CNN -
March 4, 2021
The director of the CDC on Wednesday said she hopes people will decide to individually "do the right thing" about distancing and wearing masks, even in states moving to eliminate restrictions against the CDC's recommendations. "I think we at the CDC have been very clear that now is not the time to release all restrictions," Dr. Rochelle Walensky ... Walensky's comments come after governors of Texas and Mississippi said they were lifting mask mandates and allowing businesses to open at full capacity, starting now or within days.
ABC News -
March 4, 2021
Teachers and child care staff are now being offered vaccine appointments at some 9,000 pharmacy locations nationwide, even if their state hasn't declared them eligible yet. The push to get every educator their first vaccine dose this month is part of President Joe Biden's latest directive aimed at prying open classrooms by using a federally run program that ships doses directly to pharmacies. The CDC, which manages the program, announced the effort on its website.
AP -
March 4, 2021
Buoyed by a surge in vaccine shipments, states and cities are rapidly expanding eligibility for COVID-19 shots to teachers, Americans 50 and over and others as the U.S. races to beat back the virus and reopen businesses and schools. Indiana and Michigan will begin vaccinating those 50 and over, while Arizona and Connecticut have thrown open the line to those who are at least 55. Pennsylvania and Wisconsin are reserving the first doses of the new one-shot vaccine from Johnson & Johnson for teachers. And in Detroit, factory workers can get vaccinated starting this week, regardless of age.
Fox News -
March 4, 2021
The CDC is advising against close, indoor gatherings with non-household members ahead of St. Patrick’s Day, in an effort to prevent further coronavirus spread. "Attending gatherings to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day increases your risk of getting and spreading COVID-19," the health agency says. "The safest way to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day this year is to gather virtually, with people who live with you, or outside and at least 6 feet apart from others."
Yahoo! Finance -
March 4, 2021
Weekly unemployment claims ticked up last week, picking up slightly after reaching the lowest level since November during the prior week. … new jobless claims were expected to tick up only modestly after the prior week's pronounced drop, suggesting some underlying improvements in unemployment trends.
CBS News -
March 4, 2021
More than one-third of U.S. nonprofits are in jeopardy of closing within two years because of the financial harm inflicted by the viral pandemic, according to a study being released Wednesday by the philanthropy research group Candid and the Center for Disaster Philanthropy. … The researchers analyzed how roughly 300,000 nonprofits would fare under 20 scenarios of varying severity. The worst-case scenario led to the closings of 38% of the nonprofits. Even the scenarios seen as more realistic resulted in closures well into double digit percentages.
CNN -
March 4, 2021
In an analysis of data and studies from more than 160 countries, the researchers found that Covid-19 mortality rates increased along with countries' prevalence of obesity. They note that the link persisted even after adjusting for age and national wealth. The report found that every country where less than 40% of the population was overweight had a low Covid-19 death rate of no more than 10 people per 100,000. But in countries where more than 50% of the population was overweight, the Covid-19 death rate was much higher -- more than 100 per 100,000.
Georgia Recorder -
March 3, 2021
AP -
March 3, 2021
President Joe Biden said Tuesday the U.S. expects to take delivery of enough coronavirus vaccine for all adults by the end of May — two months earlier than anticipated — and he pushed states to get at least one shot into the arms of teachers by the end of May to hasten school reopenings. Biden also announced that drugmaker Merck will help produce rival Johnson & Johnson’s newly approved one-shot vaccine … Despite the stepped-up pace of vaccine production, the work of inoculating Americans could extend well into the summer, officials said, depending both on the government’s capacity to deliver doses and Americans’ willingness to roll up their sleeves.