Most K-12 parents support mask mandates: poll Most parents of K-12 students support mask mandates amid a nationwide spike in coronavirus infections, according to a Gallup poll Jordan Williams TheHill

Most parents of K-12 students support mask mandates amid a nationwide spike in coronavirus infections, according to a Gallup poll released Tuesday.

Florida breaks record in cases, hospitalizations; over 1M vaccine doses thrown away in 10 states: Latest COVID-19 news Florida on Sunday broke its record for current hospitalizations, days after it recorded the most new daily cases since the start of the pandemic. Elinor Aspegren and Steven Vargas USA TODAY

Infections surging and 'things are going to get worse,' Fauci says

Delta variant raises fears of worsening mutations The rapid spread of the delta variant is raising concerns among scientists that the coronavirus could mutate into more transmissible or deadlier strains. Justine Coleman TheHill

The fresh fears come as the U.S. vaccination rate has largely plateaued and with much of the world still unvaccinated. Such a large number of people without even one vaccine dose gives the virus more chances to spread, replicate and potentially develop mutations. . . 

CDC warns that delta variant is as contagious as chickenpox and may make people sicker than original Covid "The war has changed," CDC officials wrote in a confidential document given to lawmakers this week. Berkeley Lovelace Jr. CNBC

A confidential CDC document said delta is more transmissible than the common cold, the 1918 Spanish flu, smallpox, Ebola, MERS and SARS.

What is a COVID-19 vaccine 'breakthrough' case? What is a COVID-19 vaccine “breakthrough” case? It’s when a fully vaccinated person gets infected with the coronavirus. A small number of such cases are expected and health officials say they're not a cause for alarm . AP NEWS

What is a COVID-19 vaccine “breakthrough” case?

WHO chief warns that the world is going into the ‘early stages of another wave’

The Life Cycle Of A COVID-19 Vaccine Lie Where do myths about coronavirus vaccines come from and why do they spread? NPR takes a look at how rumors about vaccines and fertility reached the public earlier this year. NPR.org

Misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines can appear almost anywhere: from an uncle's Facebook post to a well-trusted news commentator. But where does it come from, and why do some myths spread further than others?

US COVID-19 cases up 140% in past 2 weeks Plus, mask recommendations are returning, with a pediatrics group calling for them for schoolchildren. CIDRAP

With rising US COVID-19 cases, recommendations and mandates for masks are starting to pop up across the country, and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) today updated its recommendations for the upcoming school year, advising masks for everyone older than 2 years regardless of vaccination status.

The future of Emergency Operation Centers: Six shifts to consider from COVID-19

...In all its shapes, emergency operation centers (EOCs) have been at the core of emergency management since emergency response became a coordinated team activity. With the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic, health-specific and, more broadly, disaster-focused EOCs have been under pressure like never before. These EOCs assisted in delivering responses at an unprecedented scale globally, especially in the public sector, helping further validate the concept.

States are sitting on millions of surplus Covid-19 vaccine doses Public health officials fear the doses are going to go to waste even as countries around the world are desperate to secure their own doses. Olivia Goldhill STAT

Millions of unused Covid-19 vaccines are set to go to waste as demand dwindles across the United States and doses likely expire this summer, according to public health officials.