Nearly half of new coronavirus infections nationwide are in just five states — a situation that is putting pressure on the federal government to consider changing how it distributes vaccines by sending more doses to hot spots. New York, Michigan, Florida, Pennsylvania and New Jersey together reported 44% of the nation’s new COVID-19 infections, or nearly 197,500 new cases, in the latest available seven-day period, according to state health agency data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. Total U.S. infections during the same week numbered more than 452,000. The heavy concentration of new cases in states that account for 22% of the U.S.

Iran shattered its daily record for new infections for the second consecutive day on Wednesday as cases soared to 20,954, a worrisome trend after more than a year of the country battling the worst outbreak in the Middle East. Iran’s severe surge triggered new movement restrictions in major cities Wednesday following a two-week public holiday for Nowruz, the Persian New Year, which drove millions to travel to the Caspian coast and other popular vacation spots, pack markets to shop for new clothes and toys and congregate in homes for parties in defiance of government health guidelines. There appears to be no respite in sight, as the country’s vaccine rollout lags, with only some 200,000 vaccine doses administered in the country of 84 million, according to the World Health Organization.

North Korea, citing the coronavirus, has become the world’s first country to drop out of the Tokyo Olympics. It’s true that the North is extremely sensitive about COVID-19, knowing that a widespread outbreak in a country with an already battered health system could be disaster. But North Korea also has previously used big sporting events to set up diplomacy with the United States meant to win it much-needed sanctions relief in return for nuclear disarmament pledges. Some see pulling out of the Olympics as the North sending Washington a message. Here’s a look at the North Korean decision and what it might mean.

Dr. Sharon Alroy-Preis, the head of the Health Ministry’s Public Health division, said on Tuesday that despite a recent increase in Israel’s reproduction number, the pandemic is beginning to die out in Israel, Ynet reported. Israel R number, how many people each carrier infects, has increased from 0.52 to 0.78 but Alroy-Preis isn’t worried. “The R number is still well below 0.8 and is certainly below 1,” she said. An R number below 1 is an indication that the virus rate is receding. Dr. Alroy-Preis believes that the spike in the R number is due to the increase in the number of virus tests being performed after Pesach. “The pandemic is dying out, albeit at a slower pace. We currently have a little over 300 daily COVID cases.

Champagne, lobster and no masks: That’s what a French TV documentary says is on the menu at one of multiple high-end “clandestine restaurants” catering to the Paris elite, in violation of nationwide pandemic restrictions. What’s even more shocking to the newly confined French public — and exhausted medical staff — is that one organizer claimed government ministers are among those who attend. French authorities are investigating the accusations, and government members scrambled to insist they’re behaving properly.

Susanna Frare said her family decided to take a “calculated risk” attending the home opener of the Texas Rangers, the first major U.S. pro sports event to approach capacity in a stadium since the coronavirus shutdown more than a year ago. The crowd of 38,238 at Globe Life Field was announced as a sellout Monday for the 6-2 loss to Toronto. The retractable roof was open on a 75-degree day with 15 mph winds. “Since it’s at full capacity, that was something that we gave a lot of thought about,” said Frare, holding one young child with another sitting next to her at a table behind seats in the upper deck in left field about two hours before the game.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas flew to Jordan by helicopter on Monday ahead of an official visit to Germany on which he will undergo a health exam, officials said. His office did not provide any further details on the trip, which was not announced in advance. A Palestinian official said Abbas would undergo a “routine health check” in Germany. The official was not authorized to comment and so spoke on condition of anonymity. The 85-year-old Abbas, a heavy smoker with a history of heart problems, has attended public events in recent days and there was no indication he was ill. He received the first dose of a coronavirus vaccine last month. But he has traveled abroad for medical treatment in recent years.

There has been a sharp rise in the number of Israelis waiting for lung transplants in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, Yediot Achranot reported last week. The report stated that at least 15 Israelis are currently being tested for compatibility for lung transplants. All of them are currently dependent on ventilators or ECMO machines as a result of coronavirus complications. “There were several coronavirus waves and what characterized the last wave is mainly the younger patients and the intensive care units full of recovered patients in relatively stable condition, but with irreversible damage to their lungs,” said Dr. Liran Levy, a transplant pulmonologist at Sheba Medical Center’s Institute of Pulmonary Medicine.

After months of hoping to receive a COVID-19 immunization and then weeks of fighting the illness after one never came, Air Force veteran Diane Drewes was down to her last few breaths at a hospice center in Ohio when the phone rang. It was a health care worker, calling to schedule her first appointment for a coronavirus shot. Drewes’ daughter Laura Brown was stunned by the timing of the call in January but didn’t lash out over the phone or even explain that her 75-year-old mom was at the point of death. There just wasn’t any point, she said. “But me and my sister were upset that it came too late,” Brown said. “It seemed like the final insult.” More than 247,000 people have died of COVID-19 in the U.S. since vaccines first became available mid-December.

A recent study carried out by researchers at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) in Boston showed that the coronavirus is six times deadlier than the flu. The researchers found that only 210 flu patients per flu season required hospitalization versus 582 coronavirus patients during the same time period, and the average age of the coronavirus patients was younger than that of the flu patients. Additionally, about 30% of coronavirus patients required ventilation versus only 8% of flu patients. Furthermore, the virus patients who required hospitalization had fewer pre-existing medical conditions that would have spurred the need for respiratory assistance. Ventilated virus patients remained hospitalized for an average of two weeks versus three days for flu patients.