The coronavirus's outbreak in the United States continue to spread at an alarming rate, with cases more than doubling in at least 10 states during the month of June. Arizona's infectious rate was the largest record at an almost 300% increase compared to May, with South Carolina and Arkansas not too far behind. Daily infection rates nationally rose over 40% and deaths increased by 20%, based on Reuters data analysis. Alarmingly still, in the past week 21 states have reported a positive test rate above 5%.
At a Senate Hearing in Washington D.C. on Tuesday, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and top White House coronavirus health official, stated that the outbreak in the United States can only get worse if citizens don't start following public health recommendations. These recommendations include the use of a facial covering when in most public situations; this has become a political issue in the U.S.
"We are now having 40-plus-thousand new cases a day. I would not be surprised if we go up to 100,000 a day if this does not turn around, and so I am very concerned," Fauci stated, adding that recent outbreaks put the entire nation at risk.
Relatedly, Goldman Sachs
"We found that face masks are associated with significantly better coronavirus outcomes," Hatzius wrote in a note to clients on Monday, reported by CNBC.
"If a face mask mandate meaningfully lowers coronavirus infections, it could be valuable not only form a public health perspective but also from an economic perspective because it could substitute for renewed lockdowns that would otherwise hit G.D.P.," Hatzius added.
Meanwhile, New York added another eight states to its mandatory quarantine list for visitors. The list of states now includes: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Utah. Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker took the travel mandate a step further on Tuesday, announcing that any visitor from outside of the state will need to self-quarantine for 14-days. Travelers from Connecticut, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Maine, Rhode Island and Vermont are exempt from the ruling.
Total Global Cases: Over 10.5 Million
Total Deaths: Over 513,000
Total Recovered: Over 5.79 Million
Vaccine Briefing
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (F.D.A.) on Tuesday released guidance on the requirements a potential vaccine most follow in order to be approved by the federal agency. The F.D.A. noted that an approved vaccine will need to prevent or decrease disease severity in at least 50% of patients and be tested on diverse populations. This is in effort to gain public trust towards a potential vaccine as drug makers attempt to speed up the developing and testing process.
"While the F.D.A. is committed to expediting this work, we will not cut corners in our decisions and are making clear through this guidance what data should be submitted to meet out regulatory standards....We have not lost sight our responsibility to the American people to maintain our regulatory independence and ensure our decisions related to all medical products, including COVID-19 vaccines, are based on science and the available data." F.D.A. Commissioner Stephen M. Hahn said in a release.
Inovio Pharmaceuticals
In addition, Inovio plans to begin broader clinical trials later in the summer after receiving the necessary regulatory approval.
