Forbes -
February 17, 2021
Domestic air travel fell by 59%, while international travel was down 70%. … The U.S. and other nations have put in place restrictions to limit international and domestic travel over the past year, leading to mass layoffs and a total of $35 billion in losses at the six largest U.S. airlines.
Reuters -
February 16, 2021
Cuomo said at a press conference that “lessons were learned’ in not releasing the data and that things “should have been done differently.” … More than 15,000 people have died in New York state’s nursing homes and long term care facilities from COVID-19, but as recently as last month, the state reported only 8,500 deaths. The numbers, while accounted for in the full state death totals to the state, were not ascribed to nursing homes for residents who died in hospitals rather than within the facilities.
The New York Times -
February 16, 2021
The condition, which usually emerges several weeks after infection, is still rare, but can be dangerous. … Doctors across the country have been seeing a striking increase in the number of young people with … Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children or MIS-C. Even more worrisome, they say, is that more patients are now very sick than during the first wave of cases, which alarmed doctors and parents around the world last spring.
Vox -
February 16, 2021
Even in states where child care workers have been prioritized alongside teachers, like California, a chaotic process has meant many have yet to receive the shot. And advocates fear that a combination of long work hours, complex sign-up processes, and lack of sufficient outreach in languages other than English will mean that the child care workforce — disproportionately composed of women of color and immigrants — will struggle to access vaccines even when they’re technically eligible to get them.
AP -
February 16, 2021
The makers of COVID-19 vaccines are figuring out how to tweak their recipes against worrisome virus mutations — and regulators are looking to flu as a blueprint if and when the shots need an update. … Viruses mutate constantly and it takes just the right combination of particular mutations to escape vaccination. But studies are raising concern that first-generation COVID-19 vaccines don’t work as well against a mutant that first emerged in South Africa as they do against other versions circulating around the world.
AP -
February 16, 2021
One year into the COVID-19 pandemic, many millions of N95 masks are pouring out of American factories and heading into storage. Yet doctors and nurses like Turner say there still aren’t nearly enough in the “ICU rooms with high-flow oxygen and COVID germs all over.” …The logistical breakdown is rooted in federal failures over the past year to coordinate supply chains and provide hospitals with clear rules about how to manage their medical equipment.
PEOPLE -
February 16, 2021
Hundreds of volunteers are lending their support to a Northern California organization that aims to protect elderly Asian Americans by escorting them through their neighborhoods during a time of heightened violence against the community. Since the coronavirus pandemic hit the US last year, there has a been major rise in the attacks on and discrimination against Asian Americans.
11ALIVE -
February 16, 2021
11ALIVE -
February 16, 2021
AP -
February 15, 2021
Average daily new coronavirus cases in the United States dipped below 100,000 in recent days for the first time in months, but experts cautioned Sunday that infections remain high and precautions to slow the pandemic must remain in place. The seven-day rolling average of new infections was well above 200,000 for much of December and went to roughly 250,000 in January.
NPR -
February 15, 2021
Rather than a political push to reopen schools, the update is a measured, data-driven effort to expand on old recommendations and advise school leaders on how to "layer" the most effective safety precautions: masking, physical distancing, hand-washing and respiratory etiquette, ventilation and building cleaning, and contact tracing. For politicians, parents and school leaders looking for a clear green light to reopen schools, this is not it.
Reuters -
February 15, 2021
The United States has administered 52,884,356 doses of COVID-19 vaccines as of Sunday morning and delivered 70,057,800 doses, the CDC said. The doses are for both Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines as of 6 a.m. ET (1100 GMT) on Sunday, the agency said.
CBS News -
February 15, 2021
Around 300 volunteers are enrolled, expected to get their first inoculations this month. In the single-blind, randomized study, up to 240 participants will receive the COVID vaccine, while the control group will receive a meningitis vaccine, which is safe for children and produces a similar reaction.