State Update: Some States Begin Easing Restrictions, Coronavirus Variant on Track to Become Dominant in Florida and California, ‘Vaccine Hunters’ Cross State Lines in Search of Shots
February 4, 2021
- There is some encouraging news in the fight against COVID-19 as several states announced they will ease certain coronavirus restrictions amid decreasing case levels and hospitalizations, but despite the promising developments experts insist Americans need to remain cautious, especially with the arrival of differing variants in the United States. States easing restrictions include Rhode Island, Massachusetts and New Jersey and, if the positivity rate continues to decline, New York will be close behind.
- A more contagious coronavirus variant is on the rise in the United States and could become dominant in hot spots like Florida and Southern California "within a few weeks," according to a testing company that has helped identify the largest share of variant cases in the U.S. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last month said modeling showed this variant could become the U.S.' predominant strain in March and could worsen the spread of the disease.
- With overwhelming demand in the early months of the vaccine rollout, thousands of Americans are crossing state lines on quests for doses. The scramble to get inoculated has turned attention to the patchwork of vaccination rules devised by states, given a lack of national, standardized protocols. “Vaccine hunter” groups, which scour the country for places where people qualify for the vaccine, have sprung into action on social media.
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