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Coronavirus Watch: More Aussies have died from AstraZeneca-related clots than from COVID this year

John Bacon   | Paste BN

Australia's top medical officer on Monday urged countrymen who have received an AstraZeneca COVID shot to "not delay" getting the second dose – even though the vaccine has been linked to more deaths than COVID has in Australia this year.

Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly, after a National Cabinet meeting, reiterated the benefits of vaccination and encouraged Australians to stay vigilant for symptoms of COVID. He told Australia's ABC network that the benefits of the AstraZeneca vaccine in combating COVID-19 "far outweighed" the risks of developing a very rare blood clotting syndrome.

Two women in Australia have died from the blood clots. The only COVID fatality this year was an 80-year-old traveler who died in April after being infected overseas and diagnosed in hotel quarantine. Last week authorities recommended that the AstraZeneca vaccine be given only to people 60 or over; people 50-59 were encouraged to get the Pfizer vaccine instead. 

It's Monday, and this is the Coronavirus Watch from the Paste BN Network. Here's more news you need to know:

  • COVID-19 deaths in the U.S. have dipped below 300 a day for the first time since the early days of the disaster in March 2020. The drive to put shots in arms approached another encouraging milestone: 150 million Americans fully vaccinated.
  • Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan announced Sunday that the state reported zero COVID deaths and under 50 new cases for the first time since March 2020.'
  • Some New England hospitals are rescheduling surgeries, citing a blood shortage fueled by the pandemic. “We haven’t seen anything like this in about 30 or 40 years at least,” UMass Memorial Health's Dr. Vishesh Chhibber told the Boston Globe.
  • U.S. borders with Mexico and Canada will remain closed "to reduce the spread" of COVID-19 through the end of July, the Department of Homeland Security announced on Twitter.
  • The Delta variant could trigger a surge in the fall if only 75% of the U.S. population is vaccinated, former FDA chief Dr. Scott Gottlieb said.

📈 Today's numbers: The U.S. has more than 33.5 million confirmed coronavirus cases and at least 601,800 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University data. The global totals: More than 178 million cases and more than 3.8 million deaths. More than 149  million Americans have been fully vaccinated – 45.1% of the population, according to the CDC. 

See the numbers in your area here, check out where cases are rising here, and see how many vaccines your state has received here.

– John Bacon (@realjohnbacon)

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