COVID-19 News from Around the Web
11ALIVE -
March 2, 2021
Reuters -
March 1, 2021
A CDC advisory panel voted unanimously on Sunday to recommend Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 shot for widespread use, and U.S. officials said initial shipments would start on Sunday. Providing a final clearance for the vaccine a day after it was authorized by U.S. regulators, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) voted 12-0 to recommend the vaccine from J&J as appropriate for Americans 18 and older.. … “We’re getting these doses out the door as soon as they’re available to ensure vaccines get into arms as quickly as possible,” one senior U.S. official told reporters late on Sunday, adding that initial deliveries were expected by Tuesday.
STAT -
March 1, 2021
Biden administration officials on Friday warned of a “very concerning” uptick in Covid-19 cases this week, urging Americans not to let down their guard despite an ongoing vaccination campaign and case rates that are substantially lower than their peak last month. “We may be done with the virus, but clearly the virus is not done with us,” Rochelle Walensky, the director of the CDC, said during a White House press briefing.
Fauci advises relaxed gatherings in homes for vaccinated individuals, but not ‘out in the community’
Fox News -
March 1, 2021
"The CDC will be coming out within the next few weeks, maybe even sooner, with some guidelines," Fauci told "State of the Union" host Dana Bash. "But one of the things that I think is going to become clear is that if you have adults who are vaccinated – that are doubly vaccinated and protected – that you can do things we weren’t talking about before." "You can have dinner in a home without masks on. You can have friends who are doubly vaccinated and protected together with you … So you can start doing things essentially in the home setting where you are not out in the community."
USA Today -
March 1, 2021
The number of COVID-19 cases and deaths at America's nursing homes has dropped significantly since December as millions of vaccine doses have been shot into the arms of residents and staff. The weekly rate of COVID-19 cases at nursing homes plummeted 89% from early December through the second week of February. By comparison, the nationwide case rate dropped 58% and remains higher than figures reported before late October.
AP -
March 1, 2021
Just five weeks ago, Los Angeles County was conducting more than 350,000 weekly coronavirus tests, including at a massive drive-thru site at Dodger Stadium, as health workers raced to contain the worst COVID-19 hotspot in the U.S. Now, county officials say testing has nearly collapsed. More than 180 government-supported sites are operating at only a third of their capacity. … After a year of struggling to boost testing, communities across the country are seeing plummeting demand, shuttering testing sites or even trying to return supplies.
AP -
March 1, 2021
With the floodgates set to open on another round of unemployment aid, states are being hammered with a new wave of fraud as they scramble to update security systems and block scammers who already have siphoned billions of dollars from pandemic-related jobless programs. The fraud is fleecing taxpayers, delaying legitimate payments and turning thousands of Americans into unwitting identity theft victims.
AJC -
March 1, 2021
AJC -
March 1, 2021
11ALIVE -
March 1, 2021
GPB -
March 1, 2021
PBS -
February 26, 2021
Flu has virtually disappeared from the U.S., with reports coming in at far lower levels than anything seen in decades. Experts say that measures put in place to fend off the coronavirus — mask wearing, social distancing and virtual schooling — were a big factor in preventing a “twindemic” of flu and COVID-19. A push to get more people vaccinated against flu probably helped, too, as did fewer people traveling, they say.
CNN -
February 26, 2021
After six straight weeks of declines in new Covid-19 cases in the US, that number has started to plateau, even as hospitalizations and deaths continue to drop. The 7-day average of daily new cases was just over 72,000 on Wednesday, according to data from Johns Hopkins University, a total that is relatively unchanged from last Thursday. … Experts say it is too soon to tell whether this one-week flattening represents a small blip or the beginning of a broader issue.
Reuters -
February 26, 2021
Mayor Bill de Blasio’s chief medical adviser on Thursday downplayed the results of two studies showing that a new coronavirus variant found in New York City in November may be more resistant to vaccines now being administered. Dr. Jay Varma said it was premature to infer from laboratory results how effective the vaccines would be on the variant, echoing concerns of other scientists who questioned why preliminary studies are given to the media ahead of academics.
AP -
February 26, 2021
Days after marking a solemn milestone in the pandemic, President Joe Biden is celebrating the pace of his efforts to end it. On Thursday, Biden marked the administration of the 50 millionth dose of COVID-19 vaccine since his swearing-in.