WSB Radio -
September 21, 2020
COVID-19 News from Around the Web
NPR -
September 21, 2020
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the demure firebrand who in her 80s became a legal, cultural and feminist icon, died Friday. The Supreme Court announced her death, saying the cause was complications from metastatic cancer of the pancreas. The court, in a statement, said Ginsburg died at her home in Washington, D.C., surrounded by family. She was 87.
NBC New York -
September 21, 2020
U.S. health officials on Friday dropped a controversial piece of coronavirus guidance and said anyone who has been in close contact with an infected person should get tested. The CDC essentially returned to its previous testing guidance, getting rid of language posted last month that said people didn’t need to get tested if they didn't feel sick. That change had set off a rash of criticism from health experts who couldn't fathom why the nation's top public health agency would say such a thing amid the pandemic.
CNN -
September 21, 2020
The US CDC updated guidance on its website to say coronavirus can commonly spread "through respiratory droplets or small particles, such as those in aerosols," which are produced even when a person breathes. "Airborne viruses, including COVID-19, are among the most contagious and easily spread," the site now says. Previously, the CDC page said that Covid-19 was thought to spread mainly between people in close contact -- about 6 feet -- and "through respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs, sneezes or talks."
CNN -
September 21, 2020
Despite making progress after a difficult summer, most of the US is heading in the wrong direction again as the nation closes in on 200,000 Covid-19 deaths. In 31 states, the number of new Covid-19 cases has increased by at least 10% this past week compared to the previous week, according to data Sunday from Johns Hopkins University. Only four states -- Delaware, Hawaii, Louisiana and Michigan -- have had decreases of more than 10%. Fifteen states are holding steady...
AP -
September 21, 2020
Political pressure grew Monday in Europe for governments to tackle the rising number of coronavirus case without resorting to a spring-style lockdown that would hit the continent’s struggling economies. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez met Monday with the president of the Madrid region, Isabel Díaz Ayuso, to coordinate a stronger response to the outbreaks as the country struggles to contain a second wave of the virus.
MSN -
September 21, 2020
The claim: Doctors are pushing an 'untested' flu vaccine with a 'very low strain' of the coronavirus in it. As flu season nears, doctors around the country are advocating that people receive the seasonal influenza vaccine, which health experts say is more important than usual amid the COVID-19 pandemic. … But some claims on social media have advised against taking the vaccine by incorrectly conflating the flu shot with a potential vaccine for the coronavirus, the latter of which is still in development.
CNN -
September 21, 2020
Pine-Sol's original cleaner has been approved by the US EPA as a product that can kill the coronavirus on frequently used surfaces. The product was added to the agency's list of products expected to kill the virus after meeting the criteria for use against SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes Covid-19, an EPA spokeswoman told CNN via email on Sunday. Pine-Sol was tested by a third-party laboratory that showed the disinfectant can kill the virus within 10 minutes of being used on hard, nonporous surfaces, The Clorox Company said in a press release.
NPR -
September 21, 2020
Doctors can better handle common and serious complications like blood clots. They realized that patients do better if they aren't lying on their backs all the time. … And while no medicine can cure COVID-19, a series of studies showed that steroids can benefit the sickest patients. … The trend in improving survival has been documented in intensive care units around the world. Even so, people treated in the ICU for COVID-19 are at higher risk of death than is the case for other viral lung diseases.
Vox -
September 21, 2020
Through the late spring and summer, it looked like America was, slowly but surely, building up its Covid-19 testing capacity. But after July and particularly at the start of September, that progress stalled out. As of September 17, average daily tests were at about 730,000, down from an average of 780,000 in early September and 830,000 in late July, according to the Covid Tracking Project. Meanwhile, the percentage of tests coming back positive, which is used to gauge testing capacity, has remained around 5 percent …
HealthDay -
September 21, 2020
Researchers analyzed non-identifiable electronic health records of more than 73 million patients in the US. People with addiction disorders accounted for just over 10% of those in the study, and nearly 16% of COVID-19 cases. People with a recent addiction disorder diagnosis were more likely than others to develop COVID-19, and … people with an addiction disorder were more likely to be hospitalized with or die from COVID-19.
NBC News -
September 21, 2020
There are still many Americans who resist, protest against and rant about wearing face masks. But state and county health officials across the country say the stark drop in Covid-19 case counts in their communities before and after mask orders were imposed clearly show how effective they can be in reducing the spread of the coronavirus.
NPR -
September 21, 2020
From empty pizza boxes to Amazon cartons, household trash cans are overflowing with the refuse of our new, stay-at-home era — and cities are struggling to keep up. Residential trash volume spiked as much as 25% this spring, according to the trade group Solid Waste Association of North America. It has shrunk a bit since then but remains well above pre-pandemic levels.
ABC News -
September 21, 2020
An increasing number of colleges and universities are canceling spring break six months ahead of time amid concerns about travel during the coronavirus pandemic. The University of Michigan became one of the latest schools to amend its calendar and scrap the traditional spring break.
AP -
September 21, 2020
Many thousands of volunteers from minority groups are needed for huge clinical trials underway or about to begin. Scientists say a diverse group of test subjects is vital to determining whether a vaccine is safe and effective for everyone and instilling broad public confidence in the shots once they become available. The expanded outreach by vaccine researchers and health officials is getting a late start in communities that, because of a history of scientific exploitation and racism, may be the most reluctant to roll up their sleeves. Just getting the word out takes time.
AP -
September 21, 2020
A drug company said Friday that a medicine it sells to tamp down inflammation has helped prevent the need for breathing machines in hospitalized COVID-19 patients in the first large study that primarily enrolled Hispanics and Blacks. Switzerland-based Roche reported the results for tocilizumab, sold now as Actemra and RoActemra for treating rheumatoid arthritis and some other diseases.