After weeks of decline from a summer surge, the new daily cases average has risen the past five days
This comes after weeks of decline from a summer surge. It’s well below the summer peak average of 67,300 on July 22.
“We really need to see flu vaccination uptake increased across the Northern Hemisphere … especially this year,” Maria Van Kerkhove, the World Health Organization’s technical lead for coronavirus, said Friday. “Because we have a tool against flu … that will help, and it will particularly help vulnerable populations.”
A new study published by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also suggests that measures taken against Covid-19, like social distancing and teleworking, could lead to a mild flu season.
“The key point here is still this: No. 1, if we don’t want to see a double whammy (of Covid-19 and flu), get your flu shot,” Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, epidemiologist and former Detroit health commissioner, said Friday.
“No. 2, make sure you wear a mask. No. 3, keep practicing safe social distancing.”
The country has averaged 838 Covid-19 deaths a day over the past week — a rate below where it was weeks ago. Daily deaths hovered above 1,000 for 25 straight days from late July into mid-August.
Report: White House nixed plan to distribute 650 million face masks through USPS
The documents obtained by the transparency group American Oversight show the Postal Service was doing this in partnership with the White House Coronavirus Task Force, the Department of Health and Human Services, and “a consortium of textile manufacturers.”
USPS was planning to ship the masks in April and to prioritize areas “which HHS has identified as experiencing high transmission rates of Covid-19,” according to a draft USPS release.
A separate draft media response statement said the packages would include “five reusable face cloths, which can be used up to 15 times each.”
Controversial testing guidance didn’t go through CDC scientific review, sources say
As the document was going through the process, one of the sources told CNN they woke up one morning and saw that the unaltered document had been posted on the CDC’s website in its original form and including some errors.
Previously, the CDC had said viral testing was appropriate for people with recent or suspected exposure, even if they were asymptomatic.
A senior federal health official close to the process had previously told CNN that the sudden change in Covid-19 testing guidance was the result of pressure from the Trump administration, saying, “It’s coming from the top down.”
In a statement Thursday night, CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield told CNN, “The guidelines, coordinated in conjunction with the White House Coronavirus Task Force, received appropriate attention, consultation and input from task force experts.”
The guidance is expected to see more changes. Redfield testified on Wednesday that the CDC will “clarify” changes made to its guidance about testing people who do not have symptoms.
CNN’s Holly Yan, Amanda Watts, Paul P. Murphy, Devan Cole, Naomi Thomas, Christina Maxouris, Jamie Gumbrecht, Dr. Sanjay Gupta and Nick Valencia contributed to this report.
