US COVID-19 Cases Rise as States Rollback Restrictions

In the United States, new infections of COVID-19 are rising in several states as policies aimed at combatting the virus are lifted and wide spread pandemic fatigue is being felt after a year of public health restrictions. On Sunday, the 7-day average of newly reported cases rose to 2.6 percent, despite death and hospitalizations going down.

The United Arab Emirates has stated that some people may need a third dose of the Chinese Sinopharm vaccine, after initial tests have discovered that the shot did not deliver a sufficient immune response following the administration of 2 doses. A new study is currently in the works to see whether a third dose would be beneficial or not.

In Pakistan, where vaccine hesitancy is already an issue, the countries prime minister Imran Khan contracted COVID-19 shortly after receiving his first dose of the Sinopharm vaccine. Public health officials are worried that this will raise fears of unfounded claims that the vaccines do not work and will lead to more people not getting their shots. The Health Ministry sent out a message that the prime minister was not fully vaccinated immediately after the news broke to try and calm the public.

Data Table per Our World in Data (March 22, 2021, 12 AM EST)

In Miami, officials have declared a state of emergency and have implemented an 8 pm curfew as crowds of spring breakers have been moving throughout the city and have been ignoring restrictions, leading to fears that a new surge will be a result.

Data Table per CDC COVID-19 Tracker (March 22, 2021, 6 AM EST)

For more information on COVID-19 vaccination research, distribution, and assessment, check out some of these recent Contagion stories:

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