Tag: coronavirus

All Minnesotans 16 and older will be eligible for COVID-19 vaccine starting March 30

Star Tribune logo

Starting Tuesday, the expanded eligibility will add 1.2 million Minnesotans to the pool of candidates. 

The COVID-19 vaccine will be available to all Minnesotans 16 and older beginning Tuesday, Gov. Tim Walz announced Friday morning.

A statement from the governor’s office said Minnesota’s most critical goal is getting “as many Minnesotans vaccinated as quickly as possible to end this pandemic,” which is showing signs of increased activity in the state again.

“Minnesotans have done a remarkable job helping our most vulnerable get vaccinated and waiting their turn,” Walz said in a statement prepared ahead of a live video address at 11:30 a.m. “Now, as we prepare to receive more vaccine heading into April, it’s time for all Minnesotans to get in line.” Continue reading.

COVID death toll could have been under 300K if Trump took the pandemic seriously early on: analysis

Raw Story Logo

While the tide against coronavirus seems to be turning for the better — at least in some parts of the U.S., there is still the question of what could have been done differently at the outset of the pandemic.

“It’s likely that the government’s response to the pandemic led to hundreds of thousands of deaths that could have been prevented,” writes the Washington Post’s Philip Bump. “And it’s likely that the pandemic response cost Donald Trump the presidency.”

Bump cites research from Andrew Atkeson of the University of California at Los Angeles, who found that if widespread testing and mask mandates had been implemented early on, the country’s death toll could have been held below 300,000 in total. Continue reading.

Biden’s new goal is 200 million COVID-19 vaccinations in first 100 days

The Hill logo

President Biden on Thursday announced an updated goal to administer 200 million COVID-19 vaccinations in his first 100 days in office during his first press conference.

During his first official press briefing, Biden laid out his new target after the U.S. reached his original goal of 100 million vaccinations on Friday, the president’s 59th day in office. 

“That’s right: 200 million shots in 100 days,” Biden said. “I know it’s ambitious, twice our original goal. But no other country in the world has even come close, not even close to what we are doing. I believe we can do it. Continue reading.

Executive resigns from hospital that offered early vaccines to employees at Trump’s Chicago hotel

Washington Post logo

The chief operating officer of a small Chicago hospital resigned on Wednesday after reports that he used coronavirus vaccines meant for low-income residents to vaccinate employees at his luxury wristwatch dealer, his regular steakhouse and his condo building — which is former president Donald Trump’s Chicago tower.

The resignation of Anosh Ahmed was announced late Wednesday by Loretto Hospital, a hospital serving a majority-Black neighborhood on Chicago’s West Side.

Ahmed’s actions — reported over the past week by the news site Block Club Chicago — had raised concerns that Loretto executives were putting their friends ahead of their patients. The city of Chicago had already cut off Loretto’s supply of new vaccines while it investigated. Continue reading.

Pandemics and gun violence are real life, not ‘theater’

Roll Call Logo

And the word is not the insult Rand Paul and Ted Cruz seem to think it is

Perhaps Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky needs a refresher course on the meaning of the word “theater.” His GOP colleague Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas could listen in.

The former recently initiated a verbal brawl with Dr. Anthony Fauci, the infectious disease specialist who has been providing information and advice to guide Americans dealing, along with the rest of the world, with a deadly pandemic. The latter accused anyone proposing the consideration of gun restrictions, in light of two horrific mass shootings in the space of a week, of “ridiculous theater.”

Now, I realize the term “theatrical” can be used as an insult hurled at someone accused of exaggeration, but what is happening in America is a fact. So let me offer my own definition: “Theater” is the thrill of escaping from it all in a darkened hall with a group of strangers, to see and hear professionals act or sing or dance, and to be uplifted by the experience, if only for an hour or two. Continue reading.

Shootings never stopped during the pandemic: 2020 was the deadliest gun violence year in decades

Washington Post logo

Until two lethal rampages this month, mass shootings had largely been absent from headlines during the coronavirus pandemic. But people were still dying — at a record rate.

In 2020, gun violence killed nearly 20,000 Americans, according to data from the Gun Violence Archive, more than any other year in at least two decades. An additional 24,000 people died by suicide with a gun.

The vast majority of these tragedies happen far from the glare of the national spotlight, unfolding instead in homes or on city streets and — like the covid-19 crisis — disproportionately affecting communities of color. Continue reading.

They Had Mild Covid. Then Their Serious Symptoms Kicked In.

New York Times logo

A new study illuminates the complex array of neurological issues experienced by people months after their coronavirus infections.

In the fall, after Samar Khan came down with a mild case of Covid-19, she expected to recover and return to her previous energetic life in Chicago. After all, she was just 25, and healthy.

But weeks later, she said, “this weird constellation of symptoms began to set in.”

She had blurred vision encircled with strange halos. She had ringing in her ears, and everything began to smell like cigarettes or Lysol. One leg started to tingle, and her hands would tremble while putting on eyeliner. Continue reading.

Johnson & Johnson under pressure to deliver promised vaccine doses to states

Roll Call Logo

Delays could undercut vaccinations in areas lacking access to deep freezers needed for one of the other authorized COVID-19 vaccines

Johnson & Johnson is under pressure to deliver its promised 20 million vaccine doses by next week, as several state public health officials indicate they are receiving few or no shots this week and have no idea how much they’ll get later.

The uncertainty comes at a time when the demand for vaccines continues to overwhelm supply, a weary country braces for the spread of viral variants and hundreds of people die from COVID-19 each day. It raises questions about how successful the company was in meeting a central goal of the massive U.S. investment in vaccine development: to manufacture sufficient supplies of shots before they were proven effective in order to hit the ground running. 

The delays could undercut vaccinations in rural and low-income areas without access to deep freezers needed for one of the two other authorized vaccines. Johnson & Johnson’s single-dose shot is helpful in those places since it’s durable for three months in the refrigerator. Continue reading.

People gave up on flu pandemic measures a century ago when they tired of them – and paid a price

The Conversation Logo

Picture the United States struggling to deal with a deadly pandemic.

State and local officials enact a slate of social-distancing measures, gathering bans, closure orders and mask mandates in an effort to stem the tide of cases and deaths.

The public responds with widespread compliance mixed with more than a hint of grumbling, pushback and even outright defiance. As the days turn into weeks turn into months, the strictures become harder to tolerate. Continue reading.

AstraZeneca accused of cherry-picking vaccine study data

WASHINGTON — AstraZeneca may have included “outdated information” in touting the effectiveness of its COVID-19 vaccine in a U.S. study, federal health officials said Tuesday in an unusual public rift that could further erode confidence in the shot.

In response, AstraZeneca said that it is working on more up-to-date information and that the more recent findings are consistent with its initial announcement that the vaccine offered strong protection. It promised an update within 48 hours.

In an extraordinary rebuke, just hours after AstraZeneca on Monday announced its vaccine worked well in the U.S. study, an independent panel that oversees the study scolded the company for cherry-picking data, according to a senior administration official. Continue reading.