COVID-19 vaccine effort turns into slog as infectious variant spreads - Honolulu Star-Advertiser

As cases fall and states reopen, the potential final stage in the U.S.

campaign to vanquish COVID-19 is turning into a slog, with a worrisome variant gaining a bigger foothold and lotteries and other inducements failing to persuade some Americans to get vaccinated.

As cases tumble and states reopen, the potential final stage in the U.S.

campaign to vanquish COVID-19 is turning into a slog, with a worrisome variant gaining a bigger foothold and lotteries and other prizes failing to persuade some Americans to get vaccinated.

Nirav Shah, director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said Wednesday.

One major concern is the highly contagious and potentially more severe delta variant of the coronavirus that originated in India.

The delta variant has increased from 2.7% of all cases in May to 9.7% this month, Dr.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said during a call for governors on Monday, according to details provided by the Washington governor’s office.

“It’s a race between the vaccines going into people and the current or future variants,” said Kansas Health Secretary Dr.

Health officials said more than 200 people were hospitalized with the virus in southwestern Missouri, nearly double the number at the start of May.

Health experts cite two factors driving the surge there: the faster-spreading delta variant and a reluctance among residents to get vaccinated.

Instead, she said, the key is making it easy to get a vaccine by turning it into part of a person’s “daily flow.”.

Meanwhile, South Africa imposed tighter restrictions on public gatherings and liquor sales as hospital admissions due to COVID-19 increased by 59% over the past two weeks, authorities said.