Tag: pandemic

How Biden aims to Covid-proof his administration

Avoiding superspreader events, requiring masks and encouraging remote work are all part of the transition’s effort to keep its staff safe.

Small and infrequent public events. Repeated testing of staff, reporters and the president-elect. Aides debating policies and Cabinet picks without ever meeting face-to-face. Preparations for a pared-down, mostly virtual inauguration.

Joe Biden’s team has meticulously carried the virus safety practices of his campaign over to the transition. And his staff plans to take that approach to the White House on move-in day — intent on setting a good example for the country and avoiding the dangerous and embarrassing outbreaks of Covid-19 that have infected dozens in President Donald Trump’s inner circle, most recently sickening his personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani.

“It’s a dynamic situation with the pandemic, but I think you’ll see the exact same adherence to and commitment to the science of keeping the team safe that you saw during the campaign and transition, you’ll see that as we enter the physical space,” said Yohannes Abraham, the executive director of the transition. Continue reading.

‘God be with us’

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Covid-19 becomes personal in a South Dakota town as neighbors die and the town debates a mask mandate

MITCHELL, S.D. — A cold wind whipped through the prairie as they laid Buck Timmins to rest.

Timmins, a longtime coach and referee, was not the first person in Mitchell, S.D., pop. 15,600, to die of the coronavirus. He was not even the first that week.

As the funeral director tucked blankets over the knees of Timmins’s wife, Nanci, Pastor Rhonda Wellsandt-Zell told the small group of masked mourners that just as there had been seasons in the coach’s life — basketball season, football season, volleyball season — Mitchell was now enduring a phase of its own. Continue reading.

‘Vibrational frequencies’: Trump supporters explain why they don’t wear masks — and it’s a real doozy

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In a video posted to their Twitter account this Tuesday, comedy duo The Good Liars interviewed a pair of Trump supporters, asking the women why they don’t wear masks in the midst of a surging global pandemic.

“We don’t have the vibrational frequency to host the virus,” one of the women said. “So, if you don’t have that vibrational frequency right here, you’re not gonna get it.”

According to the other woman, she doesn’t “put life into COVID,” so she’s immune from the virus. “I never wear a mask,” she said. “Ever.” Continue reading and view the video here.

Gov. Walz and Lt. Flanagan Update: December 11, 2020

Minnesota is Ready for COVID-19 Vaccine

On Tuesday, Governor Walz announced that Minnesota is ready to receive and distribute a vaccine effectively, safely, and equitably at the moment it is made available to states.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Governor Walz has been committed to transparency and accountability, bringing Minnesotans along with him every step of the way as we learn how best to weather this storm. And the vaccine distribution plan distribution plan is no different.

“There are a number of factors outside of our state government control when it comes to getting the vaccine to Minnesotans, including the federal government’s national guidelines on distribution and the supply of the vaccine,” said Governor Walz. “But in Minnesota, we are ready for the vaccine at the moment it becomes available. Our infrastructure is set and our plans are ready to execute. Until then, we need to stay patient, remain hopeful, and keep up the fight.”

Continue reading “Gov. Walz and Lt. Flanagan Update: December 11, 2020”

FDA clears nation’s first COVID-19 vaccine

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The country’s first coronavirus shots are one step closer to getting injected into the general public after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted emergency authorization late Friday to the vaccine manufactured by Pfizer and BioNTech.

The announcement comes as the country is reeling from a new surge of COVID-19 infections, with deaths now exceeding 3,000 people each day.

Now that the FDA has given the vaccine the green light, the federal government is able to start distributing it to states. However, vaccinations won’t begin until after a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) committee recommends the vaccine and the CDC accepts that recommendation. Continue reading.

Two Presidents, Two Messages, One Killer Virus

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In split-screen assessments of the coronavirus pandemic, President Trump focused on the “medical miracle” of vaccines and President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. warned of a “very dark winter.”

WASHINGTON — One president all but declared victory over the pandemic, hailing new vaccines as a “medical miracle” and congratulating himself for doing what “nobody has ever seen before.” The next president declared the pandemic deadlier than ever, calling it a “mass casualty” event that is leaving “a gaping hole” in America with more misery to come.

“We’re here to discuss a monumental national achievement,” President Trump boasted on one screen. “From the instant the coronavirus invaded our shores, we raced into action.”

“We’re in a very dark winter,” President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. said minutes later in his own speech on another screen. “Things may well get worse before they get better.” Continue reading.

What you need to know about Minnesota’s COVID-19 vaccine plan

After months of trials, the first coronavirus vaccines are expected to be approved by the federal government in the coming days. Gov. Tim Walz on Tuesday laid out the initial steps in Minnesota’s vaccination plan, with the earliest doses likely to arrive as soon as next week. Here are answers to questions you may have about vaccines and the state’s strategy to vaccinate millions of Minnesotans. 

Which are the most promising coronavirus vaccine candidates right now?

While more than 50 vaccine candidates have progressed to clinical trials with humans, two front-runners have emerged. A vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech is first in line for review by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration this month, and another produced by Moderna will be considered a week later. A third vaccine developed by the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca could be ready for review in early 2021.

How will they work?

The Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines use messenger RNA to instruct cells to create a harmless piece of the virus that causes COVID-19. This piece of “spike protein” is a key feature of the virus (you’ve likely seen COVID-19 depicted as a spiky ball). The body recognizes this spike protein as foreign and triggers an immune response to fend off future infection. Continue reading.

Minnesota House Ways and Means Committee Reviews New COVID-19 Assistance Package

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SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA – Yesterday, the House Ways and Means Committee reviewed a new COVID-19 assistance package designed to help workers, families, and small businesses hardest hit by the pandemic. House DFLers are advocating for direct assistance for workers and families in addition to businesses.

Key pieces in the assistance package include: 

  1. Extend Unemployment Benefits (Mahoney/Noor): Up to 13 additional weeks in unemployment benefits for MN workers who have exhausted all federal and state benefits.
  2. TANF Money for MFIP Families (Noor): One-time grants of $500 for 30,000 MFIP Families, using $15.7 million from the federal TANF Fund.
  3. Business Assistance (Mahoney): Provides $200 million from the General Fund in grants to restaurants, bars, gyms, theaters and many other entities directly affected by the executive orders and the pandemic.
Continue reading “Minnesota House Ways and Means Committee Reviews New COVID-19 Assistance Package”

First signs of Thanksgiving COVID-19 wave emerge

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The first signs of a post-Thanksgiving surge in coronavirus cases are beginning to show up in data released by states across the country in a troubling prelude of what may become the deadliest month of the pandemic so far.

Those hints of an uptick in case counts come as the country faces an already substantial wave of infections that began in the Upper Midwest and spread to every corner of the map as summer turned to fall and the weather cooled.

The United States has averaged nearly 200,000 new confirmed cases a day over the last week, according to The Covid Tracking Project, run by a group of independent researchers. More than 2,200 people a day have died on an average during that period. The number of patients being treated in hospitals has crested 102,000, the highest levels of the pandemic. Continue reading.

FDA panel votes in favor of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine

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A federal panel of outside experts on Thursday endorsed a coronavirus vaccine from Pfizer and BioNTech, and recommended the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) move forward with emergency authorization.

The panel voted 17-4, with one abstention, that the safety and efficacy of the vaccine outweigh the risks for use in individuals age 16 and older. 

The vote is an important step, as the country is poised to start an unprecedented vaccination campaign to stop the COVID-19 pandemic. Continue reading.