Japanese officials sounded the alarm Thursday as Tokyo reported record-breaking new Covid-19 cases for the third-straight day with the Olympics well underway.

Tokyo reported 3,865 new cases Thursday, up from 3,177 on Wednesday and double the numbers a week ago.

“We have never experienced the expansion of the infections of this magnitude,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato told reporters. He said the new cases were soaring not only in the Tokyo area but across the country.

Nationwide, Japan reported more than 9,500 confirmed cases on Wednesday, also a record, for a total of about 892,000 infections and about 15,000 deaths since the pandemic began.

Japan has kept its cases and deaths lower than many other countries, but its seven-day rolling average is growing and now stands at 28 per 100,000 people nationwide and 88 per 100,000 in Tokyo, according to the Health Ministry. This compares to 18.5 in the United States, 48 in Britain and 2.8 in India, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

“While almost nothing is helping to slow the infections, there are many factors that can accelerate them,” said Dr. Shigeru Omi, a top government medical adviser, noting the Olympics and summer vacation. “The biggest risk is the lack of a sense of crisis, and without it the infections will further expand and put medical systems under severe strain.”

Tokyo has been under its fourth state of emergency since July 12, ahead of the Olympics, which began last Friday despite widespread public opposition and concern that they could worsen the outbreak.

People are still roaming the streets despite stay-at-home requests, making the emergency measures largely ineffective at a time the more infectious delta strain is spreading.

Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said his government will decide Friday whether to expand the emergency measures. The government is expected to extend Tokyo’s emergency until Aug. 31 and add the capital’s three neighboring areas and Osaka, local media reported.

Suga defended his virus measures and denied the Olympics had anything to do with the record surge.

Tokyo officials said Thursday that two foreign Olympic athletes are currently hospitalized and 38 others are self-isolating at designated hotels in the city.

Gov. Yuriko Koike urged the organizers to make sure not to burden Tokyo’s hospitals.

Japan’s vaccine minister, Taro Kono, said in an interview with The Associated Press on Wednesday that there is no evidence of the coronavirus spreading from Olympic participants to the general public.

“I don’t think there have been any cases related to the Olympic Games. So we aren’t worried about that issue,” he said.

Koike said the medical system was under severe stress, and noted that experts have projected cases in Tokyo could exceed 4,500 a day by mid-August.

Koike noted that adults in their 30s or younger dominate recent cases and reminded them of following basic anti-virus measures including mask-wearing and avoiding having parties.

“I would like young people to be aware that the delta strain is a very tough, dangerous enemy,” she said.

She also urged those below 64, who are largely unvaccinated, to get their shots as soon as their turn comes.

As of Wednesday, 26.3% of the Japanese population has been fully vaccinated. The percentage of the elderly who are fully vaccinated is 70%, or 24.8 million people.

Dr. Norio Ohmagari, director of the Disease Control and Prevention Center, said Tokyo’s surge is “heading toward an explosive expansion we have never experienced before.”

Dr. Masataka Inokuchi, another expert on the Tokyo metropolitan COVID-19 panel, said the rapid increase of patients is beginning to force hospitals to postpone scheduled surgical operations and reduce other treatment. Thousands of people who tested positive are now staying at home or designated hotels while waiting for hospital beds.

By MARI YAMAGUCHI @ AP News

Does the COVID-19 vaccine make your breasts bigger?

Some women who received the Pfizer or Moderna COVID-19 vaccines have reported side effects that resemble breast cancer symptoms. In addition to experiencing disproportionately severe side effects compared to men, along with abnormal menstrual cycles, doctors have also seen female patients develop swollen lymph nodes after receiving the vaccine. This has some people speculating that the COVID vaccine can make your breasts larger.

Swollen lymph nodes can be an early sign of cancer—particularly when the swelling occurs in the armpit on one side of the body—but there are other reasons behind the condition, such as when the body is fighting off a cold or an infection. 

Instances of swollen lymph nodes following a COVID-19 vaccination have a relatively straightforward explanation, one which thankfully doesn’t involve cancer.

The mRNA vaccines deliver a small amount of genetic code to instruct cells how to replicate the virus’ surface protein “spike,” which in turn activates the immune system. Lymph nodes contain B-cells that use this information to generate antibodies in response to a foreign entity. The buildup of antibodies in the lymph nodes may result in them becoming enlarged. This can lead to breasts feeling larger for a short time following a COVID vaccine, but it is not cause for undue concern.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention documented 11% of patients with swollen lymph nodes after their first shot of the Moderna vaccine. Sixteen percent of patients experienced swollen nodes following their second shot. The swelling typically occurs two to four days after injection and can last between four and 12 weeks. 

Some doctors have expressed concern that women who experience swollen breasts as a side effect of the COVID vaccine may undergo unnecessary diagnostic tests to check for breast cancer.

“It is important to recognize that lymph nodes may become enlarged for a number of reasons having nothing to do with malignant disease, including in patients known to have cancer,” Dr. Maurie Markman, president of Medicine and Science at Cancer Treatment Centers of America, wrote in a blog post. “If someone is concerned, it is always reasonable to check with a physician.”

But in at least one case, the swollen lymph node side effect caused by the vaccine reminded a woman to check the rest of her body. She discovered she actually did have breast cancer.

The American Cancer Society and the Society of Breast Imaging are among several public health agencies that recommend women planning to get a mammogram do so before receiving the vaccine. If they must get screened after a vaccine, experts advise waiting between four and 12 weeks.

Even in patients not experiencing swelling or tenderness, it’s still possible for enlarged lymph nodes to show up on a mammogram—potentially triggering a false positive.

“If it’s within four weeks after your vaccination, then you have a higher chance of having enlarged lymph nodes on the side where you have the vaccine,” Dr. Hannah Milch, a radiologist and assistant clinical professor at the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine, told ABC 30 News. “If you have it in your left arm, the lymph nodes in your left armpit may be bigger than normal. This is a body’s normal response. It’s doing what it should do, and it will go back to back down in size.”

Milch said she’s been seeing patients with swollen lymph nodes at least once or twice per week. The condition isn’t unique to the COVID-19 vaccines, according to Milch. She sometimes sees it in people after getting their annual flu shot, though she says that during “flu vaccine season, I probably see it like twice total.”

Milch stressed that people shouldn’t intentionally delay mammogram screening appointments or vaccinations without consulting with their doctor.

“You can tell the technologist that you just had the COVID vaccination, and which arm you had it in and when. So they can document that,” Milch said. “If somebody gets a screening mammogram and we see enlarged lymph nodes, we ask them to come back for an ultrasound usually, and we take another look.”

Milch also said breast cancer survivors should request their shot be administered on the opposite side of the body from where the cancer was diagnosed. 

“If somebody comes in, and they have enlarged lymph nodes, let’s say, on a side where they had cancer in the past. That might send off more alarm bells [than] if they had no history of cancer,” Milch said. “So we take that very seriously. Having said that, it’s perfectly possible if they get a vaccination in the same arm as the side where their breast cancer was that they will have the same reaction as somebody who did not have a history of breast cancer.”

By Stacey Ritzen

The shutdown of two contract manufacturers in Vietnam due to Covid-19 could worsen Nike’s sneaker supply problems, a market research company has warned.

The fact that South Korea’s Changshin Vietnam and Taiwan’s Pou Chen Corp in HCMC have stopped operating since last week “may exacerbate the supply chain disruptions that the company has had to deal with,” S&P Global Market Intelligence said in a report.

Vietnam accounted for 49 percent of U.S. seaborne imports linked to Nike and its products in the second quarter, it said.

Nike said in fiscal 2020 contract factories in Vietnam made roughly 50 percent of its branded footwear.

There is a refocusing on China, the report said, pointing out that in the second quarter of this year, growth of U.S. seaborne imports linked to Nike from Vietnam was 6.6 percent year-on-year while it was 54.6 percent for China.

A Nike spokeswoman told CNBC in an emailed statement: “We continue to work with our suppliers to support their efforts in response to the dynamic and unprecedented nature of Covid-19.”

Vietnam’s HCMC has recorded over 39,500 Covid-19 cases since April 27.