Coronavirus vaccine and Delta variant updates for 11-05-2021

<p>This is Vaccine 411, the latest coronavirus vaccine information for November 5th, 2021.</p><p><br></p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>As we reported yesterday, over 750,000 American lives have been lost to COVID. No other even in the country’s history, including the four-year-long Civil War, has generated more death and loss. 750,000 is also more than the populations of Vermont, Wyoming, or Alaska, which means we’ve lost the equivalent of an entire state.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>The World Health Organization is getting increasingly concerned about Europe. The continent has seen a more than 50% jump in cases in the last month. It’s become the epicenter of the pandemic even though there’s plenty of vaccine. Inexplicably, poorer countries with less than 1% of the world's vaccines like Africa and Southeast Asia saw cases fall 9% last week.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Britain is first to grant conditional authorization to the first pill shown to successfully treat COVID, manufactured by Merck. It’s for adults 18 and older who’ve tested positive and have at least one risk factor for severe disease like obesity or heart disease. The regime is four pills twice a day for five days.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>We’re heading into flu season and flu shot season, so you might be wondering, is it safe to get the COVID vaccine and a flu shot at the same time. Well, the World Health Organization says yes, and that when you do, it doesn’t compromise the effectiveness of either.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>It’s still a major and deadly health issue, but a new poll suggests Americans are just about done with COVID as a political issue. The Reuters poll shows only 12% of U.S. adults rated public health issues as a top national priority. That’s down from 20% in February. What do they care about now? Inflation, economic growth, and supply chain issues that are leaving some shelves noticeably bare.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>In the United States cases were down 6%, deaths are down 18%, and hospitalizations are down 16% over 14 days. The 7-day average of new cases has been trending flat s