Worst Of Delta Seems To Be Waning, But Many Places Still In The Thick Of It

Axios: The Delta COVID Wave Is Receding 
COVID-19 cases have been falling across the U.S. for weeks — and now deaths are finally on the decline, too. The Delta wave may truly be behind us, and though unvaccinated people in heavily unvaccinated areas will always remain at risk, getting the virus under control would allow the country as a whole to breathe a little easier this fall. The U.S. is now averaging roughly 102,000 new cases per day — a 22% drop over the past two weeks. (Baker, 10/7)

Fox News: US Daily COVID-19 Deaths Decline 12% Over 2 Weeks
The U.S. is experiencing a decline in daily COVID-19 deaths after a two-month steady increase to mid-September, according to data compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). A seven-day moving average indicates a 12% decline over the last approximate two weeks, from 1,630 on Sept. 21 to 1,428 on Oct. 5, per the latest available figures. Nevertheless, the country logged a grim milestone late Friday when U.S. death toll from COVID-19 eclipsed 700,000. (Rivas, 10/7)

Bangor Daily News: Maine COVID-19 Hospitalizations Have Dropped By More Than 25 Percent In A Week
COVID-19 hospitalizations in Maine dropped by more than a quarter as of Thursday, a staggering change in a state where the delta variant surge and a workforce shortage have taxed health care providers for weeks. Hospitalizations dropped from 211 last Friday to 152 on Thursday, for a 28 percent decrease that played out differently across Maine’s biggest hospitals. Brewer-based Northern Light Health had 33 patients systemwide, compared with 65 a week prior, while MaineHealth had 60 cases system wide last Wednesday, up from 48 cases on Thursday. (Andrews, 10/8)

In more news about the spread of the coronavirus —

Salt Lake Tribune: More Utahns Have Now Died Of COVID-19 Than Victims Killed In The 9/11 Attacks
The number of Utahns who have died of COVID-19 since the start of the coronavirus pandemic now exceeds the number of victims who were killed in the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Nine more Utahns died of the coronavirus in the past day, according to the Utah Department of Health. That brings the total number of deaths recorded since the pandemic began to 2,983 — six more than the number of victims killed on Sept. 11, 2001. A total of 2,977 victims were killed in the 9/11 attacks, not including the 19 terrorists who died after hijacking four planes. The victim death toll includes 2,606 killed at the World Trade Center site, 246 killed on the hijacked planes and 125 killed at the Pentagon. (Pierce, 10/7)

Detroit Free Press: Report: 375 Michigan Kids Are Being Infected Daily With COVID-19
Each day in the last week, more than 375 children younger than 12 were infected with the coronavirus in Michigan, a new state analysis shows. Coronavirus cases in K-12 schools accounted for 56% of all known new outbreaks statewide last week — more than in every other setting combined, according to state health department data. In all, new and ongoing outbreaks and clusters affected at least 104 schools, causing children to lose instruction time because of illness or quarantine. Each outbreak was estimated to affect as many as 87 students and school staff members. (Jordan Shamus, 10/8)

St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Toddler Recovering At St. Louis Hospital After Five Days On Ventilator With COVID-19 
Up until last week, Adrian James was a normal toddler who loved to jump on the couch, pretend to cook meals for his baby brother and sing his ABCs. He was especially proud of being able to name all the planets in the solar system. Now, Adrian needs high-flow oxygen through a tube in his nose, can’t eat on his own, won’t talk and struggles to sit up in his bed at SSM Health Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital after a serious bout with COVID-19. (Munz, 10/7)

The Washington Post: Unvaccinated Pregnant People: Hospitals Confront A Wave Of Severe Covid Illness And Death 
Over video calls from her bed in a Texas intensive care unit, Paige Ruiz gazed at the newborn girl who had gone home without her. Taking in baby Celeste’s round cheeks, brown eyes and fine hair, she sometimes became so overcome with longing that she started crying, recalled her mother, Robin Zinsou. Then crying would turn to coughing, and Ruiz would have to hang up. (Shammas, 10/7)

Fox News: Unvaxxed Colorado Woman Speaks Out After Hospital Denies Life-Saving Transplant: 'My Days Are Numbered'
A Colorado woman who has stage 5 renal failure went on "The Ingraham Angle" Thursday to talk about being denied a kidney transplant due to her and her prospective donor's vaccination status. "I believe that my days are numbered as I continue to deteriorate in my GFR numbers," Leilani Lutali said. GFR, or glomerular filtration rate, measures how well the kidneys are functioning in filtering out toxins and waste from the blood. A number of 60 or higher is considered normal. Stage 5 is characterized by GFR numbers below 15, where the kidneys have almost or completely stopped their functioning. In September, the Colorado health system, UCHealth, denied the transplant due to the fact that she had not received a vaccine, Lutali said. (Grossman, 10/8)

Also —

Philadelphia Inquirer: Many Pa. School Districts Are Passing Up Free Coronavirus Testing Even After A Rise In Cases
Even after COVID-19 cases rose among children and district leaders worked to contain outbreaks among students, Pennsylvania schools have been slow to opt into a multimillion-dollar Wolf administration program providing free weekly testing. Just 396 schools signed up between mid-August and Sept. 30, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health. That’s out of more than 5,000 charter, private, and public schools statewide. Within that total, 60 of Pennsylvania’s 500 public school districts are represented — up from only 30 as of Sept. 14. Districts in Philadelphia and several of its collar counties are participating in a separate testing program. (Martines, 10/7)