Teen With 'Big Heart' Succumbs To Virus: U.S. Coronavirus Blog

OAK LAWN, IL — An Illinois community is mourning the loss of a high school senior who died last week after spending months in the hospital due to complications from the coronavirus.

The flag outside of Oak Lawn Community High School was lowered to half-mast in memory of Andy Washack, who died Feb. 26. He was 18 years old.

Washack's principal, Jeana Lietz, said his death hit the high school hard. Because he was hospitalized for so long, they thought he had a chance of recovering and coming home.

"It's tough, especially when it's a really good kid," Lietz told Patch. "He was the kind of kid you wanted in your high school. Andy was kind and funny, and had a big heart."

Seeing how his death is affecting his peers and brother, Marty, who was also a senior at the Oak Lawn high school, is one of the hardest things for Lietz.

"What keeps you going as an educator is what kids can be in the future. How we can prepare them for the future," the principal said. "To have a future cut short for a kid is unimaginable."

Read Lorraine Swanson's story for Oak Lawn Patch

The Latest

Heading into the weekend, the debate on a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill is underway in the Senate, a day later than planned after Democrats made last-minute changes aimed at ensuring they could pull President Joe Biden’s top legislative priority through the narrowly divided chamber.

Democratic leaders made more than a dozen late changes in their package, reflecting their need to cement unanimous support from all their senators, The Associated Press reported.

The bill, aimed at battling the coronavirus virus and aiding the economy back to health, would provide direct payments of $1,400 to millions of Americans. The package also includes money for COVID-19 vaccines and testing, aid to state and local governments, help for schools and the airline industry, tax breaks for lower-earners and families with children, and subsidies for health insurance.

The Senate is expected to approve the bill, after which the House will send the bill to Biden for his signature by mid-March.

• Senate Begins Consideration Of $1.9T Virus Relief Bill

Despite controversial moves made by governors in some other Southern states, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey on Thursday extended the state's mask mandate by another month.

Ivey's decision comes a day after Biden slammed the governors of Texas and Mississippi for deciding to lift their mask mandates, saying their actions reflect “Neanderthal thinking.”

“We need to get past Easter and hopefully allow more Alabamians to get their first shot before we take a step some other states have taken to remove the mask order altogether and lift other restrictions," Ivey said at a news conference. "Folks, we are not there yet, but goodness knows we’re getting closer.”

• Gov. Ivey Extends Mask Order 'One Last Time'

Though coronavirus cases, deaths and hospitalizations are on a downward trend nationally, states are scaling back as the Biden administration sits at 50 percent of its goal to administer 100 million vaccines by April 30.

On Wednesday, the average daily number of vaccine doses administered across the United States topped 2 million for the first time, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A month ago, the average was about 1.3 million, the Times reported.

Still, leaders in and outside of Texas are criticizing Abbott's decision to open the state at "100 percent." Among them is Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert.

“I don’t know why they’re doing it, but it’s certainly, from a public health standpoint, ill-advised,” Fauci told CNN on Thursday.

• Texas Reopens: Here's What Austin-Area Officials Are Saying

Despite leaders dropping mask mandates, many major retailers will continue to require customers wear face coverings while in their stores, The Washington Post reported.

CVS, Target, Kroger and Starbucks are among the corporations that will keep the requirements in place.

Meanwhile, other stores such as Albertson's will no longer require masks in states that have dropped the requirement but will continue to encourage customers to wear them, according to the Post report.

Also, the recent drop in positive cases could also provide an explanation for a sudden halt in the demand for tests.

The average number of tests being conducted every day in America has plummeted by 33.6 percent since January, according to the Covid Tracking Project.

It's a statistic many health experts call "worrisome." Testing is a key tool to stopping coronavirus transmission, they told the Washington Post. Without it, the virus has the potential to spread unchecked.

Finally, evidence that coronavirus vaccines developed by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna are working can be found in Los Angeles County, California, where health care workers have accounted for significantly fewer positive virus tests since they have been vaccinated, The New York Times reported.

Coronavirus numbers among Los Angeles County health care workers are down 94 percent since vaccinations became available in late November, the report found.

But what about people who test positive for the virus while in between their first and second vaccine shots? These cases are rare, but that's exactly what happened to an Ohio woman, WBNS reported.

The woman did not have symptoms, something doctors have said could have been thanks to her getting that first dose.

"When you get a COVID-19 vaccine, what it really protects you from is dying, it keeps you out of the hospital, and prevents you from having severe symptoms of COVID-19," Dr. Joseph Gastaldo with OhioHealth told the news station.

Newest Numbers

As of midday Friday, the United States had reported more than 28.8 million cases and more than 520,500 deaths from COVID-19-related illnesses, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.

At least 1,794 deaths and 66,621 new cases of coronavirus were reported in the United States as of Thursday, according to a Washington Post database. The Post's reporting shows that over the past week, new daily cases have fallen 8.2 percent, new daily deaths have fallen 18.1 percent and COVID-19-related hospitalizations have fallen 13.5 percent.

Nearly 110 million vaccine doses have been distributed and more than 82.5 million administered in the United States as of Friday morning, according to the CDC. More than 54 million people have received one dose, and nearly 27.8 million have received two.

As of Friday, 19 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.

Two states, Hawaii and Oregon, have positive test rates below 1 percent.

For more live coverage on the coronavirus, follow The New York Times or The Washington Post.

Read More Across America

• Should I Be Worried About These New Variants? Can We Stop Them?
• How Do COVID-19 Vaccines Work: 5 Things To Know
• Who Pays For The COVID-19 Vaccine? 5 Things To Know
• After Getting COVID Vaccine, Here's Why You Should Still Mask Up
• Daughter Mops Nursing Home Floors, Scrapes Plates To Be Near Dad
  
• Wegmans Begins COVID Vaccinations: Where, When, Who's Eligible
• MD Launching First Vaccine Equity Operation Plan In Nation: Hogan
  
• CT Relaxes Gathering, Restaurant, Travel Coronavirus Restrictions
• New COVID Rules For Weddings, Summer Camps Announced In NJ