Surgeon General Jerome Adams speaks during a roundtable on donating plasma at the American Red Cross national headquarters on July 30, 2020, in Washington.
Evan Vucci/AP, FILE In an interview on Doctor Radio Reports on SiriusXM, Adams said slightly less than 50% of adults get their flu shot and that number is even lower among Blacks.In this Jan. 22, 2018, file photo, a woman receives a flu shot at a Walgreens pharmacy in San Francisco.In this Jan. 22, 2018, file photo, a woman receives a flu shot at a Walgreens pharmacy in San Francisco.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images, FILE Adams said a potential COVID-19 vaccine must be more widely accepted."If we have that level of compliance for [a] COVID vaccine, then it doesn't matter how effective or how safe this vaccine is -- it's still not going to help us stop this outbreak. And it still could actually worsen disparities," Adams warned.MORE: A COVID-19 vaccine will still save lives even if it's not 100% effective, experts say He said there's "a real opportunity" for "health influences ... to go and tell people: 'vaccines are safe. They are effective. Here is how they work.'""You need to both get a flu vaccine, and when it becomes available, you need to get a COVID vaccine," Adams said. And I am hopeful. I'm hopeful that because of coronavirus, we may actually see vaccine uptake increase across the country, particularly for vaccinations like the flu vaccine.”11:40 a.m.: All New York school districts can open, Cuomo saysA chair remains by a window in an empty hallway at Yung Wing School P.S. 124 on May 14, 2020 in New York City.A chair remains by a window in an empty hallway at Yung Wing School P.S. 124 on May 14, 2020 in New York City.
Michael Loccisano/Getty Images, FILE In New York state, which was once the U.S. epicenter of the pandemic, all school districts can open for the fall based on the infection rate, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced on a conference call Friday."Every region is well below our COVID infection limit," Cuomo tweeted. "If the infection rate spikes, the guidance will change accordingly."Each of the 749 school districts must have a reopening plan approved by the state's Department of Health, the governor said. So far, 127 districts have not submitted plans to the department of health.Each district should also post a remote learning plan and a plan for testing, he said.11:20 a.m.: Florida has 4 counties with no ICU beds Hard-hit Florida has 47 hospitals with no available intensive care unit beds, according to the state's Agency for Healthcare Administration.A medic prepares to transfer a patient on a stretcher from an ambulance outside of Emergency at Coral Gables Hospital in Coral Gables near Miami, on July 30, 2020.A medic prepares to transfer a patient on a stretcher from an ambulance outside of Emergency at Coral Gables Hospital in Coral Gables near Miami, on July 30, 2020.
Chandan Khanna/AFP via Getty Images Four counties -- Bay, Monroe, Nassau and Putnam -- had no open ICU beds as of Friday morning, the agency said.Thirty-one hospitals in the state had just one available ICU bed.These numbers are expected to fluctuate throughout the day as hospitals and medical centers provide updates.Florida has over 518,000 coronavirus cases, according to state Department of Health data. Florida has the second-highest number of cases in the country behind California.9 a.m.: Entire high school football team quarantined in Alabama The entire football team at Alabama's Oneonta High School is under quarantine due to coronavirus cases, ABC Birmingham affiliate WBMA reported.MORE: Why stopping COVID at schools may not be as easy as taking temperatures Practice will resume on Aug. 18 and the team's first game is set for Aug. 21, WBMA reported.Oneonta High School's school year has been delayed to start on Aug. 18 after an emergency school board meeting vote on Thursday, the school said.MORE: School buses adapt to keep kids safe during COVID-19 crisis Classes will have a hybrid in-person/remote learning schedule. Some students have registered for full-time remote learning, the high school said.7:38 a.m.: CDC says up to 190,000 dead by end of August The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated its COVID-19 death projections, saying the coronavirus death toll could reach 190,000 by the end of August. The government’s ensemble forecast predicts “deaths may decrease,” but another 15,000 to 30,000 more Americans may die from COVID-19 over the next 23 days.MORE: Faces of some of the more than 150,000 lives lost in US to coronavirus This week’s national ensemble forecast predicts that weekly reports of new COVID-19 deaths may decrease over the next four weeks, with 4,500 to 10,600 new deaths reported during the week ending Aug. 29. Its forecast predicts that 175,000 to 190,000 total COVID-19 deaths will be reported by that date.Medical staff wears full PPE as they wrap a deceased patient with bed sheets and a body bag in the Covid-19 intensive care unit at the United Memorial Medical Center on June 30, 2020 in Houston.Medical staff wears full PPE as they wrap a deceased patient with bed sheets and a body bag in the Covid-19 intensive care unit at the United Memorial Medical Center on June 30, 2020 in Houston.
Go Nakamura/Getty Images, FILE State-level forecasts, according to the CDC, predict that the number of reported new deaths per week may increase over the next four weeks in Hawaii and Puerto Rico and may decrease in Florida, Mississippi, New Mexico, the Northern Mariana Islands, Ohio, Texas, Vermont and the Virgin Islands.The COVID Tracking Project reported that for the first time since early March, the number of people tested for COVID-19 is down. This week’s tests were 9.1% lower than last week’s national peak of 5.7 million tests.New cases of COVID-19 were also down this week by 10.4% , according to the COVID Tracking Project.5:20 a.m.: US weekly COVID-19 cases, deaths down Another day, another grim milestone for the U.S. as the coronavirus pandemic continues across the globe. Overnight the U.S. surpassed 160,000 deaths, bringing its total to at least 160,104 as of 4:30 a.m., according to Johns Hopkins. The U.S. crossed 150,000 deaths last week.Members of the medical staff treat a patient who is wearing helmet-based ventilator in the COVID-19 intensive care unit at the United Memorial Medical Center on July 28, 2020, in Houston.Members of the medical staff treat a patient who is wearing helmet-based ventilator in the COVID-19 intensive care unit at the United Memorial Medical Center on July 28, 2020, in Houston.
Go Nakamura/Getty Images In good news, however, an internal Federal Emergency Management Agency memo obtained by ABC News shows that the U.S. is slightly coming down from its recent national surge. New cases and deaths in the last week have both decreased in week-over-week comparisons. At least 396,559 new cases were confirmed during the period of July 29 and Aug. 5, which is a 12.6% decrease from the previous seven-day period.There were 7,348 deaths recorded in the same time frame, marking a 2.4% decrease in new deaths compared with the previous week.The national test-positivity rate is also going down. In the last seven days, the rate was 7.5%, which is down from 8.6% from the previous week.Only two states and territories, according to the FEMA memo, are in an upward trajectory of new cases, while eight are at a plateau and 46 states and territories are going down.What to know about coronavirus:Source : abcnews.go.com