Good morning. This is Jonathan Spira reporting. Here now the news of the pandemic from across the globe on the 1,103rd day of the pandemic.
California’s coronavirus pandemic misinformation measure, signed into law last fall by Governor Gavin Newsome, is now in legal limbo. Before it was even signed, I did a double take and wondered to what extent doctors or other interested parties might argue that spreading medical misinformation about the pandemic was protected free speech.
Put simply, it’s not, at least when it comes to public and private health.
Simply put, the new law says that physicians who provide false information about Covid-19 to patients are engaging in unprofessional conduct. Such action would, in turn, possibly subject them to discipline by the Medical Board of California or, in the case of osteopaths, the Osteopathic Medical Board of California.
Two conflicting rulings by federal judges in lawsuits that stem from the law leave one to wonder, to borrow from Clairol’s iconic slogan, “Does it… or doesn’t it” stop doctors from dispensing misinformation along with a tongue depressor and two aspirin.
The suits warn that the law’s definition of misinformation as falsehoods that violate “contemporary scientific consensus” would stifle physicians’ abilities to advise patients openly and honestly about the pros and cons of various Covid-19 treatments and practices.
In one of the suits, a ruling handed down by U.S. District Judge Fred Slaughter, who refused to halt enforcement of the law, said that it was “likely to promote the health and safety of California COVID-19 patients.” Meanwhile, last month, Senior U.S. District Judge William Shubb in Sacramento did put the law on hold, terming it “unconstitutionally vague,” but only insofar as the plaintiffs in two cases.
The American Civil Liberties Union has weighed in against the law on freedom-of-speech grounds
“If doctors are scared of losing their licenses for giving advice that they think is helpful and appropriate, but they don’t quite know what the law means, they will be less likely to speak openly and frankly with their patients,” wrote Hannah Kieschnick, an attorney with the ACLU of Northern California.
Admittedly, even Governor Newsome seems to have acknowledged the possibility of “the chilling effect other potential laws may have” on the ability of healthcare practitioners to speak freely with their patients. At the time he signed the bill into law, he said he felt that this particular law did not cross that line.
In other news we cover today, Covid lockdowns resulted in a dramatic drop in premature births and flu cases are rising in Hong Kong.
GLOBAL
A study conducted by over 100 researchers across the globe found that the Covid lockdowns that took place in most parts of the world at the start of the pandemic in early 2020 led to a dramatic fall in the number of premature births worldwide.
Researchers, who were led by Professor Roy Philip, a neonatologist at University Maternity Hospital Limerick who co-authored the study with the Irish Neonatal Health Alliance, found a fall of three to four percentage points in preterm births in upper middle-income and high-income nations in the first three months of lockdown. This translates into approximately 50,000 births. About 10% of babies are born before 37 weeks. Preterm births and related complications are the leading cause of infant mortality.
The researchers explain that the drop is largely thanks to the fall in air pollution and less opportunity for the pregnant mother to be exposed to infections
In Hong Kong, reports of new SARS-CoV-2 cases have remained low even after more mixing between mainland Chinese visitors and local residents, but the number of new influenza infections has been rising dramatically since wearing masks became optional. Hospitals and clinics report seeing more people with cough, fever, and throat pain in February and the first half of March than in earlier periods.
TODAY’S STATISTICS
Now here are the daily statistics for Sunday, March 19.
As of Sunday morning, the world has recorded 682.5 million Covid-19 cases, an increase of 0.1 million from the previous day, and just under 6.82 million deaths, according to Worldometer, a service that tracks such information. In addition, 655.3 million people worldwide have recovered from the virus, a figure that is virtually unchanged from the previous day.
The reader should note that infrequent reporting from some sources may appear as spikes in new case figures or death tolls.
Worldwide, the number of active coronavirus cases as of Sunday at press time is 20,322,548, an increase of 67,000. Out of that figure, 99.8%, or 20,282,366, are considered mild, and 0.2%, or 40,182, are listed as critical. The percentage of cases considered critical has not changed over the past four months.
The United States reported 18,756 new coronavirus infections on Saturday for the previous day, compared to 54,460 reported on Friday, and 137,629 reported on Thursday, according to data from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The 7-day incidence rate is now 23,068. Figures for the weekend (reported the following day) are typically 30% to 60% of those posted on weekdays due to a lower number of tests being conducted.
The average daily number of new coronavirus cases in the United States over the past 14 days is 23,049, a figure down 32% over the past 15 days, based on data from the Department of Health and Human Services, among other sources. The average daily death toll over the same period is 334, a decrease of 38% over the same period, while the average number of hospitalizations for the period was 22,522, a decrease of 14%. In addition, the number of patients in ICUs was 3,013 a decrease of 11% and the test positivity rate is now 7.2%, a figure that is down by 15% over the same period.
In addition, since the start of the pandemic the United States has, as of Sunday, recorded 105.9 million cases, a higher figure than any other country, and a death toll of 1.15 million. India has the world’s second highest number of officially recorded cases, 44.7 million, and a reported death toll of 530,802.
The newest data from Russia’s Rosstat state statistics service showed that, at the end of July, the number of Covid or Covid-related deaths since the start of the pandemic there in April 2020 is now 823,623, giving the country the world’s second highest pandemic-related death toll, behind the United States. Rosstat last reported that 3,284 people died from the coronavirus or related causes in July 2022, down from 5,023 in June, 7,008 in May and 11,583 in April.
Meanwhile, France is the country with the third highest number of cases, with 39.7 million, and Germany is in the number four slot, with 38.3 million total cases.
Brazil, which has recorded the third highest number of deaths as a result of the virus, 699,634, has recorded 37.1 million cases, placing it in the number five slot.
The other five countries with total case figures over the 20 million mark are Japan, with 33.4 million cases, South Korea, with 30.7 million cases, placing it in the number seven slot, and Italy, with just under 25.7 million, as number eight, as well as the United Kingdom, with 24.4 million, and Russia, with just over 22.5 million.
VACCINATION SPOTLIGHT
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that, as of Thursday, 269.7 million people in the United States – or 81.2% – have received at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine. Of that population, 69.3%, or 230.2 million people, have received two doses of vaccine, and the total number of doses that have been dispensed in the United States is now 673 million. Breaking this down further, 92.2% of the population over the age of 18 – or 237.9 million people – has received at least a first inoculation and 79% of the same group – or 204.1 million people – is fully vaccinated. In addition, 19.8% of the same population, or 51.1 million people, has already received an updated or bivalent booster dose of vaccine, while 22.9 million people over the age of 65, or 41.8% of that population have also received the bivalent booster.
Starting on June 13, 2022, the CDC began to update vaccine data on a weekly basis and publish the updated information on Thursdays by 8 p.m. EDT, a statement on the agency’s website said.
Some 69.7% of the world population has received at least one dose of coronavirus vaccine by Sunday, according to Our World in Data, an online scientific publication that tracks such information. So far, 13.33 billion doses of the vaccine have been administered on a global basis and 422,553 doses are now administered each day.
Meanwhile, only 28.2% of people in low-income countries have received one dose, while in countries such as Canada, China, Denmark, France, Italy, the United Kingdom, and the United States, at least 75% of the population has received at least one dose of vaccine.
Only a handful of the world’s poorest countries – Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia and Nepal – have reached the 70% mark in vaccinations. Many countries, however, are under 20% and, in countries such as Haiti, Senegal, and Tanzania, for example, vaccination rates remain at or below 10%.
In addition, with the start of vaccinations in North Korea in late September, Eritrea remains the only country in the world that has not administered vaccines.
Paul Riegler contributed reporting to this story.
(Photo: Accura Media Group)
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