WASHINGTON – Dr Anthony Fauci says he is concerned that people who resist COVID-19 vaccine injections on religious grounds may mistake this for a philosophical objection.

Fauci, who is the chief medical adviser to President Joe Biden, says obtaining the COVID-19 vaccine is no different in concept than receiving other vaccines such as measles, which have been practiced for many years. many years. He says a public health examination found “very, very few, literally less than a handful” of established religions that actually oppose vaccinations.

Religious exemptions have been on the rise since Biden announced new COVID-19 vaccine mandates last month covering more than 100 million Americans.

Fauci recognizes the challenges businesses face in determining whether the religious exemption claimed by an employee is more of an excuse to circumvent legal requirements.

He told CNN’s State of the Union, “I hope people understand that this is all in their best interests, for their safety, that of their family and their social responsibility.”

MORE ON THE PANDEMIC:

– Distribution problems, hesitation slowing the supply of vaccination in Uganda

– Israel tightens COVID ‘green pass’ rules, sparking protests

– Russia: Antibody tests for COVID-19 remain popular, contributing to low vaccination rate

– Far-right protesters in Romania reject virus restrictions

See all of AP’s pandemic coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic

HERE’S WHAT ELSE IS:

MOSCOW – Russia has reported a record daily death toll from COVID-19. This is the fifth time in a week that deaths have reached a new record in the country.

The national coronavirus task force said on Sunday that 890 deaths had been recorded in the last day. This exceeds the 887 reported on Friday. The task force also said the number of new infections in the past day was the second highest for the year at 25,769.

But officials say there are no plans to impose a lockdown. Regulations on mask wearing are in place but little enforced.

The country of 145 million people has recorded an estimated 7.5 million cases of infection and nearly 210,000 deaths during the pandemic.

JERUSALEM – Israel has restricted its COVID Green Pass to only allow those who have received a vaccine booster or who have recently recovered from the coronavirus to participate in indoor events.

According to Sunday’s new guidelines, people eligible for a green pass – a kind of digital vaccination passport – must have received a reminder.

Those who have received two doses, or those who have recovered from the coronavirus, are only eligible for six months after the date of their vaccination or recovery.

Technical issues crippled the Health Ministry’s rollout of the updated pass as millions of Israelis attempted to reissue digital documentation that would allow entry into restaurants, bars, cultural venues and d ‘other indoor activities.

GULU, Uganda – The remote Ugandan district of Gulu is currently a COVID-19 hotspot in the east African country.

There are repeated and sudden power outages affecting the vaccine storage unit. This is in addition to the logistical challenges facing efforts to speed up immunization across the country.

Officials must first report on each dose received previously. Shortages are therefore endemic despite the presence in the country of more than 2 million vaccines.

The growing supply is giving a headache to health officials trying to build enthusiasm for vaccines. But many people in rural areas cite fears for safety and prefer to wait.

SYDNEY – The Australian state of New South Wales has recorded 10 new deaths and 667 locally acquired COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, as its outbreak continues to subside.

“Three weeks ago we had 1,599 cases,” state Health Minister Brad Hazzard said on Sunday. “And just three weeks later today I’m very happy to be able to tell the community that we are down, I wanted it at zero if we can make it happen, but 667 cases now acquired locally.”

Meanwhile, Victoria state has recorded 1,220 new community-acquired COVID-19 cases and three deaths in the past 24 hours. The state, Australia’s second most populous, set a record 1,488 new cases on Saturday.

“I want to thank each of those over 71,000 Victorians who went for testing,” Victorian Prime Minister Daniel Andrews said on Sunday. “It is essential for us to know where this virus is, where it is not. “

There were 71,275 tests carried out in Victoria on Saturday and 36,248 doses of the vaccine administered. There are now 11,785 active cases in the state.

The Australian Capital Territory has recorded 38 locally acquired cases in the past 24 hours.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – Alaska activated emergency crisis protocols on Saturday that allow 20 healthcare facilities to ration care if needed as the state has recorded the worst rates of COVID-19 diagnoses in the United States in recent days, straining his limited healthcare system.

The statement covers three facilities that had previously declared an emergency protocol, including the state’s largest hospital, Providence Alaska Medical Center in Anchorage.

Some of the factors that led the state to activate the crisis in standards of care included scarce medical resources in some facilities, limited staff, and the difficulty of transferring patients to other facilities due to limited bed availability. . Other factors included kidney replacement therapy and limited oxygen supplies.

According to data collected by the Johns Hopkins University Center for Systems Science and Engineering, one in 84 people in Alaska was diagnosed with COVID-19 from September 22 to 29. The second highest rate was one in 164 people in West Virginia.

Statewide, 60% of eligible Alaskans are fully immunized.

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