parts of India, as experts warn of a third wave later this month. According to the National Herald, Kerala, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka have all had a steady increase in cases over the past week.

In Indonesia, health systems are strained with oxygen and bed shortages. In response, Indonesian doctors have launched a free WhatsApp consultancy service for Covid-19 patients isolating at home. The program has helped patients stay at home and only seek hospital care when urgently needed, according to Al Jazeera.

With the exception of Chile, Latin America is once again becoming a global hotspot for Covid as the Delta variant takes hold. Peru is battling several coronavirus variants at once. Colombia is facing the longest wave of Covid so far, with ICUs at 95% capacity. Across Latin America and the Caribbean, nearly 1.4 million people have been killed by Covid-19, while vaccines ordered through the COVAX program have yet to arrive, according to DW.

At the same time, Latin America is experiencing a surge in political volatility as Covid has exacerbated many of the region’s economic vulnerabilities. Brazil, Argentina, Cuba, Venezuela, Bolivia, Colombia, Chile, Paraguay, and Guatemala have all seen major demonstrations in the streets, as reported by The Guardian.

In the U.S., southern states are experiencing a surge in cases, with many hospitals at or near capacity. Florida, Louisiana, Arkansas, Missouri, Mississippi, Alabama, and parts of Texas are reporting some of the highest case rates in the country, according to the New York Times. Florida continues to break record numbers of daily new cases, with 23,903 news cases reported last Friday – the state’s highest single-day count for the sixth day in a row, according to NBC News. For the first time since last February, the United States is averaging more than 100,000 new cases a day.

Direct Relief’s Response

Since the pandemic began last year, Direct Relief has delivered more than 43,100 medical aid shipments totaling more than $2.5 billion (wholesale) and containing more than 2 million Covid-19 vaccine doses and 5,500 tons of PPE and other medical resources to health facilities in 56 US states and territories and 107 countries.

The post Covid-19 Cases Rise As Delta Variant Sweeps The Globe appeared first on Direct Relief.

The Vulnerability Index was developed by combining the following seven variables:

• Number of hospital beds per 1000 persons
• Proportion of population over age 60
• Number of Covid-19 cases
• Prevalence of tuberculosis
• Prevalence of HIV
• Prevalence of diabetes
• Prevalence of moderate to severe food insecurity

Latest international Covid-19 headlines:

• The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines seem to be far less effective against the South Africa variant (B.1.351) than expected. This variant is thought to be spreading rapidly across southern Africa, and has already been found as far away as Hawaii. The variant is 50% more transmissible and may make herd immunity more challenging to reach. – The Hill
• Ivory Coast and Ghana will began mass vaccination drives last week through the supply of vaccine they have respectively received from COVAX. – BBC
• Brazil is an “explosive breeding ground” for the P.1 variant of Covid-19. P.1 is more transmissible and can re-infect those recovering from a previous bout of Covid. Last week, the research institute Fiocruz noted that P.1 has become the dominant strain in the six out of eight Brazilian states it studied. They have called the situation an “atomic bomb.” – Washington Post
• 21% of Chile’s population has received the first dose of vaccine; while 3% have received the second. – The Economist
• Colombia was the first country in Latin America last week to receive vaccine from the COVAX program. – Miami Herald
• Israel has been using almost exclusively the Pfizer vaccine and is leading the world in terms of proportion of the population vaccinated, with 57% having received the 1st dose, and 43% the second. Of those vaccinated, a new study shows that fewer than 1% test positive; and only 0.2% develop symptoms. – The Times of Israel
• India’s Bharat Biotech developed vaccine, COVAXIN, has been shown to be 81% effective. India hopes to vaccinate 300 million people by July but is not on track yet to meet the target. – NPR
• Moldova has become the first country in Europe to receive vaccine through COVAX. – CNN

The post Global Covid-19 Vulnerability Brief: March 9 appeared first on Direct Relief.