‘That's What We Needed’: Lovers Find Hope In Vaccines, Flowers

ACROSS AMERICA — This year, greeting cards and notes peeking out from bouquets of flowers all share a similar sentiment: “Looking forward to celebrating in person.”

The notes aren’t sad, Kate Prince, a co-owner of Flora Chicago on the city's North Side, told The Associated Press.

"They're hopeful,” she said.

Sunday is Valentine’s Day, and as the coronavirus pandemic stretches past its year anniversary, Americans are searching for ways to celebrate love amid so much heartache and isolation

Some are clinging to the hope provided with the delivery of vaccines, in loosening restrictions on restaurants in the hardest-hit places, in case numbers starting to decrease. Still, the death toll is climbing toward a half-million dead in the United States and many remain shuttered in their homes.

In Portland, a couple married 55 years have special Valentine's Day plans — they’re getting vaccinated, an unintended gift courtesy of their daughter, Cris Charbonneau.

"What a great way to celebrate my love for you," Charbonneau’s father told her mother.

They hung up. Charbonneau wept.

"That's what we needed," she said, "some hope.

Read the full story via The Associated Press

The Latest

With the American coronavirus vaccine rollout now two months in, and more than 13 million having received both doses, states are reporting their first "breakthrough cases."

Breakthrough cases, as dubbed by the Oregon Health Authority in recent days, occur when someone tests positive for the virus two weeks or more after receiving the second vaccine dose.

Four cases were reported in Oregon over the weekend, the Health Authority tweeted. Symptoms in those people range from asymptomatic to mild, the tweet said.

Another mild case for someone who already received the vaccine has been reported in North Carolina, according to a WCNC Charlotte report.

The Oregon Health Authority said breakthrough cases are not unexpected, and more are likely to come.

"Clinical trials of both vaccines presently in use included breakthrough cases," their statement on Twitter reads. "In those cases, even though the participants got COVID, the vaccines reduced the severity of illness."

As the weekend comes to a close and the country has documented the 50 millionth vaccine dose administered, government scientists are increasingly finding the coronavirus variant first detected in Great Britain may be deadlier than the original virus variants.

According to a New York Times report, a new document released over the weekend claims it is “likely” that the variant is connected to an increased risk of hospitalization and death.

So far, the variant has been reported in 82 countries, according to the Times. American scientists recently estimated that it was spreading rapidly in the United States, doubling roughly every 10 days. Scientists have also predicted that it could become the dominant version of the virus in the United States by March.

The document was released as the number of coronavirus deaths in the United States ticks swiftly toward 500,000.

The toll spiked on Friday to another one-day record, with 5,427 deaths reported in an ongoing database compiled by The Washington Post. The previous one-day high was 5,227 on Feb. 4, according to that database.

Meanwhile, Montana became the latest state to lift its mask mandate this week.

Gov. Greg Gianforte issued the reversal of his predecessor’s order, according to the Times, citing the arrival of vaccines and new, business-friendly protections.

Montana joins other Republican-led states that have lifted mask mandates and other requirements in recent days, including Iowa, North Dakota, and Mississippi.

Before the weekend, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a long-awaited road map on how schools across the country can safely reopen in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.

The primary recommendations outlined in the guidance are nothing short of commonsense suggestions: wear masks and socially distance. This time, however, the CDC offered the suggestions more forcefully, according to an Associated Press report, and emphasized all recommendations must be implemented strictly and consistently.

The guidance also provides more-detailed suggestions about what type of schooling should be offered given different levels of virus transmission, with differing advice for elementary, middle, and high schools.

But more importantly, the guidance also suggests that vaccination of teachers, while important, is not a prerequisite for reopening.

• Teacher Vaccination Not Required For Schools To Reopen: CDC

Meanwhile, the Biden administration announced that by the end of summer, the United States will have enough supply of the vaccine to inoculate 300 million Americans.

The United States is on pace to exceed Biden's goal of administering 100 million vaccine doses in his first 100 days in office, according to an Associated Press report. More than 26 million shots have been delivered in his first three weeks. His administration is also moving to ease supply bottlenecks and ensure the nation has enough of the current two-dose vaccines.

On Friday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration gave drugmaker Moderna the green light to put up to 40 percent more coronavirus vaccine into each of its vials, a simple and potentially rapid way to bolster strained supplies, according to a New York Times report.

The change will allow Moderna to load up to 14 doses in each vial instead of 10.

News on the vaccine front is good, and as daily cases continue to drop.

Researchers at Johns Hopkins University say the seven-day average of new coronavirus cases in the country dropped below 100,000 on Friday for the first time since Nov. 4, according to an AP report. It stayed below 100,000 again on Saturday.

The seven-day average was well above 200,000 for much of December and went to roughly 250,000 in January, as the pandemic came roaring back after it had been tamed in some places over the summer.

Newest Numbers

As of Sunday afternoon, the United States had reported more than 27.5 million cases and more than 484,500 deaths from COVID-19-related illnesses, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.

At least 3,459 deaths and 91,718 new cases of coronavirus were reported in the United States on Saturday, according to a Washington Post database. The Post's reporting shows that over the past week, new daily reported cases have fallen 22.1 percent, new daily reported deaths have fallen 5.8 percent and COVID-19-related hospitalizations have fallen 17.8 percent.

More than 69.8 million vaccine doses have been distributed and 50.6 million administered in the United States as of Sunday, according to the CDC. More than 37 million people have received one dose, and more than 13 million have received two.

Currently, 69,283 people are hospitalized with a coronavirus-related illness in the United States, according to the Covid Tracking Project.

As of Sunday, 27 states and U.S. territories remained above the positive testing rate recommended by the World Health Organization to safely reopen. To safely reopen, the WHO recommends states remain at 5 percent or lower for at least 14 days.

Stay up to date on the latest coronavirus news via The New York Times or The Washington Post.

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