75,267 new coronavirus cases were reported in the United States on Tuesday, taking the national total to 31,421,367. The number of new cases is higher than the 7-day average of 71,511.
932 new deaths were reported in the country on the day. With this, the COVID death toll in the U.S. increased to 564,402, according to the latest data from Johns Hopkins University. The 7-day average of COVID deaths is 764.
California, the worst-affected state, reported the highest number of deaths - 174. Nearly 10,000 new cases were reported in Michigan, one of the worst hot zones of the nation. New York was the second worst state in both pandemic metrics, reporting 94 new deaths and 6,000 additional cases.
The CDC's most recent data show the seven-day average of new cases has continued to increase and is now 6 percent over the previous seven-days.
Hospital admissions also continue to increase. The most recent seven-day average - a little over 5,400 admissions per day - is also up 6.8 percent from the previous seven-day period.
Giving an update on the Biden administration's vaccination program, White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator Jeff Zients said more than 122 million Americans have already received at least one shot, and more than 75 million people are fully vaccinated. The current seven-day national average is 3.3 million vaccinations per day.
According to Zients, there is plenty of supply in the system of Moderna and Pfizer, including to replace J&J appointments with their vaccine.
At a White House routine briefing on the fight against the pandemic, COVID CDC director Dr. Rochelle Walensky shed more light on cases of blood clots in people who received the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.
The CDC and FDA were alerted to six cases of rare types of blood clots, called cerebral venous sinus thrombosis, that occurred in combination with low levels of platelets — or a condition known as thrombocytopenia. Two individuals with these blood clots also had clots in their abdominal cavity or the veins of their gastrointestinal tract. All six individuals were women between the ages of 18 and 48, and their symptoms presented 6 to 13 days after they were vaccinated.
Dr. Walensky said that these types of reactions — blood clots in combination with low platelets — are not noticed in people who received the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.
"Our latest data shows that we have administered more than 7.2 million doses of Johnson & Johnson vaccine and have yet observed only six of these cases," she told reporters.
She called on people who received the J&J vaccine within the last few weeks to be aware of their symptoms and immediately seek medical assistance with any symptoms of concern.
The CDC and FDA are working rapidly to investigate each case and understand whether there is a causal relationship between these blood clots and vaccine administration.
In alarming COVID-related developments outside the United States, new coronavirus cases in India crossed 200,000 for the first time. New record numbers are being reported every day as the second wave sweeps the country. Total cases in India surpassed 14 million on Thursday.
A team of public health experts warned that unless the government took immediate action, Brazil is heading toward an "unimaginable loss of lives."
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