NPR -
February 2, 2021
The Biden administration has made a $231.8 million deal with an Australian company to boost availability of the first at-home rapid test for the coronavirus which causes COVID-19 that is available without a prescription. The test, made by Ellume, can send results to a smartphone within 15 minutes of receiving a sample. The FDA gave emergency authorization to Ellume's rapid test in December, after it showed 96% accuracy in a U.S. clinical study.
Reuters -
February 2, 2021
New rules took effect just before midnight Tuesday requiring millions of travelers in the United States to wear masks on airplanes, trains, buses, ferries, taxis and ride-share vehicles and in airports, stations, ports and other transit hubs. … Nearly all U.S. travel is covered by the rules, but people in private cars and solo truck drivers are exempt. The order requires all passengers two and older to wear masks but travelers can avoid wearing masks if they have a disability.
NBC News -
February 2, 2021
U.S. economic growth will recover “rapidly” and the labor market will return to full strength more quickly than expected, thanks to the vaccine rollout and a barrage of legislation enacted in 2020, according to a government forecast published on Monday. Gross domestic product, or GDP, is expected to reach its previous peak in mid-2021 and the labor force is forecast to return to its pre-pandemic level in 2022, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said.
Ledger-Enquirer -
February 2, 2021
ABC News -
February 2, 2021
CNN -
February 1, 2021
For the first time in almost two months, less than 100,000 Americans are hospitalized for Covid-19. ... January has been by far the deadliest month of the pandemic. More than 95,245 people have died from Covid-19 so far this month, surpassing December's total of 77,486 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University.
Reuters -
February 1, 2021
As the number of Americans ready for their second COVID-19 vaccine shot grows, some are falling through the cracks of an increasingly complex web of providers and appointment systems. While many people are getting the required second doses, the process is taking a toll on some of the most vulnerable - older adults who in many cases rely on family members or friends to navigate complex sign-up systems and inconvenient locations.
NPR -
February 1, 2021
The order, issued late Friday, will require masks to be worn by "all passengers on public conveyances" traveling into or within the US, including airplanes, ships, ferries, trains, subways, buses, taxis and ride-shares. Coverings will also be required at transportation hubs like airports, bus terminals, and train or subway stations. The new guidelines take effect at 11:59 p.m. ET on Feb. 1.
AP -
February 1, 2021
President Joe Biden says he wants most schools serving kindergarten through eighth grade to reopen by late April, but even if that happens, it is likely to leave out millions of students, many of them minorities in urban areas. “We’re going to see kids fall further and further behind, particularly low-income students of color,” said Shavar Jeffries, president of Democrats for Education Reform.
STAT -
February 1, 2021
Top Trump officials actively lobbied Congress to deny state governments any extra funding for the Covid-19 vaccine rollout last fall — despite frantic warnings from state officials that they didn’t have the money they needed to ramp up a massive vaccination operation. … Without the extra money, states spent last October and November rationing the small pot of federal dollars they had been given. And when vaccines began shipping in December, states seemed woefully underprepared.
CBS News -
February 1, 2021
FEMA has asked the Pentagon to ready as many as 10,000 troops to support 100 COVID-19 vaccination sites nationwide, with the goal of administering 450,000 vaccinations a day. The federal government envisions 50 "mega" vaccination sites capable of administering 6,000 shots per day, in addition to 50 "large" vaccination sites providing 3,000 shots per day, according to defense officials. The first of the FEMA-powered vaccination sites are expected to be operating by mid-February…
ABC News -
February 1, 2021
After months of slow but steady job growth, America’s nonprofit organizations shed more than 50,000 positions in December, a consequence of the economic damage caused by the viral pandemic. That finding, in a report from Johns Hopkins University, suggests that it could take nearly 18 months for nonprofits to regain their pre-pandemic employment levels.
11ALIVE -
February 1, 2021