The latest updates on the coronavirus pandemic from Wednesday, June 9, 2021.
INDIANAPOLIS — Here are Wednesday’s latest updates on the coronavirus pandemic, including the latest news on COVID-19 vaccinations and testing in Indiana.
Registrations for the vaccine are now open for Hoosiers 12 and older through the Indiana State Department of Health. This story will be updated over the course of the day with more news on the COVID-19 pandemic.
More mobile vaccination clinics planned this week
Mobile vaccination clinics are planned on the following schedule this week:
June 9-12 (9 a.m. to 6 p.m.);
La Porte County:
Pentecostal Temple Church of God and Christ
2722 Wabash St., Michigan City, IN 46360
Howard County:
Second Missionary Baptist Church
819 N. Apperson Way, Kokomo, IN 46901
Fayette County:
Ivy Tech
717 W. 21st St., Connersville, IN 47331
June 9, 11 and 12 (9 a.m. to 6 p.m.):
Madison County:
Ivy Tech
815 E. 60th St., Anderson, IN 46013
June 10-11 (10 a.m. to 6 p.m.):
Kosciusko County:
Center Lake Pavilion
119 E. Canal St., Warsaw, IN 46580
June 10-11 (9 a.m. to 6 p.m.):
Elkhart County:
Goshen High School
401 Lincolnway East, Goshen, IN 46526
June 11-12 (4 p.m. to 10 p.m.):
Harrison County:
Harrison County Fair
341 S. Capitol Ave., Corydon, IN 47112
CDC eases travel alerts for more than 100 countries, territories
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention lowered travel warning levels this week for more than 110 countries and destinations. It comes as many parts of the world steadily vaccinate their populations, seeing a closer end to the most restrictive parts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
As Reuters reported Tuesday, the new ratings include 61 nations which had their travel warning level reduced below the agency’s highest warning level, a “Level 4” rating.
The CDC said that an additional 50 countries and territories were lowered to a “Level 2” or a “Level 1,” according to Reuters. Countries including Albania, Iceland, Israel, Belize and Singapore have now been put at the lowest travel risk level. Switzerland, Ukraine, Turkey, Honduras, France, the Philippines, South Africa, Mexico, Italy, Hungary and Canada are all now at a “Level 3” risk category.
The CDC warns on its website that passengers should not travel internationally unless they are fully vaccinated. If a traveler is not fully vaccinated, the CDC is urging people to check its website and follow the guidance for unvaccinated travelers.
All travelers are still required to have a negative COVID-19 test result no longer than three days before returning to, or first entering, the United States, the CDC says. Masks are also still required in planes and in airports for the time being, even for the fully vaccinated.
US increasingly unlikely to meet Biden’s July 4 vax goal
For months, President Joe Biden has laid out goal after goal for taming the coronavirus pandemic and then exceeded his own benchmarks. Now, though, the U.S. is on pace to fall short of his aim to have 70 percent of Americans at least partially vaccinated by July 4.
The White House has launched a month-long blitz to combat vaccine hesitancy and a lack of urgency to get shots, particularly in the South and Midwest. But it is increasingly resigned to missing the president’s vaccination target.
The administration insists that even if the goal isn’t reached, it will have little effect on the overall U.S. recovery from the virus.
Africa desperately short of COVID vaccine
In the global race to vaccinate people against COVID-19, Africa is tragically at the back of the pack. In South Africa, with the continent’s most robust economy, only 0.8% of the population is fully vaccinated.
In Nigeria, it’s 0.1%. Kenya is even lower. And Uganda has recalled doses from rural areas because it doesn’t have nearly enough to fight outbreaks in big cities.
The continent of 1.3 billion people is facing a severe shortage of vaccine at the same time a new wave of infections is rising across Africa. Says activist Fatima Hasan: “People are dying. Time is against us. This IS INSANE.”
Latest US, world numbers
There have been more than 33.39 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the United States as of 4:00 a.m. ET Wednesday, according to Johns Hopkins University. There have been more than 598,300 deaths in the U.S.
Worldwide, there have been more than 174 million confirmed coronavirus cases with more than 3.74 million deaths. More than 2.1 billion vaccine doses have been administered worldwide.
The actual number of people infected by the virus around the world is believed to be much higher — perhaps 10 times higher in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — given testing limitations and the many mild cases that have gone unreported or unrecognized.
For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness like pneumonia, or death.
