Vaccination rates among people who are pregnant have been low, despite evidence that vaccines can prevent the “severe risk of severe disease” posed to pregnant people from COVID-19.
Only 18% of pregnant people have received a dose, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data.
While new data shows overall racial disparities in COVID-19 vaccinations are improving, federal numbers show pregnant Black people are the least vaccinated compared to those expecting in other races.
Just 15% of Black pregnant people are fully vaccinated and only 13% have received at least one dose, according to the CDC.
Women giving birth while having COVID-19 had “significantly higher rates” of ICU admission, intubation, ventilation and death, according to a study published in The Journal of the American Medical Association. In August alone, 21 pregnant people died of COVID-19, according to the CDC.
Scientists have said vaccines are safe to be taken at any time while pregnant or breastfeeding for both mother and baby.
-Nada Hassanein, USA TODAY
Also in the news:
► More than 1,000 Mississippi students were infected by coronavirus last week and 4,729 students, teachers and staff were quarantined after possible exposure to COVID-19. Nearly 22,800 students have tested positive in the state since the school year started.
► Los Angeles might implement new vaccine mandates for indoor public locations including gyms and restaurants, The Los Angeles Times reported. The City Council will consider the plan on Wednesday.
► Families at an Iowa school district who are angry over a new mask mandate are threatening to unenroll their students ahead of the school’s student count date to artificially lower enrollment numbers, potentially costing hundreds of thousands of dollars in funding.
► California’s Department of Public Health issued an order Tuesday requiring all workers in adult care facilities and in-home care workers to be fully vaccinated by Nov. 30.
📈Today’s numbers: The U.S. has recorded more than 43.2 million confirmed COVID-19 cases and more than 692,000 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University data. Global totals: More than 232.6 million cases and 4.7 million deaths. More than 183.8 million Americans — 55.4% of the population — are fully vaccinated, according to the CDC.
📘 What we’re reading: The restaurant industry is struggling to hire. Ex-servers, bartenders and cooks share why they left during COVID-19 and won’t be returning. Read about why here.
Keep refreshing this page for the latest news. Want more? Sign up for USA TODAY’s Coronavirus Watch newsletter to receive updates directly to your inbox and join our Facebook group.
Michigan’s new definition of a school ‘outbreak’ will mean fewer are reported
The Michigan state health department is increasing the threshold for the number of COVID-19 cases that would constitute an outbreak at a K-12 school.
The move will result in fewer reported outbreaks and inconsistent state data, coming at a time when school outbreaks are on the rise and local health leaders are pleading for a statewide mask mandate.
As of Monday, an outbreak at a school must have three or more associated cases. For the past 18 months, an outbreak consisted of two or more cases. The new definition will not be applied to older outbreaks.
If this change had been implemented at the start of September when many students returned to classrooms, the state could have excluded almost 25% of new school outbreaks reported in that time frame.
-Dave Boucher and Kristen Jordan Shamus, Detroit Free Press
Cases in Texas on downward trend; ICU beds open up
Texas on Tuesday continued to record fewer than 10,000 people in the hospital for COVID-19, extending a streak of declining figures. The state also had the most available staffed intensive care unit beds in almost two months.
On Tuesday, 9,551 people were hospitalized in Texas with COVID-19, another drop from the previous day and an improvement after reaching a summer high of 13,932 last month. The pandemic high was 14,218 Texans hospitalized in January.
The Texas Department of State Health Services reported 494 available staffed ICU beds for adult patients, up from the pandemic low of 270 on Sept. 9, and the most since Aug. 4 when 497 were available. Although the state only had 112 staffed pediatric ICU beds, that is still much more than the pandemic low of 64 beds reported on Aug. 4.
-Roberto Villalpando, Austin American-Statesman
Contributing: The Associated Press
