This is Coronavirus 411, the latest COVID-19 info and new hotspots for November 5th, 2021.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 since October 25.

The five states that have the most deaths per million are Mississippi, Alabama, New Jersey, Louisiana, and New York.

There are 9,220,830 active cases in the United States.

The five states with the greatest increase in hospitalizations per capita: New Mexico 19%, Vermont 15%, Colorado 14%, Nebraska 11%, and Arizona and New Hampshire 9%.

The top 10 counties with the highest number of recent cases per capita according to The New York Times: Nome Census Area, AK. Park, MT. Grant, NM. Goshen, WY. Wadena, MN. Inyo, CA. Roosevelt, MT. Rolette, ND. San Juan, NM. And Carbon, UT.

There have been at least 751,554 deaths in the U.S. recorded as Covid-related.

The top 3 vaccinating states by percentage of population that’s been fully vaccinated: Vermont unchanged at 71.4%, Rhode Island at 71.1%, and Connecticut at 70.9%. The bottom 3 vaccinating states are West Virginia unchanged at 41%, Wyoming at 44.2%, and Alabama at 44.9%. The percentage of the U.S. that’s been fully vaccinated is unchanged at 58.1%.

Globally, cases were up 6% and deaths were up 3% over 14 days, with the 7-day average trending up since October 15.

There are 18,459,078 active cases around the world.

The five countries with the most new cases: The United States 81,033. Russia 40,217. The U.K. 37,269. Germany 35,662. And Turkey 29,482.

There have been at least 5,029,033 deaths reported as Covid-related worldwide.

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