Tag: COVID-19

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.

DFL Party Condemns Hate Crimes Directed at AAPI Community

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SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA — DFL Party Chairman Ken Martin released the following statement denouncing the rise in hate crimes directed at the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community: 

“Over the last four years, coinciding with the ascent of Donald Trump, the United States has seen a tragic rise in the number of hate crimes taking place across the country.

“This past year, the AAPI community in particular has seen a dramatic increase in racist attacks and hate crimes due to the bigoted dog-whistling some have engaged in to deflect blame for the COVID-19 pandemic and then-President Trump’s mismanagement of it. These attacks and the dog-whistling that helps inspire them has to stop. The AAPI community here in Minnesota does so much each and every day to contribute to the rich tapestry of life in our great state and it is incumbent upon leaders across the political spectrum to speak out against this hate and against this violence.”

Gov. Walz and Lt. Gov. Flanagan Update: March 19, 2021

Governor Walz Announces More Than 2 Million COVID-19 Vaccine Doses Administered

First million doses took more than two months to administer, second million doses took less than one month to administer

2 Million COVID Doses


On Thursday, Governor Walz announced that Minnesota has administered more than two million COVID-19 vaccine doses. While it took more than two months for the state to administer the first million doses, it took less than one month to administer the second million doses. Minnesota has been able to increase vaccination rates as supply has increased from the federal government and Governor Walz continues to expand capacity in the state’s vaccine distribution network.

Continue reading “Gov. Walz and Lt. Gov. Flanagan Update: March 19, 2021”

House passes Rep. Liebling bill to increase COVID-19 vaccine payment rate for MA enrollees

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SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA – Today the Minnesota House passed legislation, authored by Rep. Tina Liebling (DFL – Rochester), to raise the payment rate for administering COVID-19 vaccinations to Medical Assistance (MA) enrollees. Administration of COVID-19 vaccines is more complex than other vaccines such as the flu shot, resulting in higher costs for providers. The bill takes advantage of recent federal action to give providers the higher rate available under Medicare.

“As more doses of COVID-19 vaccines become available, this bill takes advantage of the American Rescue Plan passed by Democrats in the U.S. Congress to help more Minnesotans get vaccinated,” Rep. Liebling said. “Some of the COVID vaccines have unique requirements, including very cold storage. This bill will help cover costs for pharmacies, clinics, and other providers, with the goal of increasing the number of providers administering the vaccine as supplies increase.”

The rate currently paid for Medical Assistance enrollees is $12.84 per dose. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently updated the Medicare rate to an average of $40 per dose. Under the American Rescue Plan, the federal government will provide 100% matching funds for COVID-19 vaccine administration to MA enrollees at the higher Medicare rate.

The bill next goes to the Minnesota Senate for its consideration. Video of the floor session will be available on House Public Information Services’ YouTube channel.

A number of Republican lawmakers are saying no to COVID-19 vaccines

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Republicans are at odds over the wisdom and efficacy of taking the COVID-19 vaccine, undermining national efforts to defeat the coronavirus and reinforcing the views of GOP base voters already reluctant to participate in the ramped-up inoculation program.

Although the top GOP leaders, including Sen. Mitch McConnell (Ky.) and Rep. Kevin McCarthy (Calif.), were quickly vaccinated in December — and encouraged the public to follow suit — a number of high-profile rank-and-file members say they intend to ignore the advice. 

Some of those holdouts say they’re concerned the vaccine poses a greater health threat than COVID-19 itself. Others have indicated they don’t want to jump ahead of constituents in line for vaccines of their own. And still others note that, because they contracted COVID-19 over the past year, they have the antibodies to fight the disease in the future, precluding the need to be inoculated.  Continue reading.