Tag: coronavirus

Covid-19 linked to cognitive decline, acceleration of Alzheimer’s-like symptoms, research finds

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Covid-19 may be associated with cognitive decline and acceleration of Alzheimer’s-like symptoms, researchers reported Thursday.

Researchers with an international consortium looking to understand the long-term consequences of Covid-19 on the central nervous system are finding memory issues and biological markers similar to those seen in Alzheimer’s disease patients. Both diseases have been marked by inflammation of the brain.

Dr. Gabriel de Erausquin, a professor of neurology at the University of Texas Health Science Center, and colleagues studied more than 200 adults 60 and older from Argentina who were infected with Covid-19. Continue reading.

‘The war has changed’: Internal CDC document urges new messaging, warns delta infections likely more severe

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NOTE: This article is provided free of charge for all to read.

The internal presentation shows that the agency thinks it is struggling to communicate on vaccine efficacy amid increased breakthrough infections

The delta variant of the coronavirus appears to cause more severe illness than earlier variants and spreads as easily as chickenpox, according to an internal federal health document that argues officials must “acknowledge the war has changed.”

The document is an internal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention slide presentation, shared within the CDC and obtained by The Washington Post. It captures the struggle of the nation’s top public health agency to persuade the public to embrace vaccination and prevention measures, including mask-wearing, as cases surge across the United States and new research suggests vaccinated people can spread the virus.

The document strikes an urgent note, revealing the agency knows it must revamp its public messaging to emphasize vaccination as the best defense against a variant so contagious that it acts almost like a different novel virus, leaping from target to target more swiftly than Ebola or the common cold. Continue reading.

Pandemic Aid Programs Spur a Record Drop in Poverty

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The most comprehensive study yet of the federal response to the pandemic shows huge but temporary benefits for the poor — and helps frame a larger debate over the role of government.

WASHINGTON — The huge increase in government aid prompted by the coronavirus pandemic will cut poverty nearly in half this year from prepandemic levels and push the share of Americans in poverty to the lowest level on record, according to the most comprehensive analysis yet of a vast but temporary expansion of the safety net.

The number of poor Americans is expected to fall by nearly 20 million from 2018 levels, a decline of almost 45 percent. The country has never cut poverty so much in such a short period of time, and the development is especially notable since it defies economic headwinds — the economy has nearly seven million fewer jobs than it did before the pandemic.

The extraordinary reduction in poverty has come at extraordinary cost, with annual spending on major programs projected to rise fourfold to more than $1 trillion. Yet without further expensive new measures, millions of families may find the escape from poverty brief. The three programs that cut poverty most — stimulus checks, increased food stamps and expanded unemployment insurance — have ended or are scheduled to soon revert to their prepandemic size. Continue reading.

Anti-Vaxxer Faces Felony Charges For Deranged Threats Against Fauci

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A Maryland anti-vaxxer is facing charges for threatening National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) Director Anthony Fauci over email– going as far as to warn the face of America’s COVID-19 response that he would be “hunted, captured, tortured and killed,” among other things– according to court documents that were unsealed on Tuesday. 

According to the affidavit filed in support of a criminal complaint, Thomas Patrick Connally, Jr. committed two violations– threatening a federal official and sending interstate communication containing a threat to harm, both of which are felonies. 

The documents also include the absolutely deranged emails Connally allegedly sent to Dr. Fauci from late December of last year to as recently as last week. Continue reading.

14 Minnesota counties fall under new federal mask recommendation, for now

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Gov. Tim Walz says vaccine availability puts Minnesota in “100%” control of its destiny when it comes to fall K-12 classes, events such as State Fair. 

The guidance issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Tuesday was in response to a COVID-19 wave fueled by the delta variant of the coronavirus that has caused widespread infections in other states and appears to be emerging in Minnesota.

Fourteen Minnesota counties had infection rates Tuesday that were high enough to trigger the federal mask recommendation, including Scott County in the Twin Cities area. The other 13 are smaller counties with rates that can fluctuate widely from week to week.

Exactly how the guidance will be implemented in Minnesota is unclear, but a joint statement by the state departments of health and education said, “We will be using the updated CDC guidance to inform our state guidance, including our school guidance coming out in the near future.” Continue reading.

States that cut unemployment early aren’t seeing a hiring boom, but who gets hired is changing

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States that scaled back unemployment aid have seen a decline in teen employment and an increase in workers over 25, early evidence finds

The 20 Republican-led states that reduced unemployment benefits in June did not see an immediate spike in overall hiring, but early evidence suggests something did change: The teen hiring boom slowed in those states, and workers 25 and older returned to work more quickly.

A new analysis by payroll processor Gusto, provided to The Washington Post, found that small restaurants and hospitality businesses in states such as Missouri, which ended the extra unemployment benefits early, saw a jump in hiring of workers over age 25. The uptick in hiring of older workers was roughly offset by the slower hiring of teens in these states. In contrast, restaurants and hospitality businesses in states such as Kansas, where the full benefits remain, have been hiring a lot more teenagers who are less experienced and less likely to qualify for unemployment aid.

The findings suggest hiring is likely to remain difficult for some time, especially in the lower-paying hospitality sector. The analysis also adds perspective to the teen hiring boom, revealing that more generous unemployment payments played a role in keeping more experienced workers on the sidelines, forcing employers to turn to younger workers. It indicates teen hiring could slow further in September, as unemployment benefits are reduced across the country and young people return to school. Continue reading.

Biden administration considering vaccine requirements for all federal workers

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President Biden on Tuesday said his administration is considering making it mandatory for federal workers to get the coronavirus vaccine.

The president’s comments, which echoed those of his press secretary hours earlier, came one day after the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announcedit will require its front-line health care workers to be vaccinated against COVID-19.

“That is under consideration right now, but if you’re not vaccinated, you’re not nearly as smart as I thought you were,” Biden said during a visit to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. Continue reading.

Minnesota’s COVID-19 hospitalizations, positivity rate increase

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Children 12 and older need to receive first doses this week in order to be considered fully vaccinated by the traditional start of fall K-12 classes. 

State officials urged more Minnesotans to get vaccinated against COVID-19 in response to an uptick in pandemic activity, including a rise in hospitalizations, that is being fueled by the more infectious delta variant of the coronavirus.

“It’s really a new thing that we’re dealing with — not the same old COVID that you think of from a year ago,” state infectious disease director Kris Ehresmann said Monday, linking the variant first identified in India to 75% of new infections in Minnesota.

While 66.5% of eligible Minnesotans 12 and older have received at least a first dose of COVID-19 vaccine, Ehresmann said that has left gaps in the state where the virus has spread and caused more severe illness. The 153 COVID-19 hospitalizations reported Monday were an increase from 90 two weeks ago, and Ehresmann said almost all involved unvaccinated individuals. Continue reading.

From ports to rail yards, global supply lines struggle amid virus outbreaks in the developing world

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Some back-to-school products could be hard to find for American consumers in the coming weeks

Fresh coronavirus outbreaks are forcing factory shutdowns in countries such as Vietnam and Bangladesh, aggravating supply chain disruptions that could leave some U.S. retailers with empty shelves as consumers begin their back-to-school shopping.

The overseas work stoppages are just the latest twist in almost 18 months of pandemic-related manufacturing and transportation woes. The new infections come as two of the largest U.S. railroads last week restricted shipments from West Coast seaports to Chicago, where a surge of shipping containers has clogged rail yards.

Supply headaches stretching from Asian factory towns to the American Midwest are intensifying as the economic recovery tries to outrun the highly infectious delta variant. Aftershocks from earlier limits on a major Chinese port following a rash of covid-19 cases are expected later this month to worsen backlogs at U.S. West Coast facilities. Continue reading.

Experts warn unvaccinated are greatest threat to pandemic recovery

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Experts are warning that the greatest threat to the pandemic recovery in the United States are the large swaths of Americans who remain unvaccinated. 

Over the past few weeks, the U.S. has seen a surge of coronavirus cases across the country in the wake of the highly infectious delta variant. The new strain has particularly wreaked havoc in states with low vaccination rates.

The state of Missouri has recently become a U.S. hot spot, averaging more than 2,100 cases per day over the last seven-day period, according to data from The New York Times. About 41 percent of the state population is fully vaccinated. Continue reading.