Category: Corona Virus

The question on most peoples minds is when will the COVID-19 pandemic end? Well, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, has a new prediction.

Walensky told ABC News that the pandemic will end when the country sees a huge drop in deaths per day and when hospitals arent packed with patients.

The pandemic, she said, will eventually end. And that will mean that we can drop the face masks from our culture, too.

Dr. Scott Gottlieb, the former Food and Drug Administration commissioner, said during Face the Nation on CBS News in early November that the pandemic phase of the coronavirus outbreak was close to ending.

But that was before the omicron variant emerged, worrying experts about what might be next in the coronavirus pandemic. Experts told The Sydney Morning Herald that the omicron variant could be less virulent and cause less severe outcomes which has proven true so far which might be a sign of the future of the pandemic.

Originally posted here:

When will COVID-19 end? CDC offers new prediction - Deseret News

In summary

A state audit says four California universities could have received millions more in federal pandemic money and helped more students. University of California and California State University officials could still recoup some of the cash.

Four California public universities could have received $47 million more in coronavirus aid if they sought funds from a different federal agency, a recent state audit found. As a result, some students may have missed out on support services and equipment during what has been an unprecedented disruption in schooling worldwide.

California colleges could apply to two pots of money one supplied by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the other by the U.S. Department of Education, called the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF). Of six University of California and Cal State University campuses audited, four used Department of Education funding for expenses where they should have asked FEMA for reimbursement, the audit said.

The audit recommended that Chico State, Cal State Long Beach, UC Merced, and UC San Diego apply to FEMA for reimbursement of about $7.5 million in past expenses and $39.7 million in planned expenses so they can use that money to support students.

The other two universities in the audit Sonoma State and UC Riverside had used and sought reimbursement appropriately, according to the audit. In total, the six universities received $822 million in HEERF funding.

FEMA could potentially reimburse campuses for expenses including coronavirus testing, vaccines and temporary medical tents. The U.S. Department of Education provided emergency funding to pay for those expenses, too, but that money could also be used for other pandemic-related costs such as technology services.

Though campus officials said FEMA reimbursement is a more difficult process, education advocates said that was not a good enough reason to give up millions.

Students were having trouble meeting their basic needs, said Yvonne Muoz, a higher education policy analyst for the nonprofit advocacy group Education Trust West. The emergency funding really should have been distributed with an urgency that recognizes that.

The potential $47 million could have been used to directly support students, Muoz said. Education Trust and the Global Strategy Group polled 1,010 students about their experiences during the pandemic and found that more students struggled with paying for necessities including rent, food and tuition during the pandemic, and a third of survey respondents frequently skipped meals because they couldnt afford them, the poll found.

Students were having trouble meeting their basic needs. The emergency funding really should have been distributed with an urgency that recognizes that.

Chico State officials said seeking reimbursement from FEMA isnt so simple. About three years ago, they asked FEMA for reimbursement for costs associated with the deadly and destructive 2018 Camp Fire, and their claims were fully settled only recently, said Stacie Corona, Chico States associate vice president of financial services. Corona said it took almost three years to close out their FEMA claim for the Camp Fire.

Its quite a process, its a lot of back and forth, Corona said.

Still, theyve asked FEMA to reimburse$367,409 for pandemic-related expenses, and the campus hasnt yet been paid, she said. The costs covered by the claims include PPE, cleaning supplies and sanitation stations, Corona said.The university has also filed a claim with FEMA for the additional $164,00 that the audit said it should reallocate from their HEERF spending, she said.

An official at UC San Diego which lost out on the most with $4.3 million in spent dollars and $36.3 million in planned spending that FEMA could reimburse also indicated that FEMAs claims process puts a large administrative burden on campuses to gather all of the required documents, such as invoices and receipts associated with each expense, according to the audit.

We agree with the recommendations outlined in the audit and are working on the recommended improvements to strengthen our use of federal aid funds, maximize the benefit of those funds to the University community, and ensure compliance with the changing landscape of federal rules and requirements governing the distribution of this aid, a spokesperson for UC San Diego said in a statement.

During a normal year, FEMA typically took about three to six months to process and approve applications for funds. During the pandemic, though, it could take about six to 12 months, according to the audit. Though campuses would have to wait for the money, the audit urged officials to apply anyway.

Regardless of the amount of time it takes FEMA to process these claims, the millions of dollars the campuses could receive should outweigh their reluctance to engage in this process, the audit said.

The audit explained where four schools went wrong with their federal aid, and where two schools Sonoma State and UC Riverside made better decisions.

Cal State Long Beach spent $2.836 million from the Department of Education on expenses including a temporary medical tent, coronavirus testing and vaccines, when it could have asked FEMA to reimburse those costs, the audit said. UC Merced spent $113,000 on FEMA-refundable items as well.

By comparison, the audit noted Sonoma State and UC Riverside made sure to use Department of Education funding for items that couldnt be reimbursed by FEMA such as purchasing technology for students.

Regardless of the amount of time it takes FEMA to process these claims, the millions of dollars the campuses could receive should outweigh their reluctance to engage in this process.

The audit found the UC Office of the President and the Cal State Chancellors Office should have given more guidance to schools on how to disperse the federal funding to avoid any mistakes.

Universities distributed the grant money to their students differently. So students at some colleges received grants while students at other colleges didnt, even if they were in similar financial situations.

For example, UC San Diego gave out the same amount of automatic grants to nearly all students, while UC Riverside distributed grants based on students expected family contribution in their financial aid documents.

These grants also varied by school. For example: a student who had an expected family contribution of $1 to $2,000 would receive a grant of $900 at Chico State, $1,300 at Sonoma State and $500 at CSU Long Beach.

Students at Cal State Long Beach, Chico State and Sonoma State could also apply for additional grants if they believed their college underestimated their pandemic-related expenses. Cal State Long Beach, however, only awarded extra grants to students if they applied for money because of the change to virtual instruction.

Nathen Ortiz, a student intern at Lets Go To College CA and a senior at Cal State Fullerton, said he received a grant from his university that was deposited into his bank account. He said he would have liked to see more engagement with students, to provide students more information about the grants, including where the funding came from and how students could apply for more aid.

Every university should be including a lot more students in terms of budgeting and how certain money should be allocated across different campus departments, Ortiz said.

The fact that grants were dispersed differently across universities shows how higher education is very inequitable, he added.

The differences in grant funding caused confusion among students. When students compared how much federal aid they received with friends at their own university and other universities, they didnt know why other people qualified for more funding and others for less, according to Marcos Montes, the program manager of Lets Go to College CA, a program created to support students through the coronavirus pandemic.

Its important for campuses to find the balance between ensuring that they are catering to the needs of their specific student populations, but also that there is uniformity in how they spend and use those dollars, Montes said.

As the audit recommended, the UCOP will require each campus to write a report on their pandemic-related expenses from January 2020 to Dec. 31, 2021 to ensure all eligible items are submitted to FEMA for reimbursement, according to university spokesperson Joanna McWilliams. The university hasnt set a deadline yet for the reports, she said.

The Cal State Chancellors Office, however, will not require campuses to submit a report but will assist campuses who want to apply to FEMA for reimbursement, spokesperson Mike Uhlenkamp said.

In addition to adding an additional level of bureaucracy to the process, there is also no guarantee that FEMA will approve those claims, much less in a timely manner, Uhlenkamp said via email. He added that the average wait time for reimbursement claims from FEMA to campuses is 279 days.

Mendoza, Zappelli and Ananthavel are fellows with the CalMatters College Journalism Network, a collaboration between CalMatters and student journalists from across California. This story and other higher education coverage are supported by the College Futures Foundation.

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Four California universities missed out on $47 million more in coronavirus aid. Heres why - CalMatters

KINGSTON, N.Y. Free coronavirus rapid at-home test kits are set to be distributed from City Hall starting Monday, Dec. 20, according to Mayor Steve Noble.

The city will distribute 500 test kits from Ulster County after county officials obtained 33,000 of them this week.

They will be given out at City Hall, 420 Broadway, on Monday from 10 a.m. to noon.

The initiative will assist schools and businesses in remaining open, and will allow residents to take a test before gathering with family, friends, and those at higher risk for Covid-19, a press release from Nobles office said.

Each kit has two tests, which use shallow nasal swabs and provide results in 15 minutes.

More than 500 test kits, half of what was available, were handed out on Tuesday at the Andy Murphy III Midtown Neighborhood Center on Broadway, with the help of Ulster County Executive Pat Ryan.

The remaining 500 testing kits will be available in the Mayors Office at City from Monday, Dec. 20 to Wednesday, December 22, between the hours of 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. until supplies run out. City Hall will be closed on December 23-24 for the Christmas holiday.

Masks must be worn at all times in City Hall, and people must sign in when entering the building.

Our wish is that everyone would have a safe and healthy holiday, and these tests will help families to have a Covid test before gathering and potentially exposing others, Noble said. The county, along with us here in Kingston, are working hard to slow the spread of Covid, which has ticked up in recent days. I hope the reassurance of a negative test will help you celebrate safely and brighten your holidays.

Here are local COVID-19 statistics:

Ulster County: 982, down from 989 reported the previous day.

Dutchess County:1,420 down from, 1,452, reported the previous day.

Ulster County: 22,518 confirmed cases, 21,225 recoveries; and 311 deaths. (Two new deaths reported Wednesday).

Dutchess County: 39,956 confirmed cases and 38,015 recoveries, 62 residents hospitalized, and one new death, making the total 521.

Ulster County: 6.7% daily.

Dutchess County: 5.8% 7-day average.

Data as of Tuesday fromthe New York states online vaccine tracker.

Ulster County: 69.5% fully vaccinated, 77% with at least one dose of a two-dose regimen, 85.8% of 18+ population with at least one dose.

Dutchess County: 64% fully vaccinated, 71.9% with at least one dose of a two-dose regimen, 81.2% of 18+ population with at least one dose.

Here are the most recent reports of COVID cases in area school districts.

Kingston: One student each at Chambers Elementary School and Ernest C. Meyer Elementary School and two students and one staff at J. Watson Bailey Middle School.

New Paltz: One student at the high school.

Onteora: One teacher at the high school and one student at Reginald Bennett Elementary School.

Saugerties: One student at the junior high school.

Wallkill: One student each at Leftondale Elementary School and the high school and two students at Plattekill Elementary School.

Ellenville: One student each at Ellenville Elementary and the high school.

Marlboro: One student at the elementary school and middle school.

Pine Plains: Cold Spring early Learning Center

Red Hook: One student at Mill Road Primary School and one staff at the high school.

Kingston Catholic School: One teacher.

Ulster BOCES: One teacher at BOCES Ulster Special Education.

Appointments:vaccinateulster.com,bit.ly/dut-vax,bit.ly/ny-vaxme.

For online local coverage related to the coronavirus, go todailyfreeman.com/tag/coronavirus.

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Free coronavirus rapid test kits to be given out at Kingston City Hall on Monday - The Daily Freeman

Oregon saw a 20% drop in weekly coronavirus cases Monday.

The Oregon Health Authority recorded 5,063 cases in the past week, including 1,387 announced Monday for the preceding three days.

Case counts over the preceding week dropped about twice as much as testing, indicating declining test positivity rates. New daily case counts have been declining since September, with all but two weeks in three-and-a-half months showing a decline in case counts. Oregon is currently averaging about 700 new cases per day.

Hospitalizations were declining for months, too, but since around mid-November have stayed flat, with 408 people currently hospitalized with COVID-19.

Where the new cases are by county: Baker (10), Benton (20), Clackamas (138), Clatsop (14), Columbia (39), Coos (46), Crook (5), Deschutes (101), Douglas (46), Gilliam (1), Grant (1), Hood River (3), Jackson (71), Jefferson (15), Josephine (55), Klamath (4), Lake (1), Lane (108), Lincoln (20), Linn (81), Malheur (2), Marion (89), Morrow (2), Multnomah (218), Polk (15), Tillamook (28), Umatilla (8), Union (4), Wasco (7), Washington (190), Wheeler (1) and Yamhill (44).

Who died: Oregons 5,382nd death is an 83-year-old Columbia County man who tested positive Oct. 15 and died Oct. 23 at Providence St. Vincent Medical Center.

The 5,383rd death is a 69-year-old Multnomah County man who tested positive Oct. 18 and died Oct. 19 at Providence Portland Medical Center.

Oregons 5,384th death is a 40-year-old Lane County man who tested positive Oct. 18 and died Oct. 31 at PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center at RiverBend.

The 5,385th death is an 89-year-old Douglas County woman who tested positive Sept. 4 and died Oct. 22 at her residence.

Oregons 5,386th death is a 41-year-old Deschutes County woman who tested positive Oct. 2 and died Oct. 30 at St. Charles Bend.

The 5,387th death is a 62-year-old Multnomah County man who tested positive Oct. 13 and died Nov. 9 at Adventist Health Portland.

Oregons 5,388th death is a 50-year-old Linn County man who tested positive Oct. 15 and died Oct. 23 at his residence.

The 5,389th death is a 97-year-old Jackson County woman who tested positive Oct. 15 and died Oct. 24 at her residence.

Oregons 5,390th death is an 83-year-old Multnomah County woman who tested positive Oct. 17 and died Oct. 26 at Providence Portland Medical Center.

The 5,391st death is an 80-year-old Deschutes County woman who tested positive Oct. 24 and died Oct. 30 at St. Charles Bend.

Oregons 5,392nd death is a 41-year-old Clackamas County woman who tested positive Oct. 7 and died Oct. 19 at Providence Portland Medical Center.

The 5,393rd death is a 42-year-old Washington County woman who tested positive Oct. 4 and died Oct. 23 at Providence St. Vincent Medical Center.

Oregons 5,394th death is a 65-year-old Multnomah County woman who tested positive Oct. 4 and died Oct. 31 at Legacy Emanuel Medical Center.

The 5,395th death is a 67-year-old Multnomah County woman who tested positive Oct. 2 and died Oct. 30 at Adventist Health Portland.

Oregons 5,396th death is a 60-year-old Lane County man who tested positive Oct. 23 and died Oct. 25 at McKenzie-Willamette Medical Center.

The 5,397th death is a 63-year-old Clackamas County man who tested positive Oct. 25 and died Oct. 31 at Providence St. Vincent Medical Center.

Oregons 5,398th death is a 52-year-old Multnomah County man who tested positive Sept. 25 and died Oct. 11 at Providence St. Vincent Medical Center.

The 5,399th death is a 74-year-old Linn County man who tested positive Aug. 14 and died Oct. 27 at Providence Portland Medical Center.

Oregons 5,400th death is a 74-year-old Umatilla County woman who tested positive Sept. 7 and died Oct. 18 at Providence St. Vincent Medical Center.

The 5,401st death is a 64-year-old Marion County woman who tested positive Sept. 29 and died Oct. 31 at Portland VA Medical Center.

Oregons 5,402nd death is a 96-year-old Linn County woman who tested positive Sept. 30 and died Oct. 24 at her residence.

The 5,403rd death is a 72-year-old Linn County woman who tested positive Aug. 10 and died Oct. 15 at Salem Hospital.

Oregons 5,404th death is a 59-year-old Deschutes County woman who tested positive Oct. 1 and died Oct. 15 at St. Charles Bend.

The 5,405th death is a 56-year-old Multnomah County man who tested positive Oct. 3 and died Oct. 15 at Legacy Emanuel Medical Center.

Oregons 5,406th death is a 78-year-old Klamath County woman who tested positive Oct. 12 and died Oct. 14 at St. Charles Bend.

The 5,407th death is a 56-year-old Clackamas County man who tested positive Oct. 18 and died Oct. 31 at Providence Willamette Falls Medical Center.

Oregons 5,408th death is a 90-year-old Polk County man who tested positive Oct. 25 and died Oct. 23 at his residence.

The 5,409th death is a 60-year-old Multnomah County woman who tested positive Oct. 17 and died Nov. 10 at Adventist Health Portland.

Oregons 5,410th death is an 84-year-old Lane County man who tested positive Nov. 15 and died Dec. 9 at PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center at RiverBend.

The 5,411th death is a 95-year-old Douglas County woman who tested positive Nov. 27 and died Dec. 10 at her residence.

Oregons 5,412th death is a 60-year-old Douglas County woman who tested positive Nov. 22 and died Dec. 9 at Mercy Medical Center.

The 5,413th death is an 88-year-old Douglas County man who tested positive Nov. 11 and died Nov. 23 at his residence.

Oregons 5,414th death is a 77-year-old Clackamas County woman who tested positive Nov. 4 and died Nov. 11 at Kaiser Sunnyside Medical Center.

The 5,415th death is a 34-year-old Washington County man who first became symptomatic on Dec. 3 and died Dec. 9 at his residence.

Oregons 5,416th death is a 20-year-old Washington County man who tested positive Nov. 21 and died Nov. 26 at Legacy Emanuel Medical Center.

The 5,417th death is a 70-year-old Yamhill County woman who tested positive Dec. 7 and died Dec. 10 at Willamette Valley Medical Center.

Oregons 5,418th death is a 78-year-old Yamhill County woman who tested positive Nov. 23 and died Dec. 7; location of death is being confirmed.

The 5,419th death is an 88-year-old Multnomah County woman who tested positive Oct. 12 and died Nov. 11 at Providence St. Vincent Medical Center.

Oregons 5,420th death is a 60-year-old Marion County man who tested positive Nov. 18 and died Dec. 10 at Salem Hospital.

All had underlying medical conditions, or the state was confirming whether they did.

Hospitalizations: 408 people with confirmed cases of COVID-19 are hospitalized, up 16 since Friday. That includes 106 people in intensive care, up 10 since Friday.

Vaccines: 9,722 people have been reported newly vaccinated since Friday.

Since it began: Oregon has reported 401,564 confirmed or presumed infections and 5,420 deaths, among the lowest per capita numbers in the nation. To date, the state has reported 6,403,260 vaccine doses administered, fully vaccinating 2,724,327 people and partially vaccinating 271,349 people.

To see more data and trends, visit https://projects.oregonlive.com/coronavirus/

Fedor Zarkhin

fzarkhin@oregonian.com; 503-294-7674

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Coronavirus in Oregon: New cases and testing down as state announces 39 deaths - OregonLive

The total number of known coronavirus cases in the United States surpassed 50 million on Monday, according to a New York Times database.

Fifty million can be a difficult number to grasp. It is more than the combined populations of Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina and Ohio. More than the entire population of Spain. Nearly 18 times the number of dollars an American college graduate can expect to earn in a lifetime.

And it is almost certainly a substantial undercount of cases, since many infected people have no symptoms or mistake them for those of another illness, and not everyone gets tested to say nothing of the huge shortage of available tests in the early weeks of the pandemic.

Daily reports of new cases, which fell steadily in the early autumn, have been rising sharply in the last few weeks as the prevalent Delta variant continues to spread, especially in the Midwest, Southwest and New England. And much remains unknown about the worrisome new Omicron variant.

Hospitalizations and deaths have started to rise as well, and experts say the holidays and winter weather will probably make matters worse. Though the increases and Omicron may have helped to prompt more vaccinations, more than one-quarter of the population still has not received even one dose, and about 61 percent are fully vaccinated.

Still, the official tally of 50 million cases and counting is one more painful marker in two years that have been riddled with them one more occasion to take stock of what has been lost.

More than 796,000 people have died in the United States because of the virus a toll unfathomable to most Americans when the pandemic began. The first 100,000 deaths hit like a gut punch. But as successive round-number milestones were passed, they attracted less and less notice.

Then there are the untold ranks of the walking wounded: loved ones of the dead, of course, but also people coping with long-haul symptoms. Many viral illnesses are capable of causing chronic disability in a small percentage of patients, but when the denominator is 50 million, even a small percentage is a lot of people. Many of them have struggled to find treatment in, or even to be believed by, a health care system that has sometimes buckled under the weight of the acutely ill.

There are the mental health struggles wrought by fear and isolation. There is the economy, which is better than it was in the worst depths of the pandemic, but not yet near where it was before March 2020.

And there are the changes to the very fabric of how we live our lives: how we work and where, and even whether we are employed at all. How our children learn, and who cares for them.

Eventually, the experts say, the pandemic will abate, as previous pandemics have done. Americans will someday forget numbers like 50 million. But their ripples will be everywhere.

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At Least 50 Million Total Coronavirus Cases Have Been Found in the U.S. - The New York Times

As Covid-19 cases continue to rise in Italy, people are seen here in Rome wearing face masks. (Photo ... [+] by Riccardo De Luca/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Greenland is not that green during this time of the year. And its certainly not green on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)Covid-19 Travel Recommendations map. In fact, Greenland is now in the red, the dark red there. Thats because the CDC has just leveled up Greenland, Italy, and Mauritius when it comes to Covid-19 risk. On Monday, these three destinations all went from Level 3, which is marked in red on the map, to Level 4, which is marked in dark red.

So you may want to postpone your plans to hand-deliver that package to Santas mailbox in Nuuk, Greenland, take in Galileos middle finger in Florence, Italy, or take Santa underwater scootering in Mauritius. Level 4 means that the Covid-19 risk in those destinations is currently very high and that you should avoid all non-essential travel to such places, whether or not youve been fully vaccinated.

Now you may argue whether delivering pickles in person to Santa Claus is considered non-essential travel. Regardless, the Covid-19 situations for Greenland, Italy, and Mauritius have been getting worse. For example, the number of new reported Covid-19 cases per day has been steadily rising in Italy since mid-October. Its gone from 2,729 on October 15 to 19,212 on December 12, according to the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center.

In response to the Covid-19 pandemic, Italy has become a bit of a green land itself. In August, Italy instituted a green pass system to track who has either been vaccinated against or recovered from Covid-19. In October, Italy made such green passes mandatory for workplaces. And December 6 brought the so-called super green pass, a green pass requirement for those wanting to enter theaters, gyms, clubs, stadiums, indoor bars and restaurants, and similar venues.

With close to 75% of its population fully vaccinated, Italy does have a higher vaccination coverage than the U.S., which so far has fully vaccinated 60.9% of its population. But beating the U.S. in vaccination coverage is like leading the Hulk in a pogo stick race. Neither 75% nor 60.9% are at the herd immunity thresholds necessary to really interrupt transmission of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

Recognizing that vaccination does not offer 100% protection like a full-body concrete condom, Italian authorities have been layering on other Covid-19 precautions as well. Many cities in Italy, such as Milan, Bologna, Padova, and Bergamo, now have face mask requirements for the public both indoors and outdoors. Social distancing measures have been in place in many places too, including on public transit.

Social distancing may be a bit easier in Greenland, which has only about 56,000 residents and by the way is not for sale. Since the beginning of the pandemic, Greenland has had 1,831 confirmed cases of Covid-19 with no deaths, based on data from the World Health Organization (WHO). Nevertheless, over the past month Greenland has been experiencing record highs in the number of Covid-19 cases, which prompted the shift from Level 3 to Level 4.

Greenland had very few reported Covid-19 cases until early July 2021. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty ... [+] Images)

As I have covered previously for Forbes, the CDC has four risk levels for Covid-19. These CDC levels are like golf scores and the number of times your cat punches you in the groin. The higher the number, the worse things are.

Level 4 is the worst, followed by Level 3, which corresponds to a high Covid-19 risk. For travel to Level 3 destinations, the CDC recommends that you first get fully vaccinated. If you are not yet vaccinated, then you should really avoid all nonessential travel to Level 3 destinations. A destination levels up from 3 to 4 when the number of reported Covid-19 cases per 100,000 residents over the past 28 days crosses the 500 threshold. A destination goes from Level 2 (moderate risk) to Level 3 when this number surpasses 100 and from Level 1 (low risk) to Level 2 when it goes over 50. Destinations at Level 2 appear in orange and those at Level 1 appear in yellow on the map.

Not all the CDC Covid-19 Travel Recommendations news on Monday was bad news. Malaysia moved down to Level 3 from Level 4 for the first time since June 2021. And three destination, Jamaica, the Philippines, and the Republic of Congo, are the new orange, going from Level 3 to Level 2.

Of course, the CDC Covid-19 Travel Recommendation lists can be like the casts of the reality TV shows The Bachelor and The Bachelorette, changing each and every week. The colder and drier weather in the Northern Hemisphere and spread of the Omicron variant of the SARS-CoV-2 could soon take more destinations to whole another level. This may not be the best time to travel internationally unless you have your own blimp and island. There are other things that you can do for fun over this Holiday Season. And you could always mail Santa a package.

Continued here:

New CDC Avoid Travel Warning For Italy, 2 Other Destinations Due To Covid-19 Coronavirus - Forbes

Florida added 12,984 new cases of coronavirus over the last week, with 2,576 of those in the greater Tampa Bay area.

The state's COVID-19 death toll now stands at 62,026, up 325 from a week earlier.

The health department reported 122,513 more Floridians were vaccinated in the week ending Thursday.

More than 185,000 Florida children about 11 percent of the almost 1.7 million 5-11 year old's in the state have received a shot since the Pfizer vaccine was approved for them in November.

The following is a summary from Dec.2 - Dec. 9, 2021.

Cases: 3,710,507 positive cases, an increase of 12,984 from the previous week.

Vaccinations: 14,540,602 Florida residents have been vaccinated, a weekly increase of 122,513. In all, 70% of Floridas population over the age of five has received at least one dose of vaccine.

Positivity Rate: The positivity rate for new cases was 2.6%, .1% higher than the previous week, but the same as the week before that.

Deaths: A total of 62,026 Florida residents have died from a primary diagnosis of COVID-19, an increase of 325 from the previous week.

(NOTE: Cases and deaths in the report may have happened days or weeks earlier, according to state officials. The state is also now only counting deaths involving Florida residents.)

County Breakdown:

(Dec.2-Dec. 9, 2021)

* - Vaccination rate now includes children ages 5-11 years old.

ABOUT THE DATA: As of June 4, 2021, the Florida Department of Healthno longer offers daily updateson coronavirus data, and instead issues a county-by-county and statewideweekly breakdownon about COVID-19 cases, deaths, and other information. Cases and deaths in the report may have happened days or weeks earlier, according to state officials. The state is also now only counting deaths involving Florida residents.

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Florida adds nearly 13000 new cases of coronavirus in the past week - WUSF News

KINGSTON, N.Y. Free COVID-19 test kits will be distributed in Midtown on Tuesday, Dec. 14, an Ulster County official said this week.

Assistant Deputy County Executive Daniel Torres said Monday that 1,000 test kits will be given out between 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. at the Andrey Murphy IIII Midtown Neighborhood Center, 467 Broadway.

The county has received 33,000 COVID-19 test kits as part of Ulster County Executive Pat Ryans state of emergency declaration. Further distribution information is expected to be announced Tuesday, Torres said.

Last week, Ryan said during a Facebook live stream event Thursday said that under the countys state of emergency, 33,000 rapid test kits were to be delivered this week.

The free kits contain two swabs each.

Here are local COVID-19 statistics:

Active cases

Ulster County: 1,283, up from 1,241 reported for Dec. 11; 1,154 for Dec. 10; and 1,047 for Dec. 9.

Dutchess County: 1467, down from 1,484 the previous day but up from 1,434 the day before that.

Pandemic History

Ulster County: 22,232 confirmed cases, 20,742 recoveries; and 307 deaths. (No new deaths reported Monday).

Dutchess County: 39,561 confirmed cases and 37,559 recoveries, 55 residents hospitalized, and two new death, making the total 519.

Latest positivity rates

Ulster County: 5.1%.

Dutchess County: 5.72%

Vaccination rates

Data as of Sunday from theNew York states online vaccine tracker:

Ulster County: 69.5% fully vaccinated, 77% with at least one dose of a two-dose regimen, 85.9% of 18+ population with at least one dose.

Dutchess County: 63.9% fully vaccinated, 71.8% with at least one dose of a two-dose regimen, 81.1% of 18+ population with at least one dose.

Appointments:vaccinateulster.com,bit.ly/dut-vax,bit.ly/ny-vaxme.

For online local coverage related to the coronavirus, go todailyfreeman.com/tag/coronavirus.

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Free coronavirus test kits to be handed out Tuesday in Midtown Kingston - The Daily Freeman

INDIANAPOLIS The Indiana Department of Health reported 3,005 new positive coronavirus cases and three additional deaths in its latest update.

The agencys dashboard puts the states 7-day all-test positivity rate at 14.2% with a rate of 26.1% positive for unique individuals. The delta variant was responsible for 96.1% of samples tested this month, according to state data.

Dashboard data represents cases and deaths that occurred over a range of dates but were reported to the state in the last 24 hours, according to the Indiana Department of Health.

The agency said 13,004 additional Hoosiers are now fully vaccinated. To date, 3,548,714 first doses of the two-dose vaccine have been administered and 3,501,249 individuals are fully vaccinated.

The County Metric map shows 46 in Red, 45 in Orange, 1 in Yellow, and zero in Blue. The map is updated each Wednesday.

The weekly score is determined by each countys Weekly Cases Per 100,000 residents and its 7-Day All Test Positivity Rate.

Since the start of the pandemic, the state has reported 1,162,284 total positive cases and 17,471 total deaths. There are also 613 probable COVID-19 deaths.

The latest hospitalization numbers show 2,934 total COVID-19 patients: 2,672 confirmed and 262 under investigation.

The department says 18.8% of ICU beds and 67.9% of ventilators are available across the state.

To schedule an appointment for a COVID-19 vaccine, visitOurshot.In.Govor call 211 if you do not have access to a computer or require assistance.

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3,005 new COVID-19 cases and 3 additional deaths reported in Indiana - Fox 59

The success of the vaccination program in the fight against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, is being hampered by the virus continually mutating.

Many of the changes have little impact on the virus, but some alter how it spreads and the severity of the resulting disease. The mutations may also alter the performance of vaccines.

The World Health Organization (WHO) tracks all SARS-CoV-2 variants. The organization adds them to its list of variants of concern if they do any of the following:

The current list includes the Alpha (B.1.1.7), Beta (B.1.351), Gamma (P.1), Delta (B.1.617.2), and Omicron (B.1.1.529) variants.

A recent study conducted at the University of Nottingham, in the United Kingdom, looked at the infection performance of theAlpha, Beta, and Delta variants in cell cultures.

The researchers studied the variants individually and together to understand what happens if a person contracts two variants at the same time which is called coinfection.

The team also investigated the performance of thapsigargin, which the authors call a recently discovered, broad-spectrum antiviral.

The results appear in the journal Virulence.

The researchers found that the Delta variant replicated and spread between cells the quickest. It replicated four times faster than the Alpha variant and nine times faster than the Beta variant.

During coinfection, the Delta variant boosted the replication of both the Alpha and Beta variants. Replication was also quicker during coinfection with the Alpha and Delta or Alpha and Beta variants, compared with the sum of the individual replication rates.

Reports of breakthrough infections in fully vaccinated people highlight that vaccines cannot guarantee safety from a constantly changing target and that extra treatments are needed.

Antiviral drugs and similar medications can help the body fight off viruses, shorten the duration of viral infections, and reduce the symptoms of these illnesses.

According to the U.K.s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, certain antivirals are safe and effective at reducing the risk of severe COVID-19 in at-risk people.

Antivirals work in different ways, depending the specific drug. The most common ways involve:

Thapsigargin is a biologically active compound found in the roots and fruits of the Mediterranean plant Thapsia Garganica, which is commonly known as deadly carrot.

Practitioners of folk medicine have used the compound for centuries to treat rheumatic pain, lung diseases, and infertility in females.

In an earlier study, the authors of the recent paperdemonstrated that in very small concentrations, thapsigargin blocks the replication of an early variant of SARS-CoV-2, as well as common cold and influenza viruses.

The most recent study, which was led by Kin-Chow Chang, a professor of veterinary molecular medicine at the university, investigated whether TG could block the newer SARS-CoV-2 variants.

The study showed that each variant was sensitive to the compound: A dose of thapsigargin before infection with the Alpha, Beta, or Delta blocked all of the infections in human cells. It also showed a 95% reduction in coinfection studies. Similarly, thapsigargin inhibited the replication of the variants in cells with preexisting infection.

The antiviral state induced by a single priming dose of [thapsigargin] to cells lasts several days [] even without the ongoing presence of [the compound]. By contrast, Conventional antivirals, such as molnupiravir and oseltamivir, require continuous minimum concentration levels in the body to inhibit the target virus. Prof. Chang told Medical News Today.

He noted that Producing an antiviral drug is technically much harder than producing a vaccine. This is partly because current virus-centric antivirals, which target virus sites or stages of replication, can stop working over time as the virus mutates.

However, host-centric antivirals such as thapsigargin are less susceptible to the development of virus resistance.

The take-home message of this study is that thapsigargin may be a promising alternative way to combat COVID-19. The authors conclude:

The antiviral potency of [thapsigargin] has now been extended to contemporary SARS-CoV-2 variants, including the [Delta] variant, in all combinations of single- and coinfections. We therefore submit that [thapsigargin] is potentially a truly broad-spectrum antiviral that targets a growing list of viruses.

Prof. Chang says that All research signs so far are encouraging and point to preclinical and clinical trials in the foreseeable future. Although, he explains, it is difficult to predict a time frame at this stage.

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'Deadly carrot' compound may be effective against SARS-CoV-2 - Medical News Today