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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. (Bynum and Smith, 4/6)

Missouri’s health department on Tuesday announced it identified the first case of a new vaccine variant in the state. Missouri’s Department of Health and Senior Services announced a Jackson County resident tested positive for a COVID-19 variant first identified in South Africa. (Ballentine, 4/7)

Florida continues to have the country’s most COVID-19 variant cases, with 3,279 reported Monday, including 24 of the closely watched B.1.351 variant, first identified in South Africa. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Florida had 3,191 cases of the B.1.1.7, first identified in the United Kingdom, and 64 of the P.1 variant, first detected in Brazil. (Prieur, 4/6)

Navajo Nation epidemiologists have confirmed a case of the B.1.429 COVID-19 variant on the reservation in the Chinle, Arizona, area. The virus strain was first discovered in California and has become prevalent in new COVID-19 infections in Arizona and Nevada. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has listed the mutation as a “variant of concern.” “We know this is capable of spreading rapidly and efficiently,” said Dr. Laura Hammitt, infectious disease programs director at the Johns Hopkins Center for American Indian Health. “Current COVID-19 vaccines are expected to greatly reduce the chances of severe disease.” (Davis, 4/6)

The state is warning that anyone who was on Magdalen College’s campus in recent weeks might have been exposed to COVID-19, and the college president has told families that all students might have been exposed. The New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services has identified at least 16 COVID-19 cases associated with the outbreak, according to an announcement. The college has fewer than 90 students total, according to federal records. The campus is now closed to the public. (Albertson-Grove, 4/6)

The group — whose cases were reported between Jan. 1 and March 31 — tested positive at least two weeks after receiving the last dose of the inoculation, a health official told the Detroit News. "Some of these individuals may ultimately be excluded from this list due to continuing to test positive from a recent infection prior to being fully vaccinated," Lynn Sutfin, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Health and Human Services, said in an email Monday. (Steinbuch, 4/6)

Nine Georgia senators tested positive for COVID-19 during this year’s legislative session held with numerous safety protocols in place. Georgia Senate leaders credited the protocols established before the session started in January with keeping the infection rate of the virus low during their 40 legislative days. The session adjourned last week. (Prabhu, 4/6)

Reinfections from Covid-19 continue to seem rare, and are not responsible for the current, stubbornly high case counts in the United States, according to scientists and the latest findings. At least, that’s what researchers are left to conclude. Experts say the country and individual states don’t have strong systems to determine how frequently people are getting reinfected — another consequence of the nation’s limited surveillance network. They’re calling for better data collection and analysis around second cases of Covid-19. (Joseph, 4/7)

Journalists from KHN and The Guardian have identified 3,607 workers who reportedly died of complications from covid-19 after they contracted it on the job. Reporters are working to confirm the cause of death and workplace conditions in each case. They are also writing about the people behind the statistics — their personalities, passions and quirks — and telling the story of every life lost. (The Staffs of KHN and The Guardian, 4/7)