Nearly all COVID deaths in U.S. are now among unvaccinated – Newsday

June 24, 2021 Kate

AP analysis has a clear take-away

An Associated Press analysis of available government data from May shows that “breakthrough” infections in fully vaccinated people accounted for fewer than 1,200 of more than 853,000 COVID-19 hospitalizations. That’s about 0.1%.

And only about 150 of the more than 18,000 COVID-19 deaths in May were in fully vaccinated people. That translates to about 0.8% of the deaths, or five per day on average.

The AP analyzed figures provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC itself has not estimated what percentage of hospitalizations and deaths are in fully vaccinated people, citing limitations in the data.

Among them: Only about 45 states report breakthrough infections, and some are more aggressive than others in looking for such cases. So the data probably understates such infections, CDC officials said.

But the overall trend that emerges from the data echoes what many health care authorities are seeing around the country and what top experts are saying.

The number of new positives reported today: 27 in Nassau, 31 in Suffolk, 174 in New York City and 343 statewide.

The chart below shows the number of new coronavirus cases confirmed each day in New York City and the state.

Search a map of new cases and view charts showing the latest local trends in testing, hospitalizations, deaths and more.

‘I could fall, or I could fly’

More than 600,000 people in the United States have died from COVID-19, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Many others have lived to tell of their recovery from severe COVID-19 after lengthy hospital stays.

This week’s Asking the Clergy, by Jim Merritt, concerns learning from a near-death experience. It includes the words of a COVID-19 survivor, the Rev. Father Andrew Cadieux of Transfiguration of Christ Greek Orthodox Church in Mattituck.

When he was hospitalized with COVID-19, he says, “I was angry because I was newly assigned to a parish (two months) and I was so ill. I was angry because I could not hold or even be close to my wife and three children. I was angry because I felt that I had so much more to offer as a priest. It was then that I made my deal with God: ‘Lord, if you see fit to make me well, I will try even harder to do Thy will and not my own.’ “

Cadieux concludes, “My near-death experience pushed me to the edge of a large cliff with only two choices: I could fall, or I could fly.”

The column also includes Rabbi Joel M. Levenson of Midway Jewish Center in Syosset and the Rev. Dwight Lee Wolter of Congregational Church of Patchogue discussing issues related to near-death experiences.

The Toyko Olympics? Yes, they’re happening

You are forgiven if you have lost track of whether the 2020/21 Tokyo Olympics are occurring, given the one-year delay and ongoing complications surrounding COVID-19, Japanese politics and whatnot, says Newsday’s Neil Best.

But occurring they are, and on Wednesday NBC alerted the populace one month out from the opening ceremony with a bells-and-whistles, in-person, old-fashioned news conference at Studio 8H, home of “Saturday Night Live.”

Unlike “SNL,” the host was not a famous actor, comedian or athlete, but rather Mike Tirico, who told Newsday that covering the ongoing U.S. trials for athletes in major sports has made the Games feel more tangible.

“That is giving me the sense that this is real, and they are ready,” he said. “They delayed their plans, reworked them, and we’re at go-time, for sure.”

NBC Sports has had to adjust, like everyone else on Earth over the past 15 months or so. But will the unprecedented one-year delay boost interest, dampen it or neither?

Selfie studio opens with 15 themed photo stations

Love thy selfie.

That’s the universal sentiment Catherine Ovejas, 50, and her partner (in life and business) Jose Rivera, 40, are banking on with their new business, PopUp Speakeasy Selfie Studio in Ronkonkoma. Dreamed up with an eye to the easing of the pandemic, it’s a social media haven, set in an innocuous 1,800-square-foot warehouse, where selfie-seekers and TikTok fans can capture their images and videos in some 15 artfully arranged scenarios.

They include a pink claw-foot bathtub, an orange, bagel-centric diner booth and a vintage VW bus, also pink.

The idea came about because, Ovejas says, “I was thinking about what we can do to give people an opportunity to do things they’ve been missing for the past year. I’ve always been interested in design and photography, and I liked the concept of having everything in one studio.'”

What’s the “speakeasy” connection? Go through this metaphorical door and see Anne Bratskeir’s story for Newsday to find out.

More to know

The Biden administration on Thursday extended the nationwide ban on evictions for a month to help millions of tenants unable to make rent payments during the pandemic — saying this is the last time it plans to do so.

U.S. jobless claims ticked down to 411,000 last week as the economy is picking up.

Here’s a quick rundown of what you should know about the delta variant.

News for you

If you’re seeking sand and sun. Living on an island means being surrounded by beach towns. With summer here, we’ve got a new guide to Long Island beach towns. Check it out (there are ample pictures).

Suffolk Theater reopening Aug. 27. The Riverhead venue has unveiled its 2021-22 concert calendar — and the music of Billy Joel will fill the air as The Piano Man’s original band, the Lords of 52nd Street, performs opening night. “I’m so excited and ready to play the Suffolk Theater. It has been a home for us and I have missed playing live, so this show will be extra special,” says saxophonist Richie Cannata of Glen Cove. “The Lords of 52nd Street have not done any concerts due to COVID protocol and we are ready to give it all to our home crowd. It will be emotional.”

Next week on Newsday Live. We’ll have a talk on the Delta variant Tuesday at noon, while Wednesday’s event, also at noon, is “You’re Going Back to the Office: Now What?” Here’s the Newsday Live landing page.

Plus: 3 Long Island restaurants to try this weekend.

Commentary

Thank you, pandemic, for this gift. Newsday Opinion’s Lane Filler writes: The mission statement of North Hempstead Town’s Project Independence explains that the program helps aging residents remain in their own communities, amid familiar surroundings, as they grow older.

But it took a pandemic to remind town officials that for some elderly residents “aging in place” means never leaving home, and serving them demands finding a way into those households.

If there is an upside to society’s response to this pandemic, it’s that we received answers to questions too long unasked. Schools contended with students’ lack of computers and internet service. Hospital systems and governments faced the shortcomings of medical services in poor and minority communities. States learned their unemployment insurance systems could not handle mass joblessness, and the federal government discovered (again!) that it’s terrible at preventing fraud, as billions of dollars in COVID-19 aid was stolen.

And North Hempstead found a new way to serve older residents. Keep reading.