The New York Times -
January 22, 2021
President Biden will issue an executive order on Friday aimed at steering additional federal aid to families struggling to afford food amid the pandemic and at helping workers stay safe on the job. Mr. Biden, who has vowed to use the power of the presidency to help mitigate economic fallout from the pandemic, will also direct the Treasury Department to find ways to deliver stimulus checks to millions of eligible Americans who have not yet received the funds.
AP -
January 22, 2021
The US will resume funding for the WHO and join its consortium aimed at sharing coronavirus vaccines fairly around the globe, President Joe Biden’s top adviser on the pandemic said Thursday, renewing support for an agency that the Trump administration had pulled back from. Dr. Anthony Fauci’s quick commitment to the WHO — whose response to the pandemic has been criticized by many, but perhaps most vociferously by the Trump administration — marks a dramatic and vocal shift toward a more cooperative approach to fighting the pandemic.
Reuters -
January 22, 2021
[Fauci] said on Thursday that based on recent seven-day averages, coronavirus infections may be about to hit a plateau in the US. … At a White House news briefing, Fauci also said coronavirus vaccines can be modified to account for new variants of the virus, and that while the South Africa variant is concerning, it does not appear to be in the US.
USA Today -
January 22, 2021
In less than a year, more Americans have died of COVID-19 than died during World War II, according to Johns Hopkins University data. In the 1,347 days from the attack on Pearl Harbor to V-J Day, 405,399 Americans died fighting in World War II, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs. In less than a quarter of that time, at least 409,000 Americans have lost their lives to COVID-19.
US News -
January 22, 2021
The CDC says it will extend a nationwide ban on evictions until at least March 31 in an effort to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 at a crucial time. The moratorium initially took effect in early September and was set to expire at the start of 2021, but was extended through Jan. 31 by the most recent coronavirus relief package.
11ALIVE -
January 22, 2021
11ALIVE -
January 22, 2021
11ALIVE -
January 22, 2021
Reuters -
January 21, 2021
President Joe Biden attempted to jump-start the U.S. government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic on Wednesday, signing a string of executive orders intended to lead a country reeling from its worst public health crisis in more than a century. Biden takes office a day after the US marked a total of 400,000 deaths from COVID-19 since the pandemic began spreading widely last March.
NPR -
January 21, 2021
One of the orders will direct agencies to use the Defense Production Act to address critical shortfalls in 12 categories of items needed for testing, treating and vaccinating people for COVID-19: vaccines, N95 masks, gowns, gloves, test supplies and kits, lab analysis machines, therapeutic drugs and other supplies — and will work to spur production of the items in America. … Biden plans to sign a memo to direct FEMA to fully reimburse states for vaccination and testing supplies and for the costs of National Guard deployments associated with the pandemic, officials told reporters. Biden plans to establish the COVID-19 Pandemic Testing Board to boost testing.
NPR -
January 21, 2021
The devastating fall and winter wave of coronavirus infections that is causing so much misery across the U.S. appears to have finally peaked, according to several researchers who are closely tracking the virus. While another surge remains possible, especially with new, more infectious variants on the horizon, the number of new daily infections in the current wave appears to have hit a high in the past week or two and has been steadily declining in most states since, the researchers say.
Yahoo! Finance -
January 21, 2021
New weekly unemployment claims retreated only slightly from last week’s elevated levels as the coronavirus pandemic continued to grip the U.S. economy. … Initial unemployment claims came in at 900,000 or above for back-to-back weeks after hovering below that level since August.
AP -
January 21, 2021
Scientists are reporting troubling signs that some recent mutations of the virus that causes COVID-19 may modestly curb the effectiveness of two current vaccines, although they stress that the shots still protect against the disease. … The research tested coronaviruses from the United Kingdom, South Africa and Brazil, and was led by Rockefeller University in New York with scientists from the NIH and elsewhere. A different, more limited study out Wednesday gave encouraging news about one vaccine’s protection against some of the mutations.
HealthDay -
January 21, 2021
Fortunately, the absolute risk for complications for any one woman is very low (less than 1%). But the relative risks for problems -- such as clotting and early labor -- are significant, the new study found. … Among the COVID-19 patients, the researchers found the relative risk of developing any type of blood clot was nearly five times higher than for those without the virus … These women were also far more likely to need intensive care or a ventilator, the researchers found. Those who had the virus were: 7% more likely to need a C-section, 19% more likely to have preterm labor, 17% more likely to have a preterm delivery, 21% more likely to have preeclampsia.