Tag: coronavirus

Mapping of Carver County outbreak unmasks how COVID spreads

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Carver County cases show an alarming “attack rate” by newer form of virus. 

Hannah Friedlander didn’t like what the genomic sequencing was telling her. Two children from one Carver County school not only had COVID-19, but their infections in late January came from the same, more infectious viral variant.

Then came a cluster in a local hockey team, followed by an outbreak at an area child care facility. All were unusual for their high “attack rates,” meaning more people exposed to the virus ended up infected.

And, as it turned out, all were linked. Continue reading.

GOP picks fight over states’ rights in coronavirus relief

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Republicans are aiming to stir up a legal battle over Biden’s pandemic relief bill, targeting a provision in the American Rescue Plan they say is an unconstitutional infringement on states’ ability to devise their own tax policies.

A provision in the bill that forbids states from using billions in aid to offset any tax cuts they might implement has sparked a backlash from Republican lawmakers and state attorneys general. Their criticisms could lay the groundwork for a court battle over states’ rights and government overreach akin to the Supreme Court case over the fate of ObamaCare.

This time, the GOP appears to be framing the issue as the Biden administration getting in the way of state and local leaders cutting taxes for their own residents. Continue reading.

4 steps to reaching Biden’s goal of a July 4th with much greater freedom from COVID-19

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President Joe Biden set a goal for the U.S. to have COVID-19 under enough control by summer that Americans can celebrate July 4th with family and friends, at least in small gatherings. Important in achieving this goal is another presidential request: that all U.S. adults be made eligible for COVID-19 vaccinationsby May 1.

We are public health deans who lead a variety of COVID-19 response efforts and are involved in public policy discussions. At a time when the nation is weary of hearing “no, you can’t,” we believe that thinking in terms of harm reduction – offering safer but not necessarily risk-free alternatives – is crucial. 

Harm reduction strategies are in use all around you. Seat belts and air bags are perhaps the most widespread harm reduction strategy for a leading cause of death in the U.S. Designated driver programs represent a harm reduction technique to reduce alcohol-related traffic fatalities. Another well-known example is the use of sterile syringe exchange services to help prevent HIV infection among people who inject drugs while also creating an important pathway for them to access client-centered medical and social services. Continue reading.

Colbert Shows How Trump’s Racist Lies Led To Spa Shootings In Damning Supercut

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“The Late Show” host called the former president “a hateful man who left a stain” on the nation.

Stephen Colbert says former President Donald Trump bears a “particular responsibility” for amplifying the racist hatred that led to this week’s deadly shootings in the Atlanta area. 

Police say a sex-obsessed gunman fatally shot eight people, including six women of Asian descent, at three massage spas. 

Colbert noted the attack comes after Trump spent much of 2020 using anti-Asian rhetoric and slurs in front of his cheering throngs in an attempt to deflect blame for his mishandling of the coronavirus pandemic.  Continue reading.

Vaccines could prevent asymptomatic infection. Here’s why that’s key to ending the pandemic.

If vaccines can halt asymptomatic spread, then “you could potentially vaccinate your way out of the epidemic,” one expert said.

Vaccine distribution is ramping up in many countries, but with Covid-19 cases also climbing once again and the prospect of another surge of infections on the horizon, the world is in a race against time.

Key to winning the race, experts say, is not only whether the vaccines will play a significant role in preventing serious illness from Covid-19, but also whether they can block people from spreading the virus.

“The ideal vaccine would have two performance features: One prevents you from going to the hospital, going to the ICU and losing your life,” said Dr. Peter Hotez, co-director of the Center for Vaccine Development at Texas Children’s Hospital and dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine. “But if the vaccine also halts asymptomatic spread, then you could potentially vaccinate your way out of the epidemic.” Continue reading.

‘A toxic cycle of blame, sycophancy and political pressure’: New book to detail Trump’s ‘nightmare’ handling of COVID crisis

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Washington Post journalists Yasmeen Abutaleb and Damian Paletta are preparing for the release of their forthcoming book, “Nightmare Scenario,” which aims to highlight former President Donald Trump’s disastrous COVID-19 response since the onset of the pandemic. 

According to Axios, the agents for the book, which will be released by HarperCollins Publishers, are Javelin’s Keith Urbahn and Matt Latimer. Jonathan Jao, HarperCollins’ vice president and executive editor, has also been named as editor of the book. The publication also offered a brief overview of the book and the controversial topics it will address.

From the Trump administration’s handling of the coronavirus to the politicization of the pandemic, the book will reportedly offer an in-depth look at the timeline of Trump’s White House’s handling of COVID-19. Continue reading.

Fauci clashes with Rand Paul over masks

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The nation’s top infectious diseases doctor Anthony Fauci on Thursday clashed with Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) over the need for people to continue wearing masks once they’ve already been infected with or vaccinated against COVID-19.

“You’re telling everyone to wear a mask,” Paul said. “If we’re not spreading the infection, isn’t it just theater? You have the vaccine and you’re wearing two masks, isn’t that theater?”

“Here we go again with the theater,” an exasperated Fauci responded. “Let’s get down to the facts.” Continue reading.

U.S. to send AstraZeneca vaccine to Canada and Mexico

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The U.S. will send around 1.5 million doses of the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine to Canada, and 2.5 million to Mexico, Reuters reports.

Why it matters: This is the first time President Biden has agreed to share doses purchased by the U.S. with other countries.

  • The U.S. has come under increasing pressure for refusing to export doses, including the AstraZeneca vaccine, which has not yet been approved in the U.S. and is not expected to play a major role in the U.S. vaccine rollout.

Details: The deal comes in the form of a loan, with the U.S. sending doses to Canada and Mexico now with the expectation that they will return doses to the U.S. later this year. Continue reading.

European regulator says AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine is ‘safe and effective,’ but link to rare blood clots cannot be ruled out

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BERLIN — Europe’s medical regulator concluded Thursday that AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine is “safe and effective,” but it could not rule out a link to a small number of rare and unusual blood clot cases — an assessment that opened the way for European countries to restart paused inoculation programs, while not fully allaying fears surrounding side effects.

The European Medicines Agency said it investigated 25 cases, including nine deaths, that involved particularly rare blood clots: one type of brain clot and another condition that clogs multiple veins in the body. The agency noted that was out of the 20 million people in Europe and Britain who have received the vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford.

“A causal link with the vaccine is not proven, but is possible and deserves further analysis,” the agency concluded. Continue reading.

The Trump-Tucker cold war has begun

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One of the mysteries that lingers around President Donald Trump’s final days in office is why he chose to downplay the deployment of the coronavirus vaccine.

Granted, his last days took place in the shadow of the insurrection on Jan. 6 that followed his constant insistences that the 2020 presidential election had been stolen. But at some point that month, Trump himself quietly got the vaccine and, despite having nearly nothing else on his schedule, he never undertook any substantial effort to promote vaccination. No events focused on it. There was little mention of the vaccine publicly, in part because he was so focused on injecting his election-fraud nonsense into his followers.

Part of the impulse may have been one central to Trump’s approach since he took office. Trump always likes to give himself wiggle room for people to interpret his position however they want. He’ll say things vaguely enough to send one message to his base while maintaining deniability when questioned by the media. He’ll add quick caveats that, as needed, can be built into primary defenses or new rationales for support. For all of the praise Trump gets from his base for his directness, he is always careful to leave some escape routes allowing people to take different paths. Continue reading.