Solving COVID: June 2, 2021

Life-long immunity, a breakthrough on blood clots, and more

A COVID-detecting dog.
(Image credit: Illustrated | Getty Images, iStock)

1. Where things stand

The U.S. hit an encouraging new milestone this week, recording a daily average of 17,248 new coronavirus cases. This is the first time that number has been lower than 20,000 since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to The New York Times, "no state is seeing a major increase in cases," and some states have seen their caseloads plummet by half in just two weeks. Sixty-three percent of Americans over the age of 12 have received at least one dose of a vaccine, creeping closer to President Biden's goal of vaccinating 70 percent of the adult population by July 4. Still, experts are worried about new variants spreading rapidly in other parts of the world, and call for widespread vaccination campaigns in vulnerable countries. "If world leaders don't act now, the end of the COVID pandemic may come with a horrible form of herd immunity, as more transmissible variants that are taking hold around the world kill millions," writes Zeynep Tufekci at the Times.

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