August 5, 2021 US coronavirus news

Fully vaccinated people who get a breakthrough infection can pass it on, US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said Thursday.  

CDC provided data last week that showed how fully vaccinated people who get a breakthrough infection can carry essentially that same amount of virus as an unvaccinated person, allowing them to transmit the virus just like an unvaccinated person can.

That is why the CDC is recommending even vaccinated people wear masks indoors again, Walensky said.

“If you're going home to somebody who has not been vaccinated, to somebody who can't get vaccinated, somebody who might be immunosuppressed or a little bit frail, somebody who has comorbidities that put them at high risk, I would suggest you wear a mask in public indoor settings.”

Clarification: This post has been updated to specify that Walensky was referencing fully vaccinated people who get a breakthrough infection when saying that vaccines no longer prevent transmission of Covid-19.

Internal discussions at the US Food and Drug Administration have centered around an early September timeline for laying out a strategy on Covid-19 vaccine booster shots, a Biden administration official told CNN.

The strategy would apply for all vaccinated people. A decision for those who are immunocompromised and face greater risk from the virus is expected sooner.

FDA spokesperson Abby Capobianco said in a statement to CNN that the FDA, along with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health, are evaluating potential solutions to questions on the use of booster doses of Covid-19 vaccines.

Capobianco said "in the near future" the FDA will share information on potential options for immunocompromised people who face a greater risk from the virus than healthy people.

"The FDA is closely monitoring data as it becomes available from studies administering an additional dose of the authorized Covid-19 vaccines to immunocompromised individuals," Capobianco said.

The Texas Medical Center campus in Houston just passed more than 300 coronavirus patients admitted in their medical facilities in a single day, according to Mayor Sylvester Turner. 

Turner and Harris County Court Judge Lina Hidalgo spoke at a joint news conference on Thursday outlining the situation for the Houston-Harris County metro area.  

The emergency rooms have become overwhelmed with large amounts of patients being admitted to the hospital, said Hidalgo, adding that this is no longer a disease of the old. The average age of admitted patients is now 20.

Harris County's Covid-19 threat rate has moved into the red zone, declared by Hidalgo in today's news conference, meaning outbreaks are present and getting worse. 

The biotechnology company Novavax has pushed back its plans to apply for emergency use authorization of its Covid-19 vaccine in the US to the fourth quarter of this year, according to the company's second-quarter financial results, released on Thursday. 

Previously, the American biotech firm had planned to apply in the third quarter.

"It looks like it could be the fourth quarter," Dr. Gregory Glenn, president of research and development for Novavax, told CNN on Thursday. 

"We're still moving along nicely," Glenn said.

The daily pace of Covid-19 vaccinations is the highest it’s been in nearly seven weeks, according to the latest data published from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Here’s the latest data on vaccination efforts in the US, according to the CDC:

White House data director Dr. Cyrus Shahpar tweeted earlier Thursday that more than 864,000 doses had been reported administered over the previous day’s total, including about 585,000 people who got their first shot. According to the White House, that is the highest number of Covid-19 vaccine doses administered – and new vaccinations – reported in a single day in more than a month.

Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava announced today that the county is taking a further step to ensure a safe and healthy workplace by requiring weekly Covid-19 testing of all Miami-Dade employees.

Those who wish to opt-out can provide proof of their vaccination status, Cava said.

The county will begin implementing this policy beginning the week of Aug. 16 for non-union employees and exceptions will be evaluated on a case by case basis, according to the mayor.

Cava said over the last week, the county polled its workforce with a voluntary anonymous survey to ask employees to self-report their vaccination status. Of those who took the survey, which is more than 5,000 employees, more than 83% of the respondents indicated that they had taken the shot, according to the mayor.

The Alaska village of Stebbins is in community lockdown after a surge in Covid-19 cases, according to the regional health organization.

Norton Sound Health Corp. announced the lockdown in a news release Monday, saying the lockdown would stay in place until no new cases are identified for 14 days. They said Thursday that there were three more positive Covid-19 cases in Stebbins, bringing the total of active cases to 45.

The lockdown began seven days ago, Norton Sound Health Corp. said.

Citing the Stebbins Community Association, Norton Sound Health Corp. said that during the lockdown, visiting between households or other communities is not allowed and everyone should wear a mask in public indoor spaces. 

“There is a 10-person limit at the store, and a five-person limit at the laundromat,” the release said. “There will be no bingo during this time, and there is a curfew of 10 p.m.” 

According to Norton Sound Health Corp, there are 51 active Covid-19 cases in the region, with the 45 in Stebbins, three in Nome and three in regional villages that “have requested that their village not be identified.”

As of the end of July, 42% of the 676 residents of Stebbins were fully vaccinated, and 45% have received a first dose.

Minneapolis Public Schools will be requiring masks starting Aug. 9, according to an update posted on the school system's website Thursday morning.

The school district's update said that all staff, students and visitors are required to wear face coverings indoors, regardless of vaccination status. They said the decision was made based on the recommendation from the state's health department. 

The district also said that face coverings will be mandated on school buses, as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

Additional details will be provided for families as students return to school in September, the district said. 

Amazon on Thursday pushed back its office return date until early next year amid a surge in Covid-19 cases from the Delta variant, making it one of the most significant delays yet in the tech industry.

The online retail giant's corporate workers were originally slated to start coming back to the office by Sept. 7, but that date has now been moved back to Jan. 3, 2022, Amazon told CNN Business.

When they do return, employees will be required to wear masks inside the office unless they have shown proof that they are vaccinated, the company added.

Amazon's news follows similar announcements delaying a return to in-person work from financial firms like Wells Fargo, BlackRock and US Bank.