(NEW YORK) — Here are today’s In Crisis headlines:
Victim families visit Capitol Hill to talk police reform
Black families who have lost loved ones to police encounters traveled to Washington, D.C. Thursday to discuss the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act. The bill would look at policing practices, create a national registry on police misconduct, and end law enforcement use of no-knock warrants and choke holds. “What would be meaningful is if it prevents the next George Floyd, the next Terence Crutcher, the next Botham Jean, the next Eric Garner,” Floyd family attorney Ben Crump said at the Capitol. He was joined by Floyd’s brother, Philonise Floyd, and his wife, and Eric Garner’s mother, Gwen Carr, in the meeting with senior White House advisors.
Garner died in 2014 when police in Staten Island, New York placed him in a choke hold while arresting him for illegally selling cigarettes on the street. Crutcher was shot and killed by a Tulsa, Oklahoma police officer in 2016 who believed he was reaching for a weapon in his vehicle, and Jean was shot by an off-duty Dallas, Texas police officer in 2018 who entered his apartment by mistake, thinking it was her own and that he was a burglar. Thursday’s meetings happened one day after President Biden, in his first address as president to a joint session of Congress, called on lawmakers to deliver compromise legislation on police reform to his desk by May 25th, the first the anniversary of George Floyd’s death.
COVID-19 numbers
Here’s the latest data on COVID-19 coronavirus infections, deaths and vaccinations.
Latest reported COVID-19 numbers globally per Johns Hopkins University
Global diagnosed cases: 150,618,263
Global deaths: 3,168,517. The United States has the most deaths of any single country, with 575,197.
Number of countries/regions: at least 192
Total patients recovered globally: 87,674,542
Latest reported COVID-19 numbers in the United States per Johns Hopkins University
There are at least 32,289,907 reported cases in 50 states + the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Guam. This is more than in any other country.
U.S. deaths: at least 575,197. California has the greatest number of reported deaths in the U.S., with 61,672.
U.S. total people tested: 430,722,341
The greatest number of reported COVID-19 cases in the U.S. is in California, with 3,740,038 confirmed cases out of a total state population of 39.51 million. This ranks third in the world after England, which has 3,856,836 cases, and Maharashtra, India, which leads the world with 4,539,553 reported cases. Texas is second in the U.S., with 2,890,367 confirmed cases out of a total state population of 29 million.
Latest reported COVID-19 vaccination numbers in the United States
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports a total of 305,478,495 COVID-19 vaccine doses have been distributed in the U.S. Of those, 237,360,493 doses have been administered, with 143,793,565 people receiving at least one dose and 99,668,945 people fully vaccinated, representing 43.3% and 30% of the total U.S. population, respectively. The Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines each require two doses to be effective. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine requires a single dose to be effective.
US likely to top 100 million fully vaccinated people today
The U.S. is on track to have 100 million people fully vaccinated against COVID-19 before the end of Friday. The latest numbers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as of Friday morning show 99,668,945 people have been fully vaccinated against the virus, representing 30% of the total population. The highest percentage of immunized Americans, at 68.4%, are people aged 65 and older. Even so, data shows millions of Americans are skipping their second shot, which is necessary to achieve full immunity. Experts say even if you get your second vaccination after the recommended three-to-four-week window, you can still achieve increased immunity.
World surpasses 150 million COVID-19 cases; US passes 575,000 deaths
There are now more than 150 million reported cases of COVID-19 in the world. The latest data compiled by Johns Hopkins University puts the number of infections at 150,618,263 as of Friday morning. The greatest reported increase continues to be in India, which last week accounted for 38% of all new reported global cases, according to the World Health Organization. On Wednesday, the country reported 360,960 new cases in a single day, with experts saying that number could actually be four times as high. The first shipment of U.S. aid to India’s collapsing health care system is due to arrive there today.
Meanwhile, the U.S. now reports 575,000 COVID-19 deaths, also according to Johns Hopkins University. The milestone comes a little over two months after the U.S. reported 500,000 total deaths, on February 22. COVID-19 infections and deaths continue to trend modestly downward in the U.S. overall, with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reporting cases declining in 26 states over the last week. Even so, the U.S. continues to lead the world in reported cases and deaths. The CDC’s most recent forecast estimates the U.S. will see between 583,000 to 595,000 COVID-19 fatalities by the week ending May 22.
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